5 sites to hire ecommerce development agency + tips

How do I hire an ecommerce developer?

This question comes first when your team needs to scale at the speed of light and you don’t know how to do it. Right? 

When searching for an ecommerce developer, you can consider 2 options: to work with an independent freelancer or hire a specialist from an eсommerce development agency. Both these models have their pros and cons. Let’s see which route works better for you.

Ecommerce Agency vs. Freelancers: key differences

1. Hiring an agency gives you opportunities for future scale

Let’s consider an example.

Today you need only one Magento developer to perform a small task. You hire a freelancer. In a month, your business gets funding and needs 5 qualified Magento developers at once to reach the next level. To find 5 qualified freelancers quickly sounds tricky, doesn’t it? At last, you resort to searching for a development team provider. So, for rapidly growing teams, an agency is the best option.

Freelancers are a good fit for small-sized businesses. If you're leaning towards hiring a freelancer, you might want to hire a freelance ecommerce developer from Toptal.

2. Freelance workers need more control from your side

You don’t need to keep abreast of the whole process when working with a digital agency. Even so, if you hire one ecommerce developer, a project manager takes control over the project deliverables. It’s like you have a reserve parachute :) With freelancers, you manage the whole process as a rule.

3. Extra value included

Many ecommerce agencies include additional services in the package: consulting, design, testing, to name a few. So you can find several specialties in one place. If an agency provides partnership programs, you can also find more opportunities for growth through their network. Freelancers aren't so flexible.

4. Price

Price still remains a decisive factor while choosing a service provider. Yes, freelancers won at this point, but try to focus on the common value you'd get.

Now you know the key differences between ecommerce agencies and freelancers (and hopefully, have made the right choice). Let’s move to the next question.

How do I find the best ecommerce development company?

Below you’ll find 5 websites with extensive directories of agencies and 
user-friendly interfaces. Choose the one that is best for your needs.

3... 2... 1... Liftoff!

1. Clutch

One of the biggest and popular B2B directories, where you can easily source a tech partner according to any of your requests. As of August 2023, there are 19,975 companies listed in the category of Ecommerce Development.

Keep calm, no need to check out all of them. Sorting by location, average project budget, and hourly rates should help narrow down the options. 

To take even less time, check the Clutch Leaders Matrix. It shows the best 15 ecommerce companies on the market. The rating is based on client reviews, verified through a mix of LinkedIn and industry research. So, you can trust. 

By the way, only 284 firms out of 14,009 have been verified by Clutch analysts. Should simplify your search!

Clutch’s rating system is used by many other catalogs (Manifest, VisualObjects, for instance), which means a high level of trust to it from the industry experts.

2. G2

Another giant among B2B directories with a big collection of software solutions and business services providers. 

G2 includes important parameters to consider during the selection process (e.g. tech stack a specific agency supports). You can also compare agencies with each other.

Save selected companies to analyze them in detail later and make a final decision. 

3. Goodfirms

Goodfirms has a similar design as Clutch and a large collection of service providers.

Sort by reviews and the rating or see the list of agencies in a specific city. That way you’ll get enough information to decide whether to visit the website of a developer or not.

Goodfirms also allows companies to upload educational resources like e-books and guides to their profiles. While searching, you can find a lot of useful materials to explore and use as additional criteria in the estimation of the company’s expert level.

4. DesignRush

One more B2B rating platform based on client reviews. If you have a clear project idea and a set budget, you should find the Marketplace feature quite useful. It enables you to make a request for your project and receive proposals from verified software development companies.

Based on the proposals, you can choose a partner among full-cycle agencies or staff augmentation companies. A real time-saver.

5. TechReviewer

The next catalog with a familiar interface designed to find a dream agency. Read reviews on how those candidates delivered their projects. Similar to G2, you can compare companies with each other.

What we like the most is the gallery of projects done by companies in a specific services category.

This is the alternative way to find the best-match developers. Instead of reading text descriptions of companies, see their case studies and portfolios first. 

If you find a similar project to yours, the agency that delivered it may be your best option.

Time for a bonus.

Secret tips to find an ideal custom ecommerce development agency

1. What services do you need: web development, design, consulting, or all? What is the project scope and complexity? Would you like to go with a remote or a local team? Answer these questions (in some doc) before initiating your search. It’ll make the process simpler. Not to mention, use this info in your intro messages, AKA discovery stage.

2. Keep in mind that positive reviews will usually dominate on such platforms because agencies ask for feedback from their loyal clients. Trust but verify. Check several sources or better make deep research on Google after the initial choice. Contact their previous clients, if possible.

3. Examine delivered projects / case studies in much detail. Try to choose agencies with your specific industry experience.

4. 1st place doesn’t usually mean the best. Pay attention if it’s sponsored or not.

5. Give preferences to agencies that offer a trial period, when you determine the resources that work for you.

Summary

None of these platforms will give you a 100% answer to the question “Who are the best ecommerce developers in the world?” (though all these headlines screaming the opposite). But they can serve as a great starting point. Good luck in search! And if you want to save your time and get the best expertise on ecommerce development, check Grinteq's ecommerce development services.