With 15 years in the market, and more than 150,000 online stores running, Magento is a powerhouse in the ecommerce industry. It’s flexible and feature-rich – hence, the top choice among mid-sized and large businesses – all thanks to the thriving community built around it.
But as it often happens, there’s no rose without a thorn. And in the case of Magento, for many merchants, the thorn is the level of technical expertise required to unlock Magento’s power. Most often, this requires a skilled Magento development team – internal or external. And If you don’t possess the needed development skills within your company, how then do you choose a professional Magento development team from the vast pool of available talent, and without becoming overwhelmed?
As a certified Magento / Adobe Partner, and a Magento development firm with 15 years of expertise, Atwix is here to shed some light on the issue. Read on to learn what truly matters when choosing a Magento ecommerce agency.
Key Factors in Choosing a Vendor for Magento Development
What’s the most important factor in choosing an exceptional B2B Magento agency? First, seek out companies that are an essential part of the Magento ecosystem. These will be agencies which have been recognized by Adobe – and by the market, as a whole – as being pioneers in the field of Magento eCommerce. From our experience, here are the criteria to look for:
1. Look for an Established Company with Regional Specialization
Magento community awards, a stamp of approval from Adobe – the platform’s owner, signify the company’s overall professionalism. For instance, Atwix maintains over 100 certifications, which demonstrates our status as among the best Magento agencies in the world working with the Magento and Adobe platforms.
Adobe certifications go hand-in-hand with contributions to the Magento ecosystem. Highly certified and high-contributing agencies are actively engaged in the development of Magento, helping to evolve the platform by leveraging their vast knowledge and experience. For example, Atwix is the most highly-certified Adobe Gold Solution Partner – and its no coincidence that we’re also the #1 contributor to the Magento codebase for five years running, from 2018 to 2023.
When selecting a Magento agency, it’s also important to check their specialization within your specific geographic region. Different countries take varying approaches, and hold specific attitudes toward ecommerce. By knowing the market and its cultural demands, you are better positioned for a successful marketplace launch.
For example, Atwix holds specializations in North American and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) markets. Having spent 12+ years growing our experience and understanding within them, we’re not just a Magento certified agency, we are also experts in global eCommerce markets and Magento 2-certified Solution experts.
2. Your Magento Agency Must Be Part of the Community
Magento has an active and thriving open-source community that strives to improve the platform through contributions to its GitHub codebase. As an integral part of this ecosystem, Atwix has been the #1 contributor to the Magento open-source codebase for the past five years.
Moreover, Atwix CEO Viacheslav Kravchuk is a Board Director of the Magento Association – a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to keep the community healthy, growing, and open. When choosing a Magento ecommerce development agency, make sure it is known and respected within the community.
3. Seek Companies on the Adobe Partner List
When planning to outsource Magento development, it is critical that you choose a trusted vendor. Adobe – the current owner of the Magento platform – has curated a Partner List which contains all of the companies Adobe trusts to deliver world-class Magento integrations. An agency’s presence on this list means it is a trustworthy vendor who can provide world class solutions. The list can be filtered based on your specific needs, making it easy to find the right Magento developer company for your project.
4. A Magento Dev Agency Must Be a Market Mainstay
Atwix stands at the top of Adobe’s Partner List for a good reason, with over 12 years invested in Magento web development services. From core website development, to redesigning the way Europe’s biggest delivery system works, our portfolio may be as diverse as they come. This is why we put so much emphasis on companies that have been around long enough to amass a reputation as one of the best. In short, a Magento marketing agency with no clear ties to Adobe represents a considerable risk, right from the start.
The reason an agency’s longevity is important is, the Magento platform is constantly evolving and expanding. Being an early adopter of the technology, and tracking its evolution, Atwix helped usher in Magento 2, and helped make it even better through our ongoing code contributions. Since its launch, Atwix has been a top contributor, and a top Magento 2 agency.
5. No Such Thing as Too Good of a Portfolio
Over the years, we’ve learned that taking on new challenges is essential. Such an attitude will help any ecommerce Magento development agency learn the unique, and ever-evolving aspects of the technology. Along the way, an agency can move from simple but effective sites, to projects of greater scale and complexity.
Just take a look at Byrne Electrical Specialists’ transition to a robust B2B marketplace. The Atwix team integrated Byrne’s ERP, enabled sales of non-catalog products, and integrated Magepack to improve frontend performance, which is essential for large ecommerce sites.
When seeking and selecting your own Magento development vendor, consider the diversity of their portfolio. Are their use-cases similar to yours? Does the variety and scope of client-success inspire confidence? Is “good enough” good enough? Or do you require something greater?
6. Ability to Go Above and Beyond
And speaking of client-success, this is one area which is often overlooked by some Magento development companies. Atwix’s model for client-success is called the “client orbit”, which keeps the client, and their needs, squarely at the heart of our operations. Live client calls usually involve three key staffers – a Project Manager, a Tech Lead, and a Client Success Manager – who make sure the agile project deliverables stay aligned with business needs and functional requirements.
We attempt to always satisfy our client’s needs, even the ones which haven’t yet been voiced. We do this by engaging in active listening and proactive communications. Our aim is to deliver results that speak for themselves, regardless of project scope or duration. We believe a Magento development agency must strive for perfection in order to deliver excellence.
7. Flexibility in Meeting Client’s Requirements
As a top-ranked Magento agency, Atwix also enjoys engaging in post-release collaborations. For example, with Magnanni, a luxury brand with a long and illustrious history that wanted to make its online platform as elegant as its shoes. Atwix was able to deliver backorder tracking, a continually refreshing stock status, and solutions to some of the company’s most pesky caching issues.
A similar approach may be made when looking for Magento agencies. The agility to adjust to the evolving requirements of your business is essential. Successful eCommerce demands that you meet your buyers’ evolving needs, and so the Magento agency you choose must be able to rise to the occasion.
Now You Know the Characteristics of the Best Magento Agencies in the world…Let’s Get to Work
Using these seven tips, you can now identify key characteristics when seeking a Magento web design agency:
- Official certifications and Adobe Partner status
- Participation in the Magento community
- Regional specialization and expertise the market
- Familiarity with your niche
- Flexible and high-quality services that rank among world-class providers
Atwix embodies these values which produce a top Magento development company. Having spent 12+ years delivering remarkable quality to our worldwide clients, we serve businesses across all verticals and operational domains. From small startups to large enterprises, we show special care for our clients by leveraging every advantage that the Magento platform has to offer. Atwix’s expertise also extends to eCommerce replatforming, ensuring a seamless transition for businesses looking to upgrade
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