How to Choose the Best WooCommerce Developer for Your Online Store

The US leads the global e-commerce market with nearly 2,553,000 online stores, and hundreds of thousands of new online stores enter the market every year.

WooCommerce is a perfect platform to launch your online shop in this increasingly competitive industry. It’s open source, scalable, and fully customizable.

But if you want your online store to stay competitive, you need more than just a basic solution. That’s where WooCommerce website developers can help. They can create a store that matches your brand and business goals.

But how do you choose a website developer for your WooCommerce store? How will you know if they’re a right fit? Let’s find out.

How Does a WooCommerce Website Developer Help

The key responsibilities of a WooCommerce developer include:

Personalized Themes: WooCommerce is based on WordPress, which has thousands of free and premium themes. These themes are a good starting point, but you need a unique design to stand out from your competition. A WooCommerce website designer can help you customize a theme to match your brand’s look.
Plugins: WooCommerce has a plugin for almost every feature, from dynamic pricing to product filters and security. Your developer can set up and even customize each plugin, making your store more user-friendly.
Payment Gateways: A WooCommerce developer can integrate payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal into your store. They can customize, maintain, and troubleshoot any issues related to payment gateways.
Security: E-commerce stores are always at security risk as they handle sensitive personal and financial information. Without a WooCommerce-certified developer, your store may be more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Speed and Performance: In a world where instant gratification is the norm, your store must load in seconds and work smoothly on all devices. Professional developers help you build a responsive, fast-loading website that keeps attracting new customers.
Custom Development: Sometimes, you need custom features and solutions specific to your business needs. Only a professional WooCommerce developer can help you create them.
Maintenance: Creating an e-commerce store is not a set-it-and-forget-it solution. It requires constant upgrades, fine-tuning, and security audits, which is a time-consuming and demanding task. You can’t do it without the help of a team of developers.

To sum it up, a WooCommerce website developer helps you build and maintain a unique, secure, and scalable online store. This helps you stay in front of your competitors.

How to Choose a Website Developer for Your WooCommerce Store

Hiring a WooCommerce website developer will benefit you in the long run, but not all of them are made equal. You’ll have to look for someone with the right balance of technical and interpersonal skills. Let’s start with the technical skills first.

Technical Skills

Look for WooCommerce-Specific Experience

WooCommerce is based on WordPress, but when looking for a developer, check their WooCommerce-specific skills.

A general WordPress developer may not have the same skills or real-life knowledge as their WooCommerce counterpart.They should have:

Strong command of PHP, which lays the foundation of both WooCommerce and WordPress.
In-depth knowledge of front-end languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Used MySQL and Rest API, among other technologies.
Working knowledge of on-site SEO.

In addition to this, the developer should know WooCommerce-specific plugins, extensions, and themes. Ask for a portfolio showcasing the stores they’ve worked on, ideally in your niche.

Check out client testimonials and, if possible, speak with their clients. WooCommerce developers who have handled many projects (similar to yours) will readily adapt to your requirements. So, look for a proven track record.

Gauge Their Customization Skills

Cookie-cutter e-commerce solutions don’t work anymore. People are looking for personalized online experiences, with 72% saying they’re more likely to buy from a brand if it consistently provides them with one.

In other words, your WooCommerce developer should be comfortable building custom themes, plugins, payment gateways, and extensions. Relying only on pre-built solutions isn’t going to help you boost your conversions in the long run.

When hiring a WooCommerce website developer, confirm their experience with customized solutions.

Reviewing their portfolio will tell you how extensive their experience is and whether they can provide the features you wish to see in your e-commerce store.

Confirm Their Website Security Knowledge

All online stores are equally vulnerable to cyberattacks. In fact, 70% of the ransomware targeted SMBs, which means your store could be next.

Your WooCommerce developer should have a solid understanding of the latest cyberthreats and how to counter them.Look for someone who can help you:

Maintain a clean and secure code to reduce the risk of vulnerabilities.
Install and monitor firewalls, malware scanning, and threat detection tools.
Integrate WooCommerce security plugins.

Additionally, they should keep your website, particularly payment gateways, compliant with the latest guidelines like PCI DSS.

Seasoned WooCommerce experts stay ahead of the latest security patches and upgrades and monitor your website to ward off emerging cyber threats.

Ask About Ongoing Maintenance and Support

Launching your WooCommerce store is just the beginning. To keep working at its best, your website is going to need regular updates, bug fixes, and consistent monitoring.

