Usually, when you think about developing a website, you are going to think about money first. Truly, too much depends on the developers who are going to craft the website for you. However, the range of payments is very broad, so we might be looking at something between $8 hour per hour to $200 per hour depending on the location and qualification of a Magento developer. The most important thing is to choose the most appropriate Magento developer, and this article is going to talk about the details of the selection process.
Low Rate vs High Rate
Therefore, it is important that the hourly rate that you pay to guys is the rate you can afford. However, be warned against $10-hour Magento developers because a professional with great Magento skills will cost you more hourly pay, but less billed hours, which generally makes the same budget but a better and quicker realization. So, for Magento developers of the majority of Magento development agency, we are looking at $25 to $40 per hour pay. If you are looking to develop a custom solution and are getting the offer of $10 to $20 per hour, beware of such an offer! Magento development is not the cheapest development, and the developer who spent years learning Magento and uses Magento EE code is likely to have invested thousands of dollars in own education and practice. The detailed hourly rate of Magento developers by region you can see on the world map below.
The only thing that lacks here on the map is the average hourly pay of Magento developers in Eastern Europe. And you are going to like this number. In Ukraine, Magento developers are generally paid between $25 and $40 per hour, which is considerably cheaper than any other country but the qualifications of Ukrainian developers are Western, just the life in Ukraine costs less, therefore, it is easier to find a highly qualified developer with an affordable hourly rate.
Front End vs Back End
When you are searching for a Magento developer, you are going to be asked what developer do you need exactly. At this point, there is a need to be aware of the difference between front-end developers and back-end developers.
The main difference between the two types is that front-end developers design the software that the user interacts with while backend developers design the software that helps the apps to work great. Frontend developers are incredibly human while backend developers are working behind the scenes and focus on security and reliability. Of course, to make the project shine, there is a need to have a professional combo of specialists of both types.
In other words, front-end developers build Magento templates that make the online store attractive. Frontend developers ensure that the users are happy to use the online store and are likely to come back again. Frontenders make sure that the online store is user-friendly, and is optimized for all devices. On the contrary, the back-end developer ensures smooth cooperation of a server, an application, and a database. The back-end part is not seen by the customers, but it is a solid base for what they see and use on the website. It is backend engineers who implement extensions and write custom modules and make sure that the online store is great and safe to use.
Technical Skills vs Soft Skills
Magento development requires intense technical skills as well as the ability to work in a team. Moreover, it is easier and more pleasant to work with a developer who is able to ensure humane communication. For a sake of the project, the project should be worked on with a team of developers who work together well. Even if you search for one Magento developer to finish the development, it is important to hire a professional who is able to integrate all business processes into a powerful Magento platform.
Often, to create an online store on the Magento platform, developers need to know the following:
- Magento solutions that are already available and be ready to craft new solutions for the individual project.
- For front-end programming, a developer needs to know such languages as HTML, CSS, and Javascript. It is also very desirable that front-end developers follow recent design trends and are good at color theory.
- For backend programming, developers should be comfortable with developing using Java, Python, PHP, Go, and Ruby. For backend developers, it is highly recommended to have analytic skills so that the developers can find a solution to sudden technical problems.
Certifications
It is definitely a good sign when a Magento developer has Magento certifications. Major Magento certifications are:
- Magento 2 Certified Solution Specialist
- Magento 2 Certified Professional Front End Developer
- Magento 2 Certified Professional Developer
- Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer
- Magento 2 Certified Professional Developer Plus
- Magento 2 Certified Professional Cloud Developer
- Magento Certification
Of course, having a certificate does not replace expertise or technical skills or creative thinking. However, if a Magento developer has one, this means that he or she has already invested in developing Magento programming skills and therefore such a developer is more likely to do a great job with your project. Read our view - does it make sense to hire Magento certified developers?
In-house vs Agency vs Freelance - Magento Developers Salary
Practically, there are three ways to approach Magento store development: you can choose between In-house, Agency, or Freelance development. Each of these approaches has got its own advantages and disadvantages.
To start with, the in-house team is the best way to develop a custom and complex Magento solution. Thus, you are going to have prolific experience right in your office with people who are well aware of your needs and culture. In this case, the development process is going to be fast and totally controlled by you as a customer. You will be able to assign tasks to certain developers and add/change the features you want to be in the project. However, in-house development is pretty costly. Every change, even the smallest one, is still going to impact the bill but with the in-house team, you will need to ensure sick pay, vacation days, and health insurance. Therefore, hiring an in-house team to develop a Magento project is a great choice for a big company that is going to need its project to be supported.
The opposite variant to having an in-house team is hiring a freelancer. Freelancers are individual contractors, who earn from doing various and multiple projects, usually many projects at the same time. So, while the costs of hiring a freelancer are going to be less than that for hiring a team, freelancers might not be available when you need them, or their cultural code and values might be so different from yours that it might create tensions in decision making. Outsourcing to freelancers might be risky, and the risks of outsourcing are well described in our blog article.
The golden mean here is to hire a Magento development agency. With this choice, you are paying less than having to manage the in-house team and still have higher control over the process of development compared to that with the freelancer. First of all, Magento development companies have all tools and technologies to make top-notch projects. In addition, Magento developers have a chance to apply their knowledge and skills to your project. In addition, the communication with agencies is usually more effective because Magento development agencies, such as SoftLoft, always have a project manager to handle the project, add or change the features and make sure that the project is completed on time.
Staff Augmentation: Why Not?
Though there is another approach that aims to boost the skills of the staff as a team. This approach is staff augmentation. To start with, staff augmentation is different from outsourcing. While outsourcing is hiring the entire team to complete a task, the staff augmentation is based on the idea to add only the skills to the team that it lacks. Such an approach helps to leverage the existing resources of the team. For example, you can add one Magento developer to your team to boost the necessary skills of the team. Otherwise, you can hire the entire Magento development agency to fulfill the assigned task and thus boost the entire project. Moreover, contracting Magento agency is one of the best cost-effective solutions, i.e. it allows to get the best possible result with the minimized number of resources used. In addition, the advantages of the staff augmentation approach are flexibility and scalability. More details on the underwater rocks of the staff augmentation are discussed in one of our blog posts.
The Best Candidate
Of course, the best candidate is the one that fits your project and your budget. However, it is better to always remember common sense. At this point, it is better to think about Ukrainian Magento developers from SoftLoft, who are qualified enough to produce great code and have the same cultural values with rate of $25 to $50 hours per hour. Need more details? Contact us to get a free consultation on how to build your perfect team.
