10 Signs Your Magento Developers Don’t Know What They Are Doing


Magento is a complex platform that demands a well-thought-out approach and high level of expertise from the development team. Even the smallest mistake can lead to big problems in the future and harm your conversions.

Finding dedicated developers is not easy. But it’s even harder to make sure they do everything right. Below you will find a checklist of the most obvious signs that something is wrong with your Magento development team and how to fix the issues.

10 Signs Your Magento Developers Don’t Know What They Are Doing

1. The Implementation Does Not Match Your Vision

As a client, you have a big idea and a certain vision on its implementation. Unfortunately, your Magento developers may not understand you.

That leads to a complete mismatch between the project in your head and the project in reality. As a result, you get prolonged deadlines and spend too much time and money on fixing the problems.

What to do?

If your team is willing to help you but simply does not understand what you want, that means you have problems with communication.

Here are a few ideas on resolving the issue:

  • Write User Stories and then discuss them to come up with the best possible way of implementation,
  • Schedule regular meetings and make sure everyone understands their task,
  • Break down big tasks into smaller ones to ensure every step is done right.

However, if your team understands your vision but keeps doing things their way, it may mean the developers aren’t suitable. In this case, it would be better to change the team.

2. The Website is Too Slow

The Magento platform has complex functionality that requires good knowledge and skills from the developers.

So if your store underperforms, that means developers do not know how to optimize it and are not able to identify the problem. And this will inevitably drag your conversions down.

What to do?

The best thing you can do is request a performance audit from another Magento development company. In this case, you will be sure no mistake is left unseen. As well, you will receive a detailed list of all the issues found and recommended suggestions on how to boost the speed of your store.

3. Sloppy Coding

The sloppy code generates bugs, slows down the store, and leads to major losses in traffic and conversions.

The reason for that may be either lack of experience or “cowboy coding” when developers sacrifice quality for speed.

What to do?

If your team is not experienced enough, then the only possible solution would be to change it. Otherwise, you risk wasting money and time and never get the work done.

4. Zero Initiative

Good developers are curious and enthusiastic. Though seemingly overrated, these qualities are important in the world of software development.

When a developer faces an issue, he may find the easiest way to resolve it – or he may dedicate some time to think about all possible solutions and assess the possible future benefits.

The enthusiastic and dedicated approach results in quality and minimizes the risk of errors in the future. So if your developers do only what you ask them to and pay zero interest to work, you may be in trouble.

What to do?

If you are satisfied with the work they deliver, then do nothing. Seriously.

However, if you feel like they can do a bit more in terms of development, address the issue to the team or the Project Manager.

5. Too Many Bugs

This issue is related to the sloppy code. A big number of bugs is a sure sign the code is poorly written and developers do not know what they are doing.

Of course, bugs occur because there is no such thing as perfect code. But if there are too many of them, then it’s time to beat the drum.

What to do?

Same as with sloppy code, the best thing you can do is change the development team. But first, make sure the new team delivers high-quality code, otherwise, you will end up in the same situation.

6. Poor Communication

If you have a constant feeling like your Magento team does not listen to you and you can never come to an agreement, this is a big red flag.

Poor communication leads to an array of problems: missed deadlines, mismatch in expectations vs reality, losses in product quality. And this is one of the primary issues to address when collaborating with a development team.

What to do?

Establish regular meetings and set a clear deadline and project scope for every sprint. As well, the project has to be “transparent”: you have to be fully aware of what’s going on at every stage. This will help you better understand the project insights and estimate the current project status.

7. The “Meh” Attitude

Lack of enthusiasm and unwillingness to resolve the issues results in poor quality of work.

If developers do not feel the urge to resolve the issues and do not display any signs of creativity, that may seriously hurt your project. For you, as a store owner, it is crucial that your store stands out from the competition and generates conversions. But how will that be possible if developers do not want to raise the bar?

What to do?

One of the reasons may be lack of motivation. Double-check whether you provide comfortable working conditions and sufficient bonuses.

Another reason may be, once again, poor communication. We have already described the possible solutions above.

The final reason may be a personal attitude. If this is the case and it hurts the project, better look for another team.

8. No Use of Third-Party Extensions

Magento has plenty of built-in features but most of them do not have sufficient performance. This is why developers often use third-party extensions to expand functionality and boost store performance.

Even though these extensions are often paid, they deliver high ROI and can significantly impact conversions. So if your developers do not use them, that’s not a good thing.

What to do?

First, identify the reason for this problem. It may be that the team is satisfied with the current performance of the store or the use of third-party services would be irrelevant. In case the team can justify their actions and prove that performance does not depend on these extensions, everything is fine.

But if the team does not know about these plugins or does not want to implement them because it would be additional work, it’s time to look for other developers who will be more dedicated to the project.

9. KPIs Do Not Grow

KPIs help you see whether the project goes in the right direction and meets your business goals. By monitoring them, you can optimize your store and plan further actions.

If the team tells you they are doing the stellar job but the KPIs remain the same, that’s one big issue that you need to address immediately.

What to do?

Make sure that you set the right KPIs and track them right. It may happen that the team does everything correctly but you cannot see that because you monitor completely different things. In this case, sit down with the team and go through every KPI, making sure the team understands you.

But in case the team understands the goals and you are monitoring the KPIs right, then the team simply does not do the work as needed.

10. Implementation Exceeds Estimates

Constantly missed deadlines and project postponement are extremely annoying. Your marketing team is ready, your salespeople are ready, and your development team is not.

This is the case when the implementation of project goals exceeds estimated deadlines. And such delays may cost you a significant amount of money and lost opportunities in terms of promotion.

What to do?

If that’s a constant problem, change the team. Otherwise, you will end up paying for a dead horse.

But how do you know if the Magento developers team is experienced?

You never know until you try. Luckily, there are a few things you can do that will help you in choosing the best development team for your store:

  • Contact previous clients and ask for their opinion,
  • Ask for a portfolio to make sure the team knows how to approach your project,
  • Do not hesitate to ask any questions – professionals will always give you honest and detailed answers,
  • Talk to the developers in person and see whether they would be a good fit for your team.

And remember: personal attitude is as important as professional traits. After all, you will entrust these people with your idea so make sure you feel comfortable working with them.

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