10 Things To Remember Before Hiring an eCommerce Developer
Are you planning to hire a professional to build your online store? If youre not a developer and have limited technical knowledge, it can be difficult to hire the right person for your project. Dont worry, youre not alone. Were here to help!
To help you make the best decision, weve gathered the 10 questions to ask before hiring an e-commerce developer to build your online store. Make sure you have answers to these important questions before you spend any time and money.
1. Which e-commerce software do you build online stores with?
This is something that you should do extensive research on prior to interviewing candidates. You want to find an e-commerce software that is powerful, intuitive and easy to manage. After all, when the developer is done building your site, youll be the one working with it on a daily basis.
During your research, make sure you watch out for all the expensive e-commerce software out there. You dont want to get stuck paying hefty monthly fees or commissions on all your sales.
2. What is your experience building e-commerce websites?
Dont let the developer feed you a bunch of techy jargon. Ask for real life examples of e-commerce sites that they have built before. Pay close attention to the user experience, features and design of each site they share. You should also give them a basic idea of what youre looking for and ask them to show you examples of online stores out there that they would be able to replicate.
3. What are the terms of our contract?
No matter the case, you absolutely want to have a written agreement that outlines the following:
Fees and payment terms Some developers prefer to be paid hourly for their work and others will give you a price for a project.
Additional fees You want to understand exactly whats included in the fees. Some common surprise fees that you want to negotiate upfront are: hosting, SSL certificate, additional features, themes, and backup solutions.
Deadlines Set a date or milestones for when the project or different elements of the project should be complete. Include a clause in your agreement that directly addresses if theres a delay.
Include all expectations Write down everything that you expect to be delivered on the final site.
Post development What are the fees for maintenance after the project is complete? How quickly can I expect your help?
4. How will we communicate?
This question is often forgotten but its important to establish the means of communication throughout the development of your site. You want to be involved throughout the process, not just when its finished.
Decide if you will use Skype, Google Hangout or MSN to speak regularly. I strongly suggest using a project management tool such as Asana or Basecamp to keep all communication organized and keep you updated on the progress of your site.
5. What special features can you develop for my online store?
This may be a bit of a technical question but you really just want the developer to be very clear about how much work they will be putting in.
- Are you using an existing theme or building a custom theme?
- Will you be building any features from scratch?
- Make sure to address these items in your written agreement
6. Will my e-commerce site be mobile friendly?
Now days, this is a must. You want to be able to offer your customers a seamless shopping experience from a mobile and tablet device. Ask your developer what they will do to make sure that your site is mobile friendly and responsive.
7. How will you make it easy for me to edit and manage my site?
Once your online store is up and running, youll have to update content, photos, banners, etc. You may even want to be able to add or modify features to your site. Find out what your developer will be doing to make sure that editing your site wont be a headache every time.
You should have access to absolutely everything! One day this person may no longer be your developer and youll need to share passwords and code with a new hire. Ensure that all files, logins and passwords are shared with you. You should be the owner of all the accounts associated with your site. Also, I strongly recommend that your developer explains how they are keeping backups of your site.
8. What SEO fundamentals will you integrate?
Your developer should be implementing SEO best practices and make it easy for you to update should your SEO strategy change. All the money you spend on your online store will go to waste if customers cant find you!
9. How will you help me track key performance indicators?
This is something you want to address upfront. Understand how you will be able to measure the performance of your site. Great news, tons of KPIs are automatically displayed in your PrestaShop back-office. However, you want your developer to show you how to measure specific elements of your site using Google Analytics.
10. How will you run tests?
Your online store might look nice but if its not working properly, whats the use? Your developer should have specific best practices for testing your site. Make sure that the developer is using a testing environment and not making changes directly on your live store without testing it first. Have them explain their process for testing your entire site, documenting bugs and quick fixes.
This type of information will help you from having to pay for additional support once the project is complete. You want to ensure that testing is done from different mobile devices, browsers, computers and countries.
ARTICLE SOURCE http://bit.ly/1lrz9XQ : This factual content has not been modified from the source. This content is syndicated news that can be used for your research, and we hope that it can help your productivity. This content is strictly for educational purposes and is not made for any kind of commercial purposes of this blog.