Joseph Leedy is Magento Certified developer. He has 15 years of experience in development. In this interview, Joseph talked in detail about his career and what challenges he faced. He said “Some of my biggest challenges included admitting that I did not know everything, and learning to work in a professional environment versus doing this as a hobby.” Joseph is also an enthusiastic event attendee.
He attended Magento Imagine and Meet Magento New York and PHPSunshine. Joseph discusses his personal life with our readers. He is a motorcycle rider! 🙂 I hope the readers will love this interview with a very experienced developer of Magento and online commerce.
Cloudways: Joseph, you’ve been involved with PHP and Magento for a quite long period of time. How did your career start? What were the biggest challenges along the way in your early career?
Joseph: I have been doing Web Development as a hobby for more than 15 years. My career started almost 5 years ago when I answered a post in a Meetup message board from an agency who was looking to expand. I was hired as a junior developer, and they eventually taught me Magento and helped me get my certification after they became a Silver Partner.
Some of my biggest challenges included admitting that I did not know everything, and learning to work in a professional environment versus doing this as a hobby.
Cloudways: Currently you work in Imagination Media LLC as Senior E-commerce Developer. What is the most common problem you face while developing? In your opinion, Magento is a popular ecommerce platform? What are some competitive advantages? Are there any must have features that Magento lacks?
Joseph: One of the most common issues I face is taking over projects from a less experienced developer or development team which has hacked the core files and/or theme(s). Another problem is badly coded extensions and themes that break the site or degrade its performance.
Yes, Magento is definitely one of the top-tier platforms for building online stores. Its flexibility and scalability provide an advantage that few competitors rival. Unfortunately, the API is limited, and the search often fails to return relevant/meaningful results. Both of those issues really let the platform down.
Cloudways: You are a Magento Certified Developer. When did you connect yourself with Magento? What is your recommended platform for those people who want to become Magento certified? Tell our readers what are the advantages of becoming a Magento Certified?
Joseph: I first started working with Magento in 2012, and I became certified in 2014. My biggest recommendation for those who are looking to get certified is to take some time to rip apart the core code and see how it functions. Spend some time writing extensions to explore the inner workings, and concentrate on the API, tax, payment, and shipping functionality.
Becoming a certified developer makes the statement you know what you are doing and have proven your skills. This can lead to higher paying positions/promotions, as well as landing more client work. Having the certification in most cases acts as a seal of trust between you and your client or employer.
Cloudways: Joseph, what are your thoughts about Magento 2? Have you started store development on Magento 2? What are the features in Magento 2 you mostly like? As a Magento developer what are your expectations of Magento 2?
Joseph: Frankly, I think that Magento 2 is a convoluted mess. It looks like the developers tried to throw every design pattern that they could at it, to see what would stick. That said, I have not started any projects on it, but I am currently learning it and I have a couple projects lined up down the road.
Migrating to a RAD (Rapid Application Development) platform like Laravel may have helped them release it quicker and lessened the complexity.
Cloudways: Magento releases patches with every vulnerability. Why are these patches so important? Share some Magento security tips with our readers.
Joseph: It is important to keep your Magento install version up to date with the latest patches to protect your customer’s information, and your bottom line. Staying current could prevent you from becoming the next Target (figuratively and literally).
Some security tips:
Never process payments and/or store credit card information on your own server. Look into a third-payment provider like Authorize.net, PayPal, or FirstData, and use their hosted solution if possible.
Use SSL everywhere, especially in the Admin, Account, and Checkout areas.
Make sure your security key is enabled for Admin URLs.
Do not share admin accounts – create a new user with the appropriate permissions for each person who needs access.
Always audit third-party themes and extensions before installation. Look for problem areas such as encrypted/encoded/obfuscated code, phone-homes, and other red flags.
Cloudways: Magento’s ecosystem is built around extensions and modules. Name five of the most important extensions that you cannot dream to live without, which you prefer during development?
Joseph: AOE Scheduler, Creare CreareSEO, PulseStorm CommerceBug, KalenJordan MageMail, and the n98-magerun tool.
Cloudways: Joseph, let’s talk about Magento events like Meet Magento and Imagine and Magento Live. You attended Meet Magento New York 2014 (MM14NY). What’s your experience of this event? Do you think with these type of conferences, Magento developers reap some advantages? How has your experience been so far with the community members :)?
Joseph: I love attending community events. So far I have been to MMNY14, Imagine ’15, MMNY15 and just recently SunshinePHP ’16. These events have provided me a great opportunity to network with and learn from other developers in the community. I’ve gotten to meet and make friends with a lot of people that I look up to, including Ben Marks and Phillip Jackson. I’ve even gotten my current job from attending Imagine!
For me, and likely any other developer, attending these events is well worth the price of admission because you get back a sense of comradery and you get to make powerful new connections that could help you in the future.
Cloudways: On the lighter side of life, what do you do other than development? I follow you on Twitter and I’ve seen you love motorcycle rides. Would you share some adventure tips and experiences with our readers? Are you a family guy? Can you talk a little bit about your family life? 🙂
Joseph: Yes, I do love the feeling of the open road and the wind in my face. Always make sure your bike is in top condition, you’ve packed the right things for the trip, and you are wearing appropriate attire (riding jacket/pants, full helmet, boots, etc.) I also love the thrill of the hunt that going Geocaching brings me.
Unfortunately, I do not have a family yet, but I hope to a bit further in the future.
Cloudways: We all have some influencers, who inspire us with their work or their quotes. Name people from the Magento community who have inspired you the most?
Joseph: Ben Marks, Alan Storm, Marius Strajeru, Allan MacGregor, Vinai Kopp, Alan Kent, Phillip Jackson
Abdur Rahman
Abdur Rahman is the Magento whizz at Cloudways. He is growth ambitious, and aims to learn & share information about Ecommerce & Magento Development through practice and experimentation. He loves to travel and explore new ideas whenever he finds time. Get in touch with him at [email protected]
