How to Choose Best Magento Agency
A professional Magento agency will enhance your Magento site functions & user experience.
Magento is a robust ecommerce platform with advanced features. Forrester Wave named it the 2020 leader in B2B & B2C digital commerce suites.
However, you require the right technical skills to improve site functions. If you don’t have a technical team, it is advised to opt for a Magento development company.
There is a wide range of Magento agencies in the market. It can get a bit challenging to pick the most suitable option for your site. That’s why it is essential to know how to find the best Magento agency.
Here’s an overview of the factors to consider when hiring a Magento Development Agency.
8 Tips for Finding the Best Magento Agency
1. Analyze Your Business Requirements
Before choosing a Magento development agency, analyze your business needs. It makes it easier to match your requirements with the correct agency.
The business objectives depend on many factors:
- Customer demands
- Market insights & strategy
- Product range & purchase funnels
- Competitor analysis
- Business intelligence
- Adoption of new technologies
You should have a clear vision of the project. Strategize the benefits & business outcomes.
Along with that, you should consider the budget for the project. A financial plan will help you communicate better with the Magento agency.
Without a well-defined project strategy, you may leave a lot of room for confusion during development. The developers may not understand your goals.
Outlining the project also helps find the right Magento developers. There are many front-end and backend, and server-side developers. It allows you to pick developers that are specialized for your type of project.
2. Magento 2 Certified Developers & Magento Partners
Magento offers a global network of partners. You can use them to build your site. The partner community has Magento certified developers. They are well trained and have to pass yearly exams held by Magento.
Opt for Magento certified partners to execute your digital strategies. It enables your website to stand out from the competitors. You may also get more traffic in the process.
Magento has grouped the partner companies into many categories. Magento checks their expertise & experience levels regularly.
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Magento Solutions Partners
Magento Solution Partners are consulting companies for B2B & B2C sectors. They build unique commerce experiences for all business sizes.
There are over 350 certified global partners. These companies guide you on system integrations.
You can build your digital strategy. It can be from site design to more customizing. You also get support for integration with third-party extensions.
The partner program is arranged in many levels:
- Premium partners
- Gold partners
- Silver partners
- Bronze partners
- Community partners
You also get a tiered system for more flexibility. You get Business & Professional partners. The higher levels are Enterprise & Elite Solution partners.
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Magento Technology Partners
The Magento Technology Partner provides enhanced functions to your store. They help refine your product catalog, search feature, and checkout.
Some of its primary services include:
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Managing product information
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User generated content & loyalty
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Payments & sales tax
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Delivery & fulfillment
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Magento Community Insiders
Community Insiders are certified Magento web developers. The Insider Program is the starting point for them to become official partners. They have full access to Magento’s platform & its various tools.
The solutions partners are reviewed more than community insiders. Magento claims that Insider companies are also good options. You can choose the right developer based on which partner meets your project needs.
3. Many Years of Experience as a Magento Agency
To build a suitable Magento store, you should have the best development team. Find an agency that has years of experience in Magento. They should already have experience in building Magento websites.
So many untrained Magento ecommerce agencies pop up every year. Amateur web developers can make your site look outdated. They may not deliver the best results in terms of functions.
Magento is a complex platform with many features. Its technology has kept evolving over the years. The platform had a massive upgrade from Magento 1 to Magento 2 in 2015.
Experienced Magento agencies already know the market needs. They have expertise in Magento 2 development. They are also aware of updates and other innovations.
The agency’s experience involves many factors:
- The number of Magento websites developed
- The number of certified Magento experts
- Built many mobile responsive websites
- Performed various multi-channel sales strategies
- Worked in B2B & B2C sectors
- Worked with many extensions
Find an agency with more than 5 to 10+ years of Magento experience. They should have an active presence in the Magento web development market.
4. Project Transparency
It is essential to have clear contracts with the Magento agency. See if the terms of service are detailed & official.
A good Magento development company will inquire about your project. They will ask many questions to know your vision & goals.
