Freelance Magento Developer or Magento Development Agency? Which one to choose?

According to data from Pipecandy, Magento is used by about 154,309, or 2.3%, of all online stores. With more and more Magento technologies emerging, you need the right information and guidance provided by the Magento development agency to develop a successful eCommerce business.

In this article, we will share knowledge based on our professional experience and help you decide which development path is best for your eCommerce business platform.

In short, the points covered will include:

• What work will the Magento developer do for you
• Roles and responsibilities of Magento Developer
• Qualities of Magento developers
• Why hire a Certified Magento developer
• What you need to consider before hiring a Magento developer

What Work Do You Need a Magento Developer for?

Companies need Magento developers to build and improve eCommerce websites. Whether you want to build a Magento platform from scratch or make updates to an existing one, you’ll have to hire Magento developers to cover the following tasks:

• Code Review: Established eCommerce businesses can hire Magento developers to review their website code, identify any problem with the code and provide a solution for it.
• Magento performance tuning: Additionally, Magento developers can evaluate your website and provide performance-enhancing updates to your online store.
• Custom Magento development: Magento developers can be hired for custom Magento development projects. These projects include tasks like creating custom features and customization of existing ones to improve customer experience.
• Installing 3rd party modules: Whenever eCommerce businesses are looking to expand the built-in functionality of a store on Magento or Adobe Commerce, they can hire a Magento developer to install the 3rd party modules. Instead of creating custom functionality from scratch, you can take a module and save hundreds of development hours.
• Integration of 3rd party solutions: eCommerce businesses also need to hire Magento developers for integrating 3rd party solutions such as payment gateways, marketing, search and other solutions, for example, klarna, Alogolia, etc.
• UX/UI design improvements: Furthermore, Magento developers can collaborate with design teams to make sure new features adhere to the brand requirements of the business, improve customer experience and increase sales.

Depending on the size of the project and the tasks that need to be performed, businesses need to decide between freelancers and Magento agencies. while freelancers are good for smaller projects such as bug fixing, module installation, integration of 3rd party solutions, and providing security patch checks and updates. Magento development agency is better at developing Magento projects from scratch, installing 3rd party modules & their customization. Furthermore, Magento agencies can update Magento to the latest version, build custom features, customer service, as well as, code review and bug fixing.

Roles & Responsibilities of Magento Developers

Magento developers can be divided into two groups based on their skill sets:

• Front-end developers: The majority of the work on the store’s appearance is done by front-end Magento developers, who create themes according to the designs submitted by the web designer. Additionally, they ensure that your store functions properly and provides a smooth customer experience across all devices, including tablets and smartphones.
• Backend developers: On the other hand, backend Magento developers are concentrated on developing functionality for your Magento store. They can help you develop new features from scratch or customize an already existing Magento extension.

Additionally, you’ll need to hire the following specialists:

• UX/UI designers: to help you design and enhance the overall customer experience.
• Quality Assurance Engineers: to help you test new features, fix bugs, and provide valuable feedback.
• Project Manager: to lead and manage your eCommerce projects, ensuring they are well-organized from project start to completion.
• Magento Architect: to provide an architectural solution/design for your project and supervise development teams for implementation. Additionally, perform architectural evaluation and formulate strategies and roadmaps for the execution of the project.

Magento Development Agency vs. Freelance Magento Developers vs. In-House Team: Pros & Cons

Whichever development path you take for your Magento development, each comes with its own price tag and efficiency. We will explain the key benefits and drawbacks of each one of them. This will help you decide which one fulfills the requirements you need to develop your Magento platform.

Hiring a Freelance Magento Web Developer

The clear advantage of hiring a freelance Magento Web developer is the cost. Aside from the immediate benefit of lower development costs, you’ll also get a few other benefits along with downsides. Let’s review some of the most important ones for an eCommerce business.

Pros

High expertise in a specific domain

Freelance Magento web developers can bring high expertise in a specific domain which is ideal for small-term projects.

Reduced development cost

This choice does offer you the flexibility to hire a freelance Magento developer from anywhere around the world. The freelance market is highly competitive and individuals reduce their prices to get the contract. You can hire a Magento developer at low charges and greatly reduce your development costs.

Easy to replace

Furthermore, you can easily replace one freelance contractor with another one whenever you want you.

Easy to find

The freelance market is filled with skilled Magento developers, which makes it easy to find them.

Cons

Difficult to verify credentials 

It is difficult to background check for their expertise. They might promise you to deliver the said task but fail to do so later on, which will cost you time and money.

High risk involved

Freelance Magento developers pose a high risk as they can bounce from one project to another, don’t deliver any results, or disappear without delivering any.

Lack of customer support

Furthermore, real-time assistance is required when addressing customer problems. And freelance developers lack the skill sets to address the issues in time, resulting in poor customer support, hence constant communication delays.

Theft of intellectual property

Freelance developers can reuse your code for other eCommerce projects.

Requires micromanagement

Most importantly, you’ll have to micromanage the entire development yourself. If you’re not skilled enough, a lot of problems will arise.

Delayed work

It’s very common for freelance developers to extend deadlines when they are unable to fulfill the task on time.

As you can see, working with freelancers has its perks and downsides. While they might be more cost-effective at the initial stages, problems during the development process can lead to a lot of re-doings, the need to find new contractors and fix all the bugs made by inexperienced Magento developers.

Working with a Magento Agency

A comprehensive and inclusive approach to developing eCommerce websites is the main benefit of working with a Magento eCommerce development agency. A team of skilled developers has been given the assignment, and each of them is responsible for a different duty. This allows the business to promise customers efficiency and excellent outcomes. Custom Magento eCommerce development enables you to have solutions that are specially tailored to your unique business requirements while also reducing the number of extensions you need.

