Choosing a good Magento provider is a crucial — and complex — the step before launching an e-commerce project. The company you choose will be responsible for assisting you in the reflection, development, and technical implementation of your needs, which is why it is necessary to pay particular attention to its selection process. This is the subject of this article which aims, as objectively as possible, to guide you through this process by encouraging you to ask yourself some essential questions.
- which makes an e-commerce agency a truly reliable development partner,
- what you need to prepare for, as a customer,
- and the 10 questions to ask yourself before making your final choice.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE BEST MAGENTO E-COMMERCE AGENCIES?
The first step in the process of selecting the ideal Magento partner is to write a list of potential providers. Of course, you can easily build this list by opening Google and doing some research.
Nevertheless, the choice of a team of Magento developers is a delicate decision: we are talking about a complex system and very few agencies are actually qualified for its development at a professional level. It is therefore important to be able to verify that the provider you have chosen is experienced and competent on the subject.
CONSULT THE PROFESSIONAL SITES AND THE FORUMS
Ask for recommendations from other e-merchants, and look at which agencies the recognized and complimented developers in the Magento community are working on.
You should also actively ask for direct and personalized recommendations: describe your problem and your project in detail, what you would like to develop, and you will surely get suggestions from e-commerce agencies that could match you.
GO TO PROFESSIONAL EVENTS
If you are looking for a long-term partner, you can also personally do an active search. Feel free to participate in Magento events and e-commerce shows. You can discuss with participants, ask for recommendations and proposals, attend conferences, etc. This will allow you to know more about the areas of expertise of each agency Magento, and you will have a better idea of what best fits your project and its specificities.
VISIT THE MAGENTO WEBSITE
The Magento Partner Portal is another key place to look for potential partners to support you. You can view the profiles of the e-commerce agencies and get general information about the partners, but you can also find their main customers and their areas of expertise. In this way, you can look at their past projects and their Magento certifications to determine if it is appropriate to add them to your list.
HOW TO MAKE A CALL FOR TENDERS
Once you have your list of potential providers, then you can start asking for business proposals.
You have to be careful because you can easily make mistakes during this step. It is also possible that you are not prepared enough to start the call for tenders. Keep in mind that the development team needs to know very precisely what you need in order to be able to evaluate the amount of work needed for the project.
It is therefore important to know and specify during this step:
- the number of people to be assigned to the project and the qualifications required
- the expected duration of the project
- the complexity of the solutions addressed to respond to the project
Also, try to make sure you are available. Do not send a series of emails with RFPs if you can not answer the resulting questions or requests for several weeks. You commit yourself to a project where continuous communication is essential to provide quality work, and this starts at the tender stage.
TIP: E-commerce providers who send you an offer in the process, based on the minimum information you provided in your initial application, probably did not perform a proper assessment of the work to be done. This means that they are not sufficiently prepared to carry out quality work.
BE CONSISTENT
If you want to get an interesting offer, you must ensure that you provide the same information to all the agencies that you have solicited, so that you do not communicate simultaneously on different or even contradictory speeches.
In the case of such a project, the price is not supposed to be the determining factor of your final choice: the hourly rates can of course vary, but paying the price requested by the developers is a profitable investment, even at short term. Your main goal is to find a partner who will help you improve the performance, stability and overall functioning of your e-commerce site because that’s what will bring you the most profit.
STAY OPEN
Make sure you submit all the requested information — if the development team wants to know data such as the conversion rate of your online store or the available budget, it’s because these data will allow it to evaluate in detail the work to be provided.
AS A CUSTOMER, HOW TO PREPARE?
It’s easy to ask you to “provide all the important information” but how can you know which ones are? We will explain the two main points that you will probably have to send to the production team.
CLEARLY, INDICATE THE DESIRED RESULT
It sounds simple, yet it is important that you write exactly what you want to achieve at the end of the project: what are the goals you want to accomplish? And above all: how can the e-commerce agency help you fill them? Try to define these goals as clearly as possible.
GIVE THEM THE SIZE OF THE BUDGET
You probably have an idea of how much work you are asking for, so you certainly have an idea of what you intend to pay for it. To clearly indicate this to the service provider is important during the call for tender.
10 QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF TO MAKE YOUR FINAL CHOICE:
- Is geographic proximity to your partner important to you?
- How long has the service provider been working on the Magento platform?
- What is the development process? How long does it take?
- Is technical support included in the offer?
- What kind of quality assurance does the e-commerce provider work with? How does it perform the tests?
- What can influence the project?
- Who are you going to communicate with?
- Have they carried out major Magento integration projects?
- Did they carry out important Magento migration projects?
- Will the service provider accompany you in optimizing your platform after it has been put online?
Last advice we could give you to help you in your choice: do not forget to ask the qualifications and skills of developers, including potential Magento certifications that are valued during decision making. Finally, do not skip the question of references, which remain the best way to ensure the technical capabilities of a Magento e-commerce agency.
We hope that this article will have given you some keys to better understand your selection process and that you will be able to find the Magento partner adapted to your needs.
Finally, if you would like to request our help or if you plan to entrust us with your e-commerce project, do not hesitate to write to us !
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