Top Magento Web Development Companies

Did you know Magento powers a whopping 12% of all e-commerce websites worldwide? Why do so many businesses choose the platform to build their online stores? Here are some highlighting features of Magento that make it perfect for online businesses.

Reporting and Analytics

Generating reports is a necessary process in every business. Magento offers various in-depth reports to help merchants track their business performance, sales, and more. The data can be extremely useful in making critical business decisions.

In addition, Magento also provides analytics data that gives merchants a better understanding of how their customers interact with their stores. Here are some reports Magento allows the users to generate:

• Sales reports

• Low stock report

• Coupon usage report

• Tax report

• Search terms report

Catalog Management

Managing your product catalog is essential in any e-commerce business. Magento offers a variety of features to make catalog management easy for merchants. Some of these features include:

• Ability to create and manage product categories

• Upload multiple images for each product

• Create and manage product attributes, such as color, size, and weight

• Specify the product availability

Order Management

Magento has a suite of features that allows merchants to manage their orders effectively. These features include:

• Ability to create customer profiles

• Create and manage order statuses

• Track order history

• Automatic email notifications for different order events

Search Engine Optimization

Organic traffic is a goldmine for any online business, especially if you're in the retail industry. Magento has several SEO options, such as popular search sorting, customer sorting attributes, Google sitemaps, etc. You can use these features to ensure maximum organic traffic for high revenue generation.

Before you hire a company for Magento development, you should know which of the two versions you want to choose for building a website. For that, it's important to understand the difference between both versions.

Architecture

Previously, businesses complained about the store performance of their online stores on Magento 1. Magento 2 resolved this by using new technologies, such as Composer, Apache, and Symfony. Here are some differences between the architecture of both versions:

• Magento 2 has the most recent PHP versions that enhance the security and speed of an online store.

• The minimized JavaScript has reduced the browser operations for the clients.

• Magento 2 offers advanced browser caching.

Due to these features, Magento 2 processes 39% more orders than Magento 1 in an hour. It also has instant server response when browsing the catalog.

Customers don't want to go through long checkout processes in today's time. Instead, they want the process to be smooth and swift. Magento 2 offers 51% faster checkout times for customers.

Extensions

A common issue with Magento 1 was the conflict in extensions. If you used multiple extensions simultaneously, they would try to rewrite the same function. You could only resolve this issue manually, which was very time-consuming and costly.

Meanwhile, in Magento 2, the extensions allow code overlapping rather than overriding.

Search Engine Optimization

Although there haven't been any groundbreaking changes in Magento 2 regarding SEO, the updated version has some additional features. Some of them include:

• Mobile-Friendliness: Nowadays, almost half of the online traffic comes from mobile devices. Magento 2 takes this into account and makes the websites mobile-friendly.

• Indexing: Earlier, merchants had to manually submit their website to Google for indexing. Magento 2 does that for you and makes sure your website is indexed quickly.

• Meta Tags: Magento 2 allows you to add meta tags individually for each page. The feature was previously missing in -

• Magento 1 and affected the SEO and visibility of websites on search engines.

• Duplicate Content: The canonical tag on Magento 2 means you do not have to worry about duplicate content.

The answer to this question largely depends on your business needs and the size of your company. For example, Magento 1 is better for small businesses that are just starting out, whereas Magento 2 is better for larger businesses that want to scale their operations.

However, there are two important considerations that all businesses must keep in mind. Firstly, the cost of Magento 2 licensing is $22,000 per year, which is much higher than the $18,000 you need for Magento 1.

You should only opt for the former if you have the budget. Secondly, Magento will soon end support for Magento 1. So, you will be on your own. You may have to hire experts to deal with things that the platform's customer support team could previously resolve.

Therefore, if you have to build an online store, it's best to opt for Magento 2 since it has more features, customer support, and impressive security features.

Magento development includes creating an ecommerce store on the Magento platform. It may include customizing the look and feel of the store, adding new features or functionality, and integrating with other third-party applications.