The major reason why most businesses shy away from this choice is that it is costly. However, working with an established Magento development Agency ensures you have access to the industry’s best-skilled developers and create the platform according to your requirements.

Pros

Certified developers

Gives you access to certified developers that can keep up with the industry standards and provide you with the best professional advice.

Custom Magento Development

Magento Agencies provides you with a better experience with custom Magento development. The agency will customize features according to your business needs and help you find solutions for occurring problems.

Stability

Magento development Agencies ensure the stability of work even if a developer leaves an agency, the agency will make sure your needs are met and provide you with a new one. You don’t need to spend time trying to find new developers and recruit them.

Dedicated Project Manager

Magento development company will assign you a dedicated project manager who will work directly with you and supervise the development process according to your requirements. Additionally, the project manager will be here to address any of your concerns.

Ongoing support

Furthermore, Magento eCommerce development agency provides ongoing development and support which enables you to customize your product whenever and however you want.

Can handle various project types

From developing new customized features to integrating 3rd party features in an existing eCommerce platform. A Magento agency has all the necessary resources required to handle various project types.

Easy to check experience and expertise

Magento development agencies have a long list of clients and previous employers, which makes it easier to verify their experience and expertise.

Clear deadlines

The development agencies uphold professional standards and fulfill tasks in the promised time frame.

Cons

Higher costs

The cost of hiring a Magento Development Agency is considerably high. Especially when you’re starting the project and need to create a lot of features from scratch. But in the long run, it will turn out to be more cost-effective. An experienced agency will guarantee that your project will be delivered on time and your website will be built using the best Magento development practices.

Delay in communication

There can be delays in communication as your development team will be working remotely, especially when working with a Magento development agency from another timezone. However, you can overcome this problem by looking for a development agency in a similar time zone or establishing proper communication channels beforehand. If you work with developers with a five to eight hours time difference, they will roll out new functionality at a time when your customers are less active with zero downtime.

Hiring an In-House Magento Developers

You can hire a full team of Magento developers to work directly for you in-house. Although this option seems ideal, it does have a lot of drawbacks that you need to take into consideration as well. Let’s look at both the advantages and disadvantages of this option.

Pros

Full control

In-house Magento development provides you with full control of the development process and its execution. You can customize it however you want and at any given stage.

Better communication

Additionally, you have access to direct communication with the development team, which makes project management a lot easier.

Cons

Bureaucratic problems

Different objectives and goals within the departments can cause a lack of coordination and miss management of the project.

Long hiring process

Finding and formulating a development team is a difficult task. To hire Magento programmers, you’ll require a technical understanding of the field to test their skill set and to find the right person for the job. The hiring process will take a lot of your time which can be spent on other business matters.

Taxes, social package, office rent

It will also increase your business expenditures, such as social packages for the new hires, renting office space for workstations, and taxes.

Resources spent on recruitment

‍You’ll have to spend a lot of your business resources on finding the right developers for your project. Searching for a Magento developer will require you to perform a candidate screening process and verify the work background of each candidate.

Lack of versatility in expertise

Even if you end up hiring a team of Magento developers, considering how broad and complex the field is, you’ll end up lacking some specialists. For which you’ll have to look for help outside.

High costs

Overall the cost of hiring an in-house is massive. Generally, an in-house Magento developer salary is a lot higher than a freelance developer’s.  And it might not be worth it to accumulate so many expenses when starting a new development project.

Below you can see an illustration highlighting the key differences between different types of cooperation with Magento developers.

Why Hire a Certified Magento Developer

Magento is an extremely popular open-source eCommerce platform for B2B, B2C, or D2C businesses. So naturally, everybody can start learning Magento with ease. However, not everyone can acquire the skill sets that are required in the eCommerce industry.

Learning Magento and becoming an expert in it takes time, effort, and shrewd work. A developer can earn the gleaming badge of a certified Magento developer by gaining the skill necessary to grasp Magento via practice.

Obtaining a Magento certification requires having an extensive understanding of the platform as well as being a highly desirable expert in related fields of web development. Some web development firms may assist you with project launch and promotion in addition to development services.

Therefore, credentialed Magento developers are unique. They have earned the certificate by proving themselves to be up to industry standards. You should always try to hire a certified Magento developer for your projects to match your competition in the eCommerce industry.

Things to Consider Before Hiring Magento Developers

When considering candidates for your Magento development, you need to look beyond their technical expertise. Here are some of the things you need to look for when considering candidates for your Magento eCommerce business:

• Previous work experience in the industry
• Testimonials & customer feedback from previous employers
• Location of an agency (time zone differences in particular)
• Services offered
• Availability of certified Magento developers

These skill sets can give you a competitive edge over your competitors and help you develop a successful eCommerce platform.

Freelance Magento Developers or Magento Agency: Bottom Line

So, what have you decided on for your project?

Here’s a short sum-up to help you with the decision:

• Freelance developers are better suited for short-term projects. They might lack specific skills and a deep understanding of your industry. In most cases, you’ll need to hire a few freelance developers and dedicate a lot of time to their management.
• Hiring in-house Magento developers is a long and tedious process. You’ll need to deal with bureaucratic problems, office rent, taxes, offer a high salary to attract the best talent. Still, a single developer won’t be able to do all the tasks, so you’ll probably need to hire a few experts.
• Magento agencies might seem more expensive at first glance, but they are the most cost-efficient in the long run. An agency will take on your project, select the best developers for specific tasks, manage the whole development process and deliver results on time and within budget.