Check the following areas in terms of transparency:
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Cost Estimation
There may be many pricing elements for your project. It will depend on your system, resources & themes.
Read the pricing policy before you sign any contracts. You should check if there are any hidden costs involved. There may be extra fees for any additional work.
Companies with low costs may compromise on high quality. You might not get good tech support & solutions.
Research the market price and share your budget with the agency. You should look for fair pricing for the project. Cross-check the costs with other agencies.
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Project Milestones & Timelines
Get a written timeline for your project with set milestones. For complex projects, there might be some time delays.
Milestones ensure that your project stays on track. Once you approve of each milestone, the team can move forward.
Set deadlines & due dates before you start the project. The agency should keep you updated with the progress.
5. Security & Data Integrity
Any added extensions & coding can create security loopholes. The new updates should be able to handle customer data carefully.
Developers should use the best coding practices for Magento. It helps prevent the risk of data breaches. Ensure that the Magento agency does prioritize security while making changes.
The right agency will help reduce bugs & improve the code quality. Check that the filesystems & data transfers are done securely.
The developers should follow the official Magento guidelines for coding. Magento’s coding standards are based on the following:
- Zend Coding standards
- PSR-2 Coding style guide
- PSR-4 Autoloading standard
Magento advises the technical team to avoid duplicate code. They should write clean code so that future updates are easy. The agency should be proficient in Magento’s coding standards.
With critical data, ensure that you sign an NDA. That way, the project details & data are not shared without permission.
Learn about intellectual property & code transfers. The technology transfer is essential so that you own the rights to the new updates. The contract should mention data privacy & code ownership.
6. Testing and Quality Assurance of the Project
Learn about the agency’s testing & QA process. Check if the Magento agency has QA experts on the team.
Testing ensures code quality, so it is easily maintained in the future. Quality assurance guarantees smooth interaction for users on your online store.
Some of the Magento application tests include:
- Integration testing
- Performance tests
- Web API Functional tests
- JavaScript testing
- Static code analysis
- Unit tests
- Usability tests
An Agile or Scrum framework ensures that the code is well tested.
7. Customer Service & Post Deployment Support
Before choosing a Magento agency, inquire about the customer support you’ll receive throughout the development of your site and beyond.
Proactive support is crucial for maintaining a healthy Magento system that can perform at its maximum capacity.
Partner with an agency that provides continuous support and 24/7 Magento service to its clients. The best Magento development agencies understand the value of support and maintenance.
Get support with an effective ticketing system. The agency may provide calls and live chat services.
You can also have in-person discussions if the agency is local.
Check if the agency provides post-launch technical support. There can be some updates or minor functional issues after deployment. Confirm if they charge additional costs for post-development support.
Some of the post-launch services may include:
- Minor functional adjustments
- Track the changes in the production environment
- Monitoring & logging
- Backups
The agency will test integration, staging & production environments. It ensures the various site elements work together efficiently.
Check if the agency provides post-launch support such as:
- Security scans to check for potential malware
- Analyze system processes & final check for codebase
- Check to see errors or any unexpected behavior
- Optimize the deployment process for minimum downtime
- Perform final testing, caching & other system configurations.
8. Portfolio & Client Reviews
Check out a company's portfolio before you hire them. The portfolio will give information on the agency’s past work.
The company should have experience in building an ecommerce site similar to your business and its industry.
Analyze the client feedback & reviews. Get information on what to expect from the company.
Contact previous clients to ask questions about issues and how they were addressed during the development process.
It will give insights into the client’s experience while working with the agency.
Analyze the pros and cons of the Magento agency. They may not be the best in all sectors. Negative reviews should be an indication to pick a better agency.
Conclusion
An excellent Magento agency can help you transform your ecommerce store. You can get functions that are tailored to your business goals. They also help you improve user experience & increase sales.
Finding the right Magento development agency depends on your project requirements.
Choose the top Magento certified agencies from the official partner website.
Consider the factors mentioned above to choose the right Magento agency.
To learn more about Magento & hosting, check out MGT Commerce blog.
