Not sure how to discover the best Shopify developer for your project yet in need of one?
This Shopify developer lesson will cover all the information you want.
The benefits of hiring a Shopify developer
When launching an e-commerce firm, there are several things to consider, such as finding the correct products for your target market, sourcing products, controlling inventory, and developing a marketing strategy.
If you lack any personal development experience, you should delegate the development portion of the project to a professional.
By hiring a developer, you’ll have more time to work on developing other aspects of your company.
Web development specifically for Shopify websites is an area of expertise for Shopify developers. In contrast to developers that don’t specialise in working on Shopify projects, this indicates that they have distinctive insights and development experience.
They are familiar with the operation of Shopify and are highly knowledgeable about payment processors, navigation, inventory management, and checkout logic.
Developers can guarantee that your website functions smoothly on any device by knowing all the best practises for web development.
A developer can assist you with the implementation of whatever feature you need to start, run, and expand your business in addition to ensuring that your website complies with current standards for the industry.
An expert developer can leverage their considerable platform knowledge to design the ideal solution even if you only have a general understanding of what you want.
In many circumstances, you won’t need any additional assistance to get your site to appear and behave like you want because of Shopify apps for constructing pages like Shogun. That might allow you to save some money, but there are other situations where hiring a professional Shopify developer is necessary, such as when you need highly customised features or ongoing site maintenance.
Observable qualities in a Shopify developer
Any Shopify developer worth their salt will use version control, be well-versed in the platform’s API, and have a strong grasp of PHP and JavaScript.
In addition to these requirements, you ought to look for a developer who:
superior communication abilities
You need to be able to always know where your project stands. Avoid developers who don’t respond to your mails for days or weeks.
A skilled developer will define goals, build a calendar, and let you know what you can anticipate being achieved over the following week or month.
A fantastic portfolio
The majority of the Shopify projects in your developer’s portfolio should be for ecommerce companies operating in your sector. Check out the websites in their portfolio and make a note of any aspects you liked or disliked.
Verify the websites’ functioning, accessibility, and loading speed.
Testimonials from happy clients
Look for developers who have a respectable quantity of positive customer feedback and reviews. It’s much better if a developer has endorsements from companies in your sector.
An original and creative strategy
Hire developers who don’t produce cookie-cutter websites with hardly distinguishable designs. Instead, seek out developers who have demonstrated original and creative thought.
A warranty of satisfaction
Choose a developer who is prepared to complete the project as many times as necessary to meet your needs. Even though these kinds of developers are uncommon, they are completely worth it.
An after-development support strategy
Even if a developer appropriately configures your website, a variety of issues may arise afterwards.
Since your developer will be the one who knows your website’s functionality the best, you’ll want them to be accessible for maintenance and support once the project is complete.
How to hire a Shopify developer
Let’s examine the procedures you must follow in order to engage a Shopify developer.
Have a goal in mind before you begin
You should still have a rough notion of what you want the developer to do, even though you don’t need to have all the finer points worked out.
What style do you desire for your store? What features and capabilities do you require?
Do you need any problems resolved?
Your developer will be much assisted if you have a few instances of various online businesses whose components you’d like to use on your website.
Put everything down on paper so that when you begin interviewing people, you will be prepared with talking topics.
Plan a budget
Prior starting looking for a developer, you must determine how much you can comfortably pay. In a perfect world, you could buy whatever you wanted with the money you had, but that isn’t always the case.
List the things you definitely must have before deciding which ones you could live without. In the event that you are unable to pay to purchase all you initially desired, this will guarantee that your project covers all the necessities.
Make thorough research
Don’t choose the first developer who makes you feel wonderful. Numerous Shopify developers are available.
Request recommendations from people in your sector, peruse the Shopify forums, and search Quora and Reddit for comments, endorsements, and reviews.
Investigate prospective hires thoroughly by looking at their online profiles, reviews, and portfolios. Asking their clients via email about their interactions with the developer might be a good idea.
The best applicants are interviewed
Set up a phone or in-person meeting with each candidate on your shortlist who best meets your requirements.
Inform developers of your objectives during the interview, and then inquire about the level of technical expertise your project will require. After they’ve explained, request to see samples of their work to confirm that they do, in fact, have that knowledge.
To assist you in achieving your objectives, look for developers who can articulate what they know, what they can do, and how they intend to approach your project.
With the developer you’ve chosen, discuss the project
The ideal developer has been located for your online store. Great!
It is now time for a meeting to go over the project in greater depth. Invite the developer on a video call so you can go over the complete project from beginning to end.
