Hiring guide for BigCommerce developers

BigCommerce is a leading e-commerce platform that offers a wide range of features and functionalities for businesses of all sizes. In 2023, it has become the preferred choice for developers worldwide due to its numerous advantages over other platforms. This includes its flexibility, seamless integration capabilities, scalability, mobile-first approach, and robust SEO features. These advantages enable developers to create highly customized, performant, and user-friendly online stores that meet their clients’ unique business needs. As e-commerce continues to grow, developers can rely on BigCommerce to deliver exceptional online shopping experiences for businesses of all sizes.

Table of Contents

1.0 Key features of BigCommerce

Flexibility and Customization: With a robust set of APIs and a flexible framework, developers can easily tailor the platform to meet their clients’ specific business requirements. This level of customization allows developers to create unique and personalized online stores that align perfectly with their clients’ brand identity and vision.

Seamless Integration: BigCommerce offers seamless integration with a wide range of third-party applications, tools, and services. This integration capability enables developers to extend the functionality of their clients’ online stores by integrating popular tools such as payment gateways, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, inventory management software, and marketing automation platforms.

Scalability and Performance: BigCommerce provides developers with a highly scalable and performant platform. It can handle high traffic volumes and large product catalogs without compromising on speed or user experience. This scalability ensures that developers can build online stores that can grow alongside their clients’ businesses.

Mobile-First Approach: With the increasing use of mobile devices for online shopping, developers prioritize platforms that offer a mobile-first approach. BigCommerce is known for its responsive and mobile-friendly design templates. By leveraging BigCommerce’s mobile-first approach, developers can ensure their clients’ online stores are accessible to a wider audience, leading to increased conversions and customer satisfaction.

Robust SEO Capabilities: BigCommerce offers a range of built-in SEO features and tools that help developers optimize their clients’ online stores for search engines, improving clients’ search engine rankings and visibility, ultimately driving more organic traffic and potential customers.

2.0 Value addition to companies hiring BigCommerce developers

Expertise in BigCommerce: BigCommerce developers are highly skilled professionals who have a deep understanding of the BigCommerce platform. They possess the necessary knowledge and experience to effectively utilize the platform’s features and functionality, ensuring a seamless and efficient e-commerce experience for businesses.
Customization and Personalization: BigCommerce developers have the ability to tailor the online store to meet the specific needs and requirements of the company. They can create custom themes, design unique layouts, and implement personalized features that align with the company’s branding and business goals. This level of customization can significantly enhance the user experience and drive customer engagement and loyalty.
Integration Capabilities: BigCommerce developers have expertise in integrating various third-party applications and services with the e-commerce store. They can seamlessly integrate payment gateways, shipping providers, inventory management systems, and other essential tools, enabling businesses to streamline their operations and improve overall efficiency.
Mobile Responsiveness: With the increasing prevalence of mobile devices, having a mobile-responsive e-commerce store is crucial. BigCommerce developers have the skills to optimize the online store for mobile devices, ensuring that it is fully functional and visually appealing across different screen sizes and resolutions. This enables businesses to reach a larger audience and capitalize on the growing mobile commerce trend.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): BigCommerce developers understand the importance of search engine optimization in driving organic traffic to the e-commerce store. They have the expertise to implement SEO best practices, such as optimizing page titles, meta descriptions, URLs, and image alt tags. By improving the store’s visibility in search engine results, businesses can attract more potential customers and increase conversions.
Scalability and Performance: BigCommerce developers have the expertise to build scalable and high-performance e-commerce stores. They can optimize the store’s code, implement caching mechanisms, and configure server settings to ensure fast page load times and smooth navigation. This is crucial for providing a positive user experience and accommodating a growing customer base.
Ongoing Support and Maintenance: Hiring BigCommerce developers provides businesses with ongoing support and maintenance for their e-commerce store. They can promptly address any issues or bugs that may arise, perform necessary updates and security patches, and provide technical assistance when needed. This allows businesses to focus on their core operations while ensuring the smooth operation of their online store.

Therefore, hiring BigCommerce developers brings multiple benefits to businesses. By leveraging these benefits, businesses can enhance their online presence, improve customer satisfaction, and drive profitability.

3.0 Essential preplanning for companies hiring BigCommerce developers

Preplanning is crucial for companies when hiring BigCommerce developers. It ensures that the project runs smoothly and achieves the desired outcomes. This section outlines the key preplanning steps that companies should undertake before hiring BigCommerce developers.

