Choose the Right Certified Magento Agency for Your Business

When looking for a certified Magento agency, you can start by checking the list of accredited Adobe partners — but you shouldn’t choose a Magento partner simply by looking at names in a directory or checking certification titles. This is where the research begins. 

Once you read the agency profiles from Adobe’s list of partners and find some agencies you’re interested in, it’s time to narrow your research to a few key areas:

• What type of development services do they specialize in?
• What eCommerce businesses have they worked with in the past? 
• What do previous clients say about them?

Doing this research upfront gives you a better chance of finding the best Magento development company that’s compatible with your eCommerce business; one that can work with you on the projects you’re interested in now, and help you update and optimize your eCommerce website as it evolves. 

But most importantly, the right Magento agency will take the time to learn the ins and outs of your business, your short and long-term goals, and the role your Magento website plays in your day-to-day operations. The best Magento agency acts as an integral partner to support your website vision and eCommerce goals.   

In this post, we talk about: 

• Best practices for finding the right certified Magento agency for your business 
• Our agency, IronPlane, and three case studies that highlight past projects
• FAQs on researching and hiring certified Magento developers

You can also schedule a free consultation with IronPlane to talk about the goals for your Magento store and see if we’re the right Magento development agency for your business.

Researching Certified Magento Agencies

There are many certified Magento agencies on Adobe's partner directory, and although you can start your search by looking at the specific certifications they have, it can still be tough to identify the agency that best fits your needs. 

Here are a few ways you can research certified Magento agencies:

First, read online reviews of the Magento agencies that look promising to you. There are sometimes reviews and ratings published on Adobe's directory, but you can also vet third-party review sites and Magento communities to find feedback on popular agencies. 

Reading reviews helps you understand each agency’s skills and validate their expertise. You can assess the services each agency offers (e.g., Magento migration, custom module development, integrations with CRM/ERP, etc.) and identify the ones that meet your requirements. 

These review sites are a first step. Generally speaking the larger the agency, the more reviews, and the more effort they can put into encouraging positive reviews from their best clients. So while it’s  certainly a factor to consider, it should be treated as one of many.

Next, look into case studies. Visit each agency’s website and check for testimonials and customer success stories. Specifically, look for case studies that are similar to the website projects you have in mind for your eCommerce business.

Consider the following: 

• Have they completed similar work in the past (and had success)? 
• What are the challenges they helped other brands overcome? 
• Do they have experience with B2B and B2C businesses? 

The right Magento agency partner will have a proven track record of successful partnerships with other businesses. Some agencies won’t have all of their projects listed on their website, so be sure to ask follow up questions when you connect with them to get the latest information about their work.

Read more: B2B Magento Developer: IronPlane’s Approach

Once you’ve narrowed down your options, start scheduling consultation calls with the Magento agencies you’re most interested in. At this stage, you can ask more nuanced questions about their services and process — it’s important here to gauge the responsiveness and helpfulness of an agency.

Specifically, consider: 

• How easy are they to schedule time with? 
• Do they feel confident they could tackle the projects you’re requesting? 
• How do updates and pricing work? 
• Are the people you interact with knowledgeable, efficient, and helpful?

Getting a feel for the agency is important, but you should also ask direct questions about their approach to the work they do for their clients.

Here are the six most important questions to ask:

1. Who will you be working with on a day-to-day basis? And will this person change at any point during the client relationship? For example, some agencies provide their top talent for the initial project and then shift you to a support team.
   
   
2. How are communications managed between client and agency? In particular, is there a ticketing system in place and what type of access does the client have to this tool?
   
   
3. What type of code repository management is used by the agency?
   
   
4. Do all projects have development, staging, and QA environments in addition to the live site?
   
   
5. What are their escalation procedures for addressing client concerns?
   
   
6. In a typical project, what percentage of the effort is spent doing coding, versus testing, versus project management?

After you’ve had a chance to meet with each agency, and get all of your questions answered, the last step is to ask for referrals from past clients. A reliable agency should be able to connect you with past (or current) clients to get a different perspective on what it’s like to work with this agency. 

