Hire A Shopify Developer

Over a third of remote workers are freelancers, and hiring an independent contractor can be easier than finding someone to work in-house. If you need to hire a Shopify web developer, consider a freelancer.

Not only will you not have to hire them for full-time work, but you have access to more candidates.

But having more candidates to review can take time. So consider what you can to do to make hiring a Shopify web developer less stressful.

Location, Location, Location

Before you start looking for the perfect Shopify web developer for your website, you need to consider your location. But you don’t need to hire someone in your city or state.

Freelancing websites attract freelancers and clients from all over the world. You can find someone from anywhere in the world, so you can find the Shopify developer that you are looking for.

Hiring a Shopify developer in the same time zone can make it easier communicate quickly. However, you may find that you prefer the work of someone on the other side of the world.

Location is important, but you should consider it along with other factors, such as the Shopify developer’s skillset.

Focus on Skill Level

Of course, a Shopify expert will be able to do more things and add more features than a beginner. Because of this, you should consider how much experience the website developer has with Shopify.

You may find a general web developer who can work with Shopify. But if they don’t have specialized skills, they may not be able to finish developing your site as quickly.

You should consider what you want or need your Shopify site to do. That way, you can tell your Shopify developer about those needs.

If you want to add lots of products, you should hire someone who can manage that. On the other hand, you should hire a developer with experience installing multiple payment gateways if you want to give your customers that flexibility.

Review Their Development Portfolio

One of the best things you can do before hiring a Shopify developer is to review their development portfolio. A reputable Shopify expert should have no problem showing you what they’ve done in the past.

You can look at the portfolio to make sure the developer can do a variety of things. If all of their sites look the same, odds are yours will end up very similar.

But if a prospective freelancer has a diverse portfolio, they probably know how to customize sites well.

You can also review a freelancer’s portfolio to see their overall style. Even if they make two Shopify sites look very different, there may be some elements that you like from each example.

If you don’t like any of their designs, odds are the freelancer isn’t the Shopify web developer for you.

Ask About Their Process

After you look at a developer’s portfolio and decide you want to move forward, you should come up with some questions. You don’t have to go as in-depth as with a traditional job interview.

But now’s the time to get a sense of how that Shopify web developer does things.

Shopify lets you test orders and create different products and apps. You can also connect your store to a custom domain name.

However, every Shopify expert can have their own process for how they do those things. Some developers might do those steps in one order, while others will have a different workflow.

If you know that you need to get multiple product listings to go live, you should look for a Shopify web developer who will focus on products first. On the other hand, you may want to focus on the basics of the site before you add products.

Make sure that you understand how the developer will complete the different steps. Then, you can start off on the right page with your store.

Ensure Regular Updates

Developing a Shopify site can take a while, but you should stay on top of it every step of the way. Before hiring a Shopify developer, you need to make sure they communicate with you.

You don’t have to message them every hour, but daily or weekly updates are essential. If you let the developer work on their own for the entire project, they make develop a site that you don’t like.

Then, you’ll have to have them redo the entire thing. All of that extra work can cost you more money, and it can delay your Shopify launch date.

You should review the Shopify developer’s work each week to make sure you like it and that they’re making good progress. If not, you can talk things out and answer any questions they have.

The more you communicate before and during the project, the better your chances are of loving the end result. Plus, you can make regular payments on the project so that you don’t have to pay a lump sum at the end.

And if a freelancer stops communicating, you can look for another freelancer to take the job.

Consider Ongoing Maintenance

The work of a Shopify web developer doesn’t stop after the initial website build. Unless you’re willing to learn the ins and outs of Shopify, you will need your developer for ongoing maintenance.

Sometimes that’s as simple as monitoring the most popular pages and making the others look like them. Other times, it might involve reworking pages with broken links.

If you don’t want to waste your time with this, don’t hire a Shopify expert who isn’t willing to work with you in the future. Make sure you outline any terms related to future work, such as payment and turnaround time.

You should also hire someone who stays on top of Shopify trends and updates. If Shopify makes a change that affects the look of your site, a Shopify expert will be able to make any adjustments.

Whenever you have problems with your site, you can contact your Shopify web developer for help. As long as they communicate with you, they should be able to fix the problem in no time.

The Right Shopify Web Developer

Hiring a Shopify web developer can be overwhelming, but you can make the process easier by considering a few things. If you know how to hire a Shopify developer, you can weed out freelancers who don’t have the right qualifications.

Do you need to hire a Shopify developer? Sign up for a client account to find a freelancer today.