Specifying Project Scope and Deliverables: Before hiring BigCommerce developers, companies need to clearly define the goals, objectives, and requirements of the project. By specifying the project scope and deliverables, companies can effectively communicate their expectations to the developers and ensure that everyone is aligned.
Evaluating Project Risks and Budget: Companies need to assess potential risks that may arise during the development process and identify strategies to mitigate them. This includes considering technical risks, timeline risks, and resource risks. Additionally, companies should establish a realistic budget that takes into account the complexity of the project, the desired deliverables, and any potential contingencies.
Understanding Development Requirements: This involves identifying the specific functionalities, features, and integrations needed for the project. Thereafter, companies can effectively communicate these to potential developers and ensure that they have the necessary skills and expertise.
Assessing Candidate’s Prior Portfolio of Work: This allows companies to evaluate the quality of their previous projects, their level of experience, and their ability to deliver high-quality results. By reviewing a candidate’s portfolio, companies can gain insight into their technical skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities.

4.0 Roles and Responsibilities of BigCommerce developers

Designing and developing BigCommerce websites: BigCommerce developers are responsible for creating visually appealing and user-friendly websites using the BigCommerce platform. They have the expertise to design and develop custom themes, templates, and layouts to meet the specific needs of clients.
Customizing and extending BigCommerce functionality: BigCommerce developers are proficient in customizing and extending the functionality of the BigCommerce platform. They are skilled in developing custom modules, plugins, and integrations to enhance the features and capabilities of a BigCommerce store.
Troubleshooting and resolving technical issues: BigCommerce developers play a crucial role in identifying and resolving technical issues and bugs that may arise in a BigCommerce store. They are proficient in troubleshooting and debugging code to ensure smooth functioning and optimal performance of the website.
Optimizing website performance: BigCommerce developers are responsible for optimizing the performance of a BigCommerce website. They have the expertise to analyze and improve website speed, load times, and overall performance to provide a seamless user experience.
Implementing SEO best practices: BigCommerce developers are knowledgeable about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) best practices. They ensure that a BigCommerce website is optimized for search engines, including proper URL structures, meta tags, and schema markup, to improve visibility and organic search rankings.
Integrating third-party applications and services: BigCommerce developers are skilled in integrating third-party applications and services into a BigCommerce store. They can seamlessly connect various systems, such as payment gateways, shipping providers, and marketing tools, to enhance the functionality and streamline business operations.
Maintaining and updating BigCommerce websites: BigCommerce developers are responsible for maintaining and updating BigCommerce websites to ensure they are secure, up-to-date, and compliant with the latest industry standards. They perform regular backups, security patches, and system upgrades to safeguard the website and its data.
Collaborating with cross-functional teams: BigCommerce developers work closely with cross-functional teams, including designers, project managers, and marketers, to understand business requirements and deliver high-quality solutions. They collaborate effectively to ensure timely project delivery and client satisfaction.
Staying updated with BigCommerce platform updates: BigCommerce developers continuously stay updated with the latest updates, features, and best practices of the BigCommerce platform. They actively participate in forums, attend webinars, and explore new tools to enhance their skills and knowledge.

5.0 Tools and Libraries for BigCommerce Developers

Stencil CLI: The Stencil Command Line Interface (CLI) is a powerful tool that enables developers to build and customize themes for BigCommerce stores. It provides a command-line interface to scaffold, develop, and test themes efficiently.
BigCommerce API: The BigCommerce API allows developers to interact with the BigCommerce platform programmatically. It provides a set of RESTful endpoints that enable developers to perform various operations such as managing products, orders, customers, and more.
Handlebars.js: Handlebars.js is a popular templating engine used by BigCommerce developers. It allows developers to create dynamic templates for their themes by combining HTML markup with variables and helpers.
Sass: Sass (Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets) is a powerful CSS extension language that is widely used by BigCommerce developers. It provides features like variables, mixins, and nesting, which simplify and enhance the process of writing CSS stylesheets.
Grunt: Grunt is a task runner that automates repetitive tasks in web development workflows. BigCommerce developers can use Grunt to streamline tasks such as compiling Sass, concatenating and minifying JavaScript files, and optimizing images.
NPM: NPM (Node Package Manager) is a package manager for JavaScript that is commonly used by BigCommerce developers. It allows developers to install, manage, and share reusable code packages, known as modules or packages, which can be used to enhance the functionality of their projects.
BigCommerce Developer Documentation: BigCommerce provides comprehensive developer documentation that serves as a valuable resource for developers. It includes guides, tutorials, API reference documentation, and best practices to help developers build and customize BigCommerce stores.
Postman: Postman is a popular API development and testing tool that can be used by BigCommerce developers to interact with the BigCommerce API. It provides a user-friendly interface for sending API requests, inspecting responses, and automating API testing workflows.
GitHub: GitHub is a widely used web-based platform for version control and collaboration. BigCommerce developers can leverage GitHub to manage their code repositories, collaborate with team members, and contribute to open-source projects.
Visual Studio Code: Visual Studio Code is a lightweight and versatile code editor that is favored by many BigCommerce developers. It provides a rich set of features, such as syntax highlighting, code completion, and debugging capabilities, which enhance the development experience.