Make sure to bring up any concerns and request the developer’s opinion. Establishing milestones can assist keep the project on track and make it easier to manage.
begin the undertaking
You must agree on a payment schedule that will benefit both parties before the project begins. Most likely, a deposit will be requested from the developer.
The developer will start working on your project as soon as you pay the deposit.
Verify each milestone the developer completes, and only approve payments if you’re 100 percent satisfied with the outcome.
Locations of Shopify developers
We’ll discuss where to discover top-notch Shopify developers in this part.
Directory of Shopify Experts
Developers, designers, and independent contractors who focus on working with Shopify enterprises are listed in Shopify’s own directory. The directory includes hundreds of developers. Here, you can quickly evaluate the location, cost, and rating of each developer.
Shopify gatherings
You can go to Shopify Meetups, developer-focused gatherings put on by the platform’s partners, if you prefer to talk to developers in person. Shopify Meetups are held all around the world, so you shouldn’t have any trouble locating one that is nearby.
Here is a calendar with all the upcoming Meetup activities.
Upwork
A great location to post Shopify developer jobs is Upwork. Many Shopify developers may be found there, some of whom are really good at what they do.
It might take you some time to find a good developer, though, as Upwork doesn’t thoroughly vet its freelancers (unlike the Shopify Experts list).
Creating a job ad for your project is a necessary step in the hiring process for developers on Upwork. If you want to have the best chance of luring a talented developer, you should mention the following in your job posting:
- Background information – Provide prospective employees with more details about you, your business, and your products. Describe your objectives and the people you want to reach.
- Deliverables – Describe the kind of deliverable you anticipate receiving after the project is complete (e.g., a complete website).
- Existing assets – Make candidates aware of any design standards, brand colours, website copy, or a logo that you may have.
- Timeline – Be sure to give your project a due date. Use a tighter timeline than you actually need because delays in development projects are practically unavoidable.
Toptal
In contrast to Upwork, this other freelance network has much higher standards for freelance workers. Toptal thoroughly vets every freelancer it hires.
The platform’s screening procedure involves live exercises, test projects, a thorough skill review, and language and personality tests. When you hire from Toptal, you’ll be working with the best of the best because only 3% of applicants pass the platform’s screening process.
But there is a high cost associated with this.
Clutch.co
The top digital agencies in the world are listed in the Clutch directory. More than 8,600 agencies are now listed in their ecommerce development section.
Your entire project can be planned out and carried out by a specialised e-commerce development company. They frequently have a number of experts on staff, each of whom has expertise in a specific area of design or development.
While using an agency will typically result in a better and more complete service, it will also cost far more than using a freelancer.
How much does it cost to work with a Shopify developer?
You’re undoubtedly now interested in finding out how much hiring a Shopify developer will cost you.
The size and complexity of your project will largely determine how much you’ll have to pay on a developer.
Your traffic and sales objectives, as well as the necessary features and functionality, will all be taken into consideration by the developer when calculating expenses. If you require a completely unique design, the overall cost of your project will be more than if you begin with a template.
If you need bespoke integrations, copywriting, SEO, or the import of customer or product data, development costs will also go up.
Typical prices for small projects range from $3,000 to $5,000. You should budget up to $10,000 for a medium-sized project.
You should expect to spend anything from $10,000 to $100,000 on large, complicated projects.
Hire a Shopify developer
For their online store to remain operational and to continue making sales, ecommerce business owners must juggle a variety of various tasks. A Shopify developer can assist in relieving owners of the burden of worrying about website development and various technical challenges that may arise when running an online store.
Excellent communication skills, a stellar portfolio, client endorsements, and a distinctive and creative approach are all qualities of a great Shopify developer. They should also provide assistance after development.
Make sure you know what you want to achieve before looking to employ a Shopify developer. Establish a budget for your development project and identify which features are vital and won’t be compromised at any cost.
Make sure to conduct a thorough search for Shopify developers. Find recommendations, reviews, and testimonies by perusing industry forums, Reddit, and Quora.
Identify checkpoints and decide on a payment plan. After the project begins, be sure to go through each milestone that has been reached, and only approve payments when you are 100 percent satisfied with the job.
You can find Shopify developers in a variety of areas. Start by looking through the directory of Shopify Experts. Additionally, you can attend Shopify Meetups in an effort to meet engineers in person. Another choice is to use a freelance marketplace like Upwork or Toptal. It’s especially easy to discover inexpensive developers on Upwork.