Typically, there are two steps in the process: front-end and back-end development. Front-end development deals with the appearance of the store, while back-end development focuses on the functionality and administration of the store. Here are typical tasks associated with Magento development:

• Installing and configuring Magento for creating an e-commerce store

• Building themes for the store based on the store owner's requirements

• Adding new functionality or features to the store

• Integrating with other third-party applications

• Designing and developing custom extensions for Magento

• Optimizing the performance of the store

It's imperative to choose the right partner for Magento development since the platform is quite complex and has a lot of potential customization options. When considering a partner, you should look for the following.

Extensive Experience

Magento has evolved notably over the past few years, so it's important to work with a partner with extensive experience in developing stores on the platform.

Technical Expertise

The Magento development company should have in-depth knowledge of Magento's codebase and be able to write code that is compliant with Magento's best practices.

Ongoing Support

Your online store will require ongoing maintenance and support. Thus, you should work with a company that can provide this long-term.

Good Communication

The partner should be communicative and be able to translate your requirements into actionable tasks. Keep in mind that the layout and functionality of your online store will predominantly determine the success of your business. So, you need a company that aligns with your objectives.

When you outsource Magento development, you need to be involved excessively to ensure the outcome is according to your preferences and requirements. The development company you choose should also be communicative enough to ensure you're up-to-date with the project status and any changes that are being made.

Here are some things you need to provide to the development firm:

Detailed Brief: The brief should include details about the e-commerce store layout, integrations, and functionality. What do you want the final store to be like? Which extensions should it integrate with?

Seamless Communication: You cannot expect to hand over the project to the Magento development firm and only get back in touch on the deadline. Instead, you must be available for communication and updates to ensure the outcome is exactly how you wanted.

Feedback: Providing feedback is an integral part of any project. If you're not satisfied with the changes or upgrades, convey this to the development firm. Don't wait until the last day to voice your concerns, as it will only delay the project and create a nuisance for all parties involved.

To understand how much Magento development costs, you need to know which costs are involved in the process. First and foremost, you have to pay for the platform itself.

Magento Community Edition: Downloading this edition is free. You can download and set up your Magento store whenever you want. However, you'd have to spend money on hosting, domain, development, and design. Together, this can cost you around $15,000.

Magento Enterprise Edition: The Enterprise Edition has a number of features, such as the cloud. However, the edition is quite expensive. The plan starts from $22,000. If you want to include the cloud, the pricing begins at $40,000.

Besides paying the company for store development, you'd also have to include the cost of design and maintenance. For instance, if you want to use a pre-built theme, it can cost you up to $200 or more. If you choose to work with a front-end development company for customization, the total cost can be anywhere from $50,000 a year to $60,000 per year.

After that, you also have to factor in the cost of extensions. They can range in price from $50 to $500, depending on the complexity and functionality of the plugins.

When outsourcing Magento development, make sure you discuss all these costs with the development company and get the full quote. It's best to work with a company that's transparent about its pricing and gives you the final quote rather than hitting you with hidden charges later in the process.

If it's your first time outsourcing Magento development, you should be familiar with some common mistakes companies make during the process.

Not Having a Clear Plan in Place

One of the most common mistakes is not having a clear plan in place. It can lead to misunderstandings and problems down the line. Make sure you have a detailed plan, including what you want, what you're expecting from the development agency, and what you can provide them to make their task easier.

Not Checking References

It's important to get references from past clients and speak with them to get an idea of how the company works.

Not Being Clear on Requirements

In addition, make sure you are clear on your requirements. Outline everything you need, including functionality, design, and timeframe. It will help avoid any misunderstandings or delays.

Finding the right partner for Magento development can be complicated, especially if you're building your first-ever online business. Fortunately, Xpeer removes this roadblock, connecting you to top Magento development firms that can exceed your expectations.

Since Xpeer finds pre-vetted and reliable companies for you to partner with, you don't have to go through the additional hassle of vetting the company. Even after you've hired the firm, Xpeer stays by your side, ensuring you have a seamless experience.