6.0 Assessing potential candidates when hiring BigCommerce developers

This requires a comprehensive evaluation of their technical skills, soft skills, and fit with the company culture. By following a systematic approach, employers can identify the most suitable candidates for the role. The following list outlines the key factors to consider during the assessment process:

6.1 Technical Skills

Proficiency in BigCommerce: Assess the candidate’s knowledge of BigCommerce’s features, tools, and customization options.
Front-end Development: Evaluate their expertise in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other relevant technologies used in BigCommerce development.
API Integration: Determine their ability to integrate third-party systems, such as payment gateways or inventory management tools, with BigCommerce.
Theme Development: Assess their experience in customizing or creating BigCommerce themes using Stencil or Blueprint frameworks.
Troubleshooting and Bug Fixing: Evaluate their problem-solving skills and ability to identify and resolve technical issues within the BigCommerce platform.

6.2 Soft Skills

Communication: Assess their ability to effectively communicate technical concepts and collaborate with team members, stakeholders, and clients.
Time Management: Evaluate their organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks to meet deadlines.
Problem-solving: Determine their capacity to analyze complex problems, propose innovative solutions, and adapt to new challenges.
Attention to Detail: Assess their ability to deliver high-quality work with precision and accuracy.
Adaptability: Evaluate their willingness to learn and adapt to new technologies, methodologies, and industry trends.

6.3 Fit with Company Culture:

Values Alignment: Assess the candidate’s alignment with the company’s mission, vision, and core values.
Teamwork: Evaluate their ability to collaborate and work effectively within a team environment.
Work Ethic: Assess their commitment, dedication, and willingness to go the extra mile to deliver exceptional results.
Cultural Diversity: Determine their openness and respect for diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas.

By considering these factors, employers can ensure they select BigCommerce developers who possess the necessary technical skills, exhibit strong soft skills, and align with the company’s culture. This holistic assessment approach increases the likelihood of finding the right candidate who will thrive in the role and contribute to the success of the organization.

7.0 Platforms to access BigCommerce developer candidates

When hiring BigCommerce developers, it is important to know where to access potential candidates. There are several avenues that can be explored to find skilled professionals in this field.

Online recruitment platforms: These have become a popular way to find and connect with potential candidates. These platforms act as a marketplace where employers can post job advertisements and candidates can showcase their skills and experience. Some popular online recruitment platforms for hiring BigCommerce developers include LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Indeed.

Freelance platforms: These are another option for finding BigCommerce developers. These platforms connect employers with independent professionals who offer their services on a project basis. Some popular freelance platforms to find BigCommerce developers include Upwork, Freelancer and Toptal.

Conferences and Hackathons: Attending conferences and hackathons related to e-commerce and web development can be an effective way to meet potential BigCommerce developers. These events bring together professionals in the industry, providing opportunities for networking and finding skilled individuals.

8.0 Costs of hiring BigCommerce developers

One significant factor influencing the hourly rates of BigCommerce developers is the geographic location in which they are based. Developers in different regions may charge different rates due to factors such as the cost of living, availability of talent, and competition. For example, developers in large cities with a higher cost of living usually charge higher rates to compensate for the higher expenses. On the other hand, developers in regions with lower living costs may offer lower rates to attract clients.

The level of experience of a BigCommerce developer also plays a significant role in their hourly rates. Developers with extensive experience and a proven track record of successful projects may charge higher rates compared to those with less experience. This is because more experienced developers have a wider skill set and can tackle complex projects more efficiently.

The demand for BigCommerce developers also significantly impacts average hourly rates. In regions where there is a high demand for BigCommerce developers, rates may be higher due to the shortage of available talent. This is because there is a greater competition for skilled BigCommerce developers, which enables developers to charge a premium for their services.

When it comes to hiring BigCommerce developers, businesses often have to decide whether to hire remote or on-site developers. On-site developers may have higher hourly rates as they are more readily available and may require additional expenses such as office space and equipment. On the other hand, remote developers may have lower rates as they do not require the same overhead costs.

At CloudDevs, we understand the complexity of hiring processes to hire expert BigCommerce developers., As your dedicated partner for remote tech talent, CloudDevs is prepared to offer you a seamless hiring experience.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to CloudDevs now to hire pre-vetted BigCommerce developers to meet your development requirements!