The developer will have to perform security and health audits to identify potential issues before they escalate.Work with a developer who can offer regular WooCommerce maintenance, such as:

Timely updates for WooCommerce core, plugins, and themes.
Proactive bug fixes and troubleshooting.
Round-the-clock performance monitoring and weekly and monthly health checks.

Be sure the developer is proactive rather than reactive. Reactive maintenance is expensive, more demanding, and leads to unplanned downtime.

Look for an all-inclusive, human-led WooCommerce maintenance service like WP Autopilot. It helps you save thousands and keeps your store running smoothly.

Soft Skills

Industry-Specific Problem-Solving Skills

Hiring a WooCommerce website developer with strong problem-solving skills is a huge plus. E-commerce is a competitive industry, and you need someone who can understand your unique business perspective and translate it into technical solutions.

Whether you sell B2B products or subscription-based services, the developer should be able to customize your store to meet your goals.

Let’s say you sell digital downloadable products. During the initial consultation, ask, “Have you worked with stores in my industry?”

The answer will give insight into their capability to handle your project. The right WooCommerce developer will make recommendations to build a functional and stand-out e-commerce site.

Communication Skills

Open, proactive communication is the backbone of any successful web project. When building your website, look for a WooCommerce developer with sound communication skills.

If you’re building a new store or migrating one to WooCommerce, the developer should keep you in the loop at every step. They should communicate any changes in time, share progress reports, and discuss the challenges (if any).

WooCommerce maintenance also requires proactive communication. Your developer should share weekly and monthly website health reports and discuss any updates or new additions well in advance. This gives you time to plan your budget and strategy.

Collaboration Skills

Building a website is teamwork. Yes, your WooCommerce developer will handle their share of the work, but your inputs are equally important. The best results can be achieved when the developer sees you as a partner, not just a client.

When talking to a WooCommerce website developer, ask how they plan to use your insights into building the store.

Remember, a professional developer will encourage you to share constructive feedback and incorporate your ideas into building the solution.

If you’re still unsure, ask the developer to complete a trial task before committing to a full project. This’ll help you evaluate:

Work quality
Communication style
Problem solving approach
Time management (turnaround time)

It’s a low risk way to gauge their soft skills before you make a long-term commitment.

Freelancers Vs Agency: Which Is Better?

When you start looking for a WooCommerce developer based on the above tips, you’ll come across two options: freelancers and agencies.

Which is better is a never-ending debate. But you do need to consider the pros and cons of each before taking the call.

Freelancer

Working with a freelancer is a good idea if you’re on a tight budget. They charge considerably less than most agencies and are typically more flexible.

Pros:

They’re more budget-friendly and hence perfect if you’re testing a new idea.
Flexible when it comes to work schedule.
They may provide a more personal approach.

Cons:

Availability can be an issue, especially if they’re working on other projects.
They have inherent skill limitations. One freelancer can only do so much.
You could miss your deadline if they fall sick or are unreachable.

WooCommerce Agency

Hire an agency for fully custom WooCommerce development services. You work with a team of seasoned developers, designers, and SEO experts, which means faster development and greater scalability.

Pros:

Team-based approach; perfect for complex e-commerce projects.
A wider pool of resources means quick, 24/7 support.
No need to manage multiple freelancers. You get one point of contact.

Cons:

Typically costs more than freelancers.
May slow down quick changes or personalization as they’re more process-driven.

The final call depends on your budget, project requirement, and timeline. If it’s a complex project with a tight deadline, you’re better off hiring an agency.

Want the Best WooCommerce Developer for Your Store? Let’s Talk

Building your e-commerce website starts with finding the right WooCommerce developer. They should be technically sound with a proven track record. It’s a plus if they’ve worked on similar projects before.

They must also have soft skills, particularly problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. Look for a developer or an agency that ticks all these boxes.

If you’re looking for an agency, your search ends at CoSpark. We’re a team of leading industry experts who’ve worked with clients from all walks of life.

We can help you with custom WooCommerce development, website migration, and ongoing maintenance. Contact us to schedule your consultation.

FAQs

Q: Do I need a WooCommerce-certified developer?

A: This certification is a symbol of trust and credibility, but it isn’t the only factor. You’ll need to consider your budget, project requirements, and the developer’s experience and specialization.

Q: What’s the average cost of hiring a WooCommerce developer?

A: Freelancers can charge as low as $25 an hour. Agencies, on the other hand, may offer project-based pricing or an hourly rate. Some might ask for monthly retainers.

Q: Can WooCommerce developers help with SEO and performance?

A: Yes, especially if they’re full-stack or part of an agency with in-house SEO experts.