So you took the leap and signed up for Shopify Plus. Even if you were a little apprehensive at first, whatever doubts you had were quickly squashed when your Shopify online store sales began to skyrocket.
Now your sales are higher than ever before, and you’re working hard to keep up with new orders and make sure everything gets out on time. The hustle is exciting—and so is the paycheck—but at some point, things are going to level out, right?
Well, not exactly.
As e-commerce sales grow and expand, so should the companies. Sometimes this means hiring new associates, creating more stores or taking on a partner. And sometimes this means hiring a Shopify Plus development company to help you streamline your process and make your high-demand sales rate more manageable.
So if you’re considering new ways to expand your e-commerce business now that you’ve integrated to Shopify Plus, it’s important to know when you need to hire a Shopify Plus development company.
Shopify VS Shopify Plus
Most e-commerce businesses are familiar with Shopify. This innovative platform makes it easier than ever to open and run online stores and shops. It’s no wonder that more than a million businesses rely on it to sell their products and reach new customers. The Shopify platform enables you to sell, ship and process payments anywhere.
Typically, people use the basic Shopify platform service for startups and small businesses with fewer than two retail stores. But you can only operate in that space for so long. In order to keep up with the increased volume and more customers, it’s necessary to upgrade your platform to one that can handle a higher magnitude.
That’s where Shopify Plus comes in.
An e-commerce business with high volume might consider Shopify Plus if they need to replatform to accommodate more sales and customers. While integrating to the new site is easy thanks to Shopify’s shorter replatforming timeline and lower cost, growing it from there can be tricky. Especially if this is your first time running a company of this size.
If you’re lost or unsure of how to keep up with this new pressure and high demand, a Shopify Plus development company can help.
Benefits Of Hiring A Shopify Developer
Business owners have a tendency to want to do everything themselves. From setting up their shop to learning the backend coding for their site, it’s easy to think that all the responsibilities of running your shop should fall into your lap.
But that’s just not a realistic workload for a single human being to share.
The larger your e-commerce store grows, the more help you’ll need. A Shopify Development Company can take some of the more time-consuming and aggravating (especially if you don’t possess an I.T. degree) tasks off of your plate so you can focus on building your business.
In fact, it’s really just a smarter business decision to hire an expert instead of trying to figure it out yourself. Getting a professional to take over the projects you’re not qualified to lead will save you so much time and money in the long run. You won’t have to worry about little mistakes you didn’t catch or major tech issues coming up.
Shopify development companies work solely on Shopify websites. So they can provide the kind of specific and unparalleled insights necessary to come up with solutions for your tech issues and get your website operating as efficiently as possible. They have an extensive library of knowledge when it comes to Shopify, and having their expertise in your corner will only make your store that much better.
Plus, why spend your days trying to learn how to code if you don’t have to, right?
What Does A Shopify Plus Development Company Do?
Shopify Plus gets a lot of hype and praise for its customization options and personalization opportunities. The Shopify Store even allows merchants to create apps for their customers that can build customer loyalty and increase sales.
However, making the most of those features requires a little bit of knowledge on how to run the backend of a site and code. A lot of e-commerce business owners are not savvy in this skill, which is where a development company can be of great assistance.
A Shopify Development Company can do a wide variety of things. But mainly they help merchants and e-commerce business owners integrate and build technical solutions. They can create apps that extend your online platform and give customers another way to purchase. They can also help you further customize your store so it matches your brand and overall customer experience.
Here are a couple of common services you’ll find Shopify Plus developers advertising:
- Xero Integration
- Headless
- Quick Launch Kits
- Fulfillment Integrations
- App Creation
- Shipping Solutions
- Personalization
- Marketing Automation
- Fraud and Risk Management
- Website Management
- Consulting
- eCommerce Strategy
- UX Design and Development
- Paid Social
- Accessibility Compliance
- Custom Integrations
- Optimization Strategy
- Website Audit
- And more
Shopify Plus partners with vetted developers to connect businesses with a developer that can properly meet their needs.
How To Choose A Shopify Plus Developer
So, you’ve decided it’s best to hire a professional Shopify Plus development company to manage a certain aspect of your business or to help you create more solutions for your customers. How do you go about finding and vetting developers so you find the best fit for your next project?
In general, you’ll want to make sure that your Shopify development company exclusively works with Shopify. That way, you know you’re getting that necessary focused knowledge on the platform rather than a general developer who has worked in a couple of Shopify sites. They also should have knowledge and experience in Shopify’s APO as well as PHP and JavaScript.
If a development company has those basics, you should be fine. But it would sweeten the deal if you could find a developer who also has the following items to share.
Good Communication
No matter what kind of position you’re hiring for or outsourcing, communication skills are key to a supportive and positive working partnership. You want a developer who clearly communicates what they’re doing and where they are at in the timeline of your project.
It’s stressful to hire a developer who you don’t hear from for weeks or months. Finding someone who can be more responsive and transparent will save you so many headaches.
A Solid Portfolio Of Work
If you’re using Shopify Plus, now is not the time to take a chance on a new developer. You want someone who has a proven track record or working with many Shopify sites and on the specific types of projects that you’re hiring them for.
Don’t be afraid to ask for examples when you’re vetting potential developers. That way you can click around on the website yourself and test to see how functional and accessible it really is. It can be a little time-consuming to go through this process, but it’s worth it to find a developer that you’re confident in.
Plenty Of Testimonials
Similar to the portfolio of work, you also want to make sure that your developer has some satisfied customers. Read through the reviews they have on their website (proceed with caution if they have no reviews), and look for ones that are in a similar business as yours.
If they’ve worked a lot in your industry, that’s a good sign that they’ll be a solid fit for your business.
Other things to look for in developers include:
- Post-development support plans to help you navigate any problems that occur down the line
- A unique approach to your project type to avoid looking too similar to other sites
- A satisfaction guarantee to make sure you’re not left hanging if you don’t like the work.
Get The Most Out Of Shopify With a Development Company
Shopify is robust on its own, but if you really want to maximize your eCommerce business and streamline your sales, enlisting the help of a Shopify Plus development company is worth the investment.
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Sean Richards is the VP of Strategy & Partnerships for Vincit. Prior to Vincit, Richards provided business development, digital marketing strategy and partnership development at several reputable companies and marketing agencies in both California and Arizona. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Design Management from Arizona State University.