These references are most helpful because you can receive direct feedback from other businesses who have worked with the Magento agencies you’re considering. This is an opportunity to ask more detailed questions about what it’s like to work with the agency and feel confident you’re receiving honest answers. You can learn about how flexible and scalable their services are, and if they’ve successfully completed past projects within quoted timelines and budgets. 

Then, you should feel ready to make a decision and get moving on your Magento projects! 

IronPlane’s Certified Magento Agency

Our Magento development agency, IronPlane, has worked with a variety of businesses — both B2B and B2C — to build out, customize, optimize, and manage their Magento websites. We’re a Certified Gold Adobe Solutions Partner and have experience with Magento 1 and 2, as well as Adobe’s different eCommerce solutions (Magento Open Source, Adobe Commerce, and Adobe Commerce Cloud). 

Our team includes 30+ Magento architects, front-end developers, back-end developers, and Solution Specialists who work hands-on with clients to become experts in their business and Magento sites — we can help you make strategic decisions to improve your site now, and continually optimize your site as we work together.  

You can read about our agency in Adobe’s directory, but we’ll also review three case studies so you can learn more about our past work (our process, projects, and results). This section covers: 

• Barbeques Galore, where we built a Magento 2 site with a lightweight foundation that can be quickly updated as the business grows.  
  
  
• JANUS ET CIE, where we designed a custom Magento theme that reflected the brand’s premium product catalog and eased their team’s operational burden. 
  
  
• Omni International Inc, where we migrated their site from Magento 1 to Magento 2 and updated rich integrations for a better shopping experience.

1. Barbeques Galore: Building Magento 2 Customizations and Integrations

Barbeques Galore, the largest retailer of grills and outdoor living products in the U.S., has a strong offline and online presence. With a rich catalog of products — private-label and competing lines — Barbeque Galore has generated more than one million in grill sales, helping customers discover and buy the right equipment for their outdoor setup. 

When Barbeques Galore reached out to us, they had several goals in mind to improve their Magento 2 site. They wanted to:

• Streamline ordering and fulfillment process. 
• Integrate their Magento 2 website across multiple selling channels. 
• Create custom catalog displays. 
• Display purchasing and financing options for website visitors.
• Integrate with affiliate programs. 
• Integrate with Oracle ERP.

Our development team built a Magento 2 website on the Colibri foundation with added customizations tailored to meet Barbeques Galore's needs. It’s a lightweight build that enhances code quality, performance, and scalability, and it helps lower the total cost of ownership. Plus, its modules are based on open-source components, making it easier and faster to customize your Magento site as your needs evolve.

Given Barbeque Galore’s large inventory, we used the M2E Pro integration to automatically update stock and seamlessly synchronize other product-related changes between Amazon, Walmart, and their Magento eCommerce store. In addition, we built an affiliate integration so Barbeque Galore could run multiple programs through Magento 2, and created custom catalogs to display multiple purchasing methods (including financing options) for customers.

The final step was Oracle ERP integration with Magento 2 and we saw an immediate uptick across their key metrics:

• +325% increase in revenue 
• +25% page download time improvement
• +111% average order value 
• +102% number of transactions

Read the full Barbeques Galore Case Study here.

2. JANUS et Cie: Designing a Custom Magento eCommerce Theme That Truly Reflects the Brand’s Craftsmanship

JANUS et Cie is a premium, design-driven home furnishing brand that offers an extensive collection of custom indoor and outdoor furniture. But their eCommerce platform was built on Magento 1, which was not only hard for their team to manage, but posed limitations (they couldn’t offer exclusive pricing and promos for specific end-user groups, or allow customers to view custom products on the site).  Plus, JANUS et Cie wanted to switch to the more modern Magento 2 to mitigate challenges later on down the line. 

In addition to migrating their site and adding more custom functionality, JANUS et Cie also wanted to upgrade their site’s design and user experience so it was easier to navigate, more visually appealing, and a better representation of the brand’s quality craftsmanship. Then, they needed a solution partner that could help them upgrade their site to adhere to the most current GDPR compliance requirements. 

Our Magento experts worked with the brand’s team closely to understand their website vision, back-end operations, and product offerings. We built a custom Magento theme and product pages that allowed visitors to get personalized product recommendations, preview custom products, and receive exclusive quotes before making a purchase. 

