Having an online e-commerce presence is one of the top goals for many online marketers. The reason is that this type of business has many advantages over a brick and motor type. For example running a business on Shopify means having an online store that is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Customers from different geographical locations and time zones can purchase your products at any time and they don’t need any attendant to do so. The success of such an enterprise depends on many factors. One of these is the setup of your online shop. A good place to start is to look for a qualified developer to start you off on the right footing. Asking potential developers the right questions will help you succeed.
Questions to ask before hiring a Shopify developer
- What is your experience in eCommerce development projects?
This question will help you to gauge the developer’s ability. A longer time may mean more experience. However, some new entrants can also be a source of new and trendier ideas. Use your judgement to decide whether you will offer or deny a developer an assignment based on this fact alone. The specifics you are looking for in the developer’s answer include:
- Other projects they have done
- A similar job to yours that they have completed
- Answers in a clear non-techie language for you to understand.
- What software do you use for setting up eCommerce stores?
Read beforehand about the type of software available for your type of project. Consider the developer’s answer and see whether your budget and user friendliness of the software are to your liking.
- Will you create a mobile site for my online shop?
More and more transactions are now completed over mobile devices. A developer should be able to make your Shopify presence available in this way. Checkout should be much faster on mobile devices and your potential developer should be able to demonstrate this to you.
- What will you do in regard to accepted international eCommerce standards?
Here you want to hear that he will be able to follow accepted guidelines that will make your business be accessible through all types of browsers in common use.
- What strategies do you have for making my shop searchable? Do you have any SEO experience to improve my sites visibility without risk of penalty from Google?
In addition to this, do you have any knowledge of how to keep my site updated all the time to avoid it being obsolete?
Here you want to hear about add-ons and plugins that make, among other jobs, updates easy.
- What are some of the special features that you will apply to my shop to make it unique?
A good developer should be able to advice you on such online matters as use of different currencies and different language options. This can attract varied client pool and improve your profits.
- What are your preferred modes of communication?
Keeping in touch with your Shopify ecommerce store developer is a must throughout the project development period. This will help you iron out any issues before the site goes live. It is at this time that progressive site testing should be carried out. Your input is vital at all stages of the development.
Here you want to be sure that your developer’s available communication methods are convenient to you considering things like language, geographical locations and time zones.
After asking all the questions you consider necessary to help you make a decision, the inevitable one has to be asked – how much will this project cost me?