In the world of one-click websites and innovative e-shopping themes, a web development agency specializing in offering hybrid e-commerce solutions has become more important than ever. However, the big question arises when the businesses have to find a development partner for building their virtual e-shopping stores from the ground up.

It is needless to mention that every business wants its e-commerce store to stand out from the crowd. These companies are unaware of the many but important criteria that are necessary for picking the best e-commerce web development solutions provider.

This is why this post is crafted to let you know about the important elements or criteria that must be remembered for laying hands on the most reliable e-commerce development partner. And if the business will follow the guidelines (which are mentioned below) by the book, it will indeed leverage the services of a partner that can craft an e-store that blends form and function perfectly well.

Involving the right people

Getting the right webmasters on board is crucial to the success of building an e-commerce portal—this is the first step, so the business leader has to be careful. Plus, the business has to be assiduous when it comes to involving the right people from its different departments—IT, Finance, Marketing, and Operations.

As each department will have its own considerations, it is way better to bring the heads (of each department) to get the hang of financial, market, IT and other implications that are related to the project. Whenever a web development project is underway, a business will have to involve its IT heads because they will have to manage it once it is completely made. So it is better to get the opinion of every person (whose working within the business and whose work will likely be affected once the portal is live). Such meeting or brainstorming will help the leadership in:

• Framing all the requirements that the management has from the portal
• Getting a clearer picture about the portal’s functionality
• Agreeing on a timeline—the period by which the business will want the portal to be live/online

Measuring the expertise

Once the project requirements are clear, the management will have to ensure that what is the expertise of the short-listed providers that are offering e-commerce website development solutions. Some of the digital providers focus solely on Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) while others can design and implement high-end digital branding strategies.

Nevertheless, it is best to pick an agency that is expert in offering a full suite of web development services along with marketing and SEO. If the business has in-house marketers, and they’ve got enough bandwidth and knowledge (of performing real-world and Internet branding), it is better to hire a web developer that designs the store well. However, if the business does have an access to exceptional e-store design but needs to focus on conversions, it is better to pick a CRO agency only.

Critiquing case studies

Every agency can boast a range of case studies that look pretty impressive; however, a business must not go on the face value—rather, the company must dig the surface by touching base with the prospective agency’s previous clients.

By critiquing the case studies, the company will be able to have precious jewels of information that will help the business leadership to answer a lot of critical questions. While in this phase, the business must:

• Acquire first-hand information about the prospective agency’s commitment to projects and quality
• Analyze the work performed by the agency
• Know a thing or two about the annual maintenance contract that the agency floats
• Ask questions related to the conversion rates as well

Examining integration experience

Whenever an e-commerce project floats, every business must examine the agency’s experience in integrating with different legacy back-end systems. Each of the legacy systems is, of course, significant for the proper functioning of the brick-and-mortar store; that is

These legacy systems comprise:

• PIMs, CRM, and warehouse management systems
• Merchandising and searching solutions
• A wide range of payment gateways
• Courier systems
• Marketplace integrations—social feeds
• Analytical services

Basically, the business will have to find an e-commerce web development partner that will integrate the portal with these systems seamlessly. Before signing the dotted line, the business must check whether or not the business is skilled in carrying out such integration-related tasks without hassles.

Assessing the omnichannel experience

For competing in the modern-day world, having an e-store on the wide face of the web is not enough. Rather, the business will have to create an omnichannel experience. To build a credible omnichannel experience, the business should not solely rely on a website; that is, the business must plan to build an app that will empower the business to create an omnichannel experience.

It is preferable if the exciting/chosen web development partner is adept at building e-store applications. By doing so, the business will be able to cater to the requests of a large chunk of visitors (customers and prospects) easily.

Reviewing the designing skills

The business leaders must ask the agency a couple of questions related to graphic designing. If the web development partner is unable to answer satisfactorily, it may be a wise decision to check out other prospective agencies.

If the selected agency has a team of graphic designers, even then, too, it is half the battle. The leadership, then, will have to assess the team’s existing portfolio related to the way it has been carrying out its projects, to date. The leadership will have to ensure that whether or not the team is applying the basic design principles, which are required for creating a matchless e-store. (The design of the best e-stores will be user centric and responsive, too.)

So here are the tips, which every business will have to keep in mind and implement on time, to bring an ace web development company specializing in creating an enriched user experience for such webstores.