Further, we helped them install new cookie policies and navigate conflicts between cookie classifications and Google Analytics to ensure their online store adheres to the latest GDPR compliance. Along with this, our project managers also collaborated with the JANUS team and developed a new DevOps process to make site changes with minimal internal and external disruption. 

As a result, JANUS et Cie has a newly-designed, refreshed site that is GDPR compliant, checks all of the boxes to support their customers’ purchasing journey, and is easy to update in the future. 

Read the full JANUS et Cie Case Study here.

3. Omni International, Inc.: Migration from Magento 1 to 2 and UI Functionality

Premiere manufacturer and distributor of laboratory products, Omni International Inc., needed to migrate their online store from Magento 1 to Magento 2 to solve UI issues and streamline the buying process for customers. 

The brand’s old site lacked cart and quoting options, shipping and bundling features, personalization options, and integrations. Moreover, with a global audience, it was important for them to tailor their online store for different demographics. 

Aligning with their goals, we designed a custom, sleek look for their new Magento 2 site that elevates their entire online offering. Visitors are first greeted with the brand’s hand-picked products and the immediate focus on the homepage centers on the product bundles, accessories, and other important areas, like requesting quotes. 

We also implemented Magento's B2B commerce edition to support both add-to-cart and add-to-quote functionality. This added functionality is simple yet effective, making it more convenient for customers to explore, select, and purchase products. 

Next, we helped:

• Configure a distributor locator feature.
• Streamline checkout and back-end operations. 
• Implement ShipperHQ. 
• Conduct a complete site theme overhaul. 
• Add Magento Commerce implementation for advanced quoting features. 
• Revamp related products and publications. 

In addition, IronPlane implemented Pardot, a customer tracking tool to collect and analyze data; this provides the brand’s sales reps the necessary intelligence to deliver more accurate quotes and drive conversions. 

Plus, we built USA, UK, Ireland, EU, and Canada-specific sites and a global store to cater to their audiences worldwide. With all of these solutions in place, Omni customers could seamlessly place orders online, enjoy a linear checkout flow, and easily track their shipment status with an estimated timeline. 

After rolling out all the changes on Omni International’s site, we saw:

• +107.4% increase in revenue. 
• +67.5% increase in transactions. 
• +48.8% increase in average order value (AOV). 

Read the full Omni International, Inc. Case Study here.

FAQs

1. What is the best way to find a Magento agency? 

The best place to start your research is Adobe’s website because they provide a list of recognized agency partners. Any agency you see on Adobe’s site should have recent Magento certifications and experience with the platform. But, as we mentioned above, this is only where you start your research. 

The best way to find the right Magento agency (from Adobe’s long list of partners) is to research an agency’s past projects, case studies, and client testimonials to make sure their experience aligns with your goals. You should also schedule a consultation call with any agency you’re considering to ask specific questions about their services and processes before you sign on to work with them.  

2. How much does a Magento agency cost?

The common hourly rate for a certified Magento agency ranges anywhere from $$160 - $220/hour. This rate is from agencies with a strong portfolio of clients, skilled Magento developers, and the ability to support advanced eCommerce development needs. 

However, quotes can vary, and it’s best to contact the agency you’re interested in to ask more about how pricing works. 

3. Can you save money by hiring a freelance certified Magento developer?

A freelance Magento developer can charge anywhere from $60 per hour to $90 per hour depending on their skills, expertise, and certifications. 

While working with a freelance certified Magento developer might save some costs, we recommend working with a certified Magento agency since they have a structure in place to accommodate more advanced project needs, a team to support complex projects, and flexibility to scale as needed. Plus, working with a development “partner” makes future projects easier, since you don’t have to continually rope in new developers and hope they can work off of each other.

It is also worth mentioning that the majority of clients who come to us with a Magento Rescue previously worked with freelance developers.

Schedule a Consultation Call with Our Team 

IronPlane is a certified Magento agency that is dedicated to Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source platforms. We provide everything needed for eCommerce sites — from migration to custom theme development, integrations with CRM/ERP, optimizations, and security patches. 

Schedule a free consultation and code audit with our team to learn more about our agency and past projects. 

Related read: How to Choose a Dedicated Magento Developer | Best Practices