Ecommerce businesses are on the rise. It is likely that 1.92 billion people will shop online in 2019 alone. Rise in online shopping provides tons of new opportunities for ecommerce store owners and developers who want to get more ROI for their efforts. Since Magento is one of the best ecommerce platforms, we decided to interview Lars Röttig, Ecommerce Specialist & Magento Developer. Learn from him about the scope of Magento in 2019, and read his advice for beginner developers.
Cloudways: Lars, share a little about yourself.
Lars: Thanks for bringing me onboard. I started programming at the age of 15. At first, I taught myself C++ with the help of books and programmed 2D games with it. Later, I started to develop smaller websites with HTML, CSS, and PHP for fun. During 2010-2013, I completed my training as an IT specialist for application development. At that time, I developed applications on PHP and C#. In 2013, I started working for the TechDivision as a Magento developer, and I am currently associated with them.
Cloudways: Sounds like a planned career path. But, why Magento? Do you consider that Magento is better than other ecommerce platforms?
Lars: I stumbled upon Magento by accident. A few years ago, I was unhappy with my job and was looking for a new challenge. I already had some exciting options in mind when I got to know of Josef Willkommer from the TechDivision at CeBit 2013. I decided to work in one of the Magento teams at the TechDivision which turned out to be the right decision. I now have the opportunity to work for the community what is personally extremely important to me because Magento really has a great and incomparable community, and almost feels like a second family.
Cloudways: That is great. So, how will you describe Magento in two words only?
Lars: I will describe it as… ‘Powerful platform’
Cloudways: You have completed many Magento certifications. What are your suggestions for newbies who want to become Magento certified? Are certifications important?
Lars: The best thing is to start with Magento Certified Associate Developer certificate because the Professional Developer certificate is relatively difficult to earn, as it requires some years of experience.
But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are a good Magento developer if you are certified. It only shows that you have been intensively working with Magento and it looks quite good on your resume. Personally, I think, certificates motivated me to work harder with Magento development.
Cloudways: Can you provide some resources that are helpful for newbies to learn Magento development?
Lars: I particularly like Mage2TV. There are already some videos, and Vinai Kopp is really a good trainer. Additionally, Magento U-trainings are also great for beginners. You can also have a look at extensive developer documentation. A good example is documentation for the Multi Source Inventory (MSI).
Cloudways: Being an experienced Magento enthusiast, how will you compare Magento 1 with Magento 2? What are your suggestions for Magento 1.x users?
Lars: Magento 1 and Magento 2 are totally different. Magento 2 uses many modern design patterns like Event Sourcing and CQRS. It comes with many new features like the multi-source inventory. I would recommend every ecommerce store owner using Magento 1 to migrate to Magento 2 before June 2020.
Cloudways: We agree with that. So, what is the Magento community like to you? Give your answer in one word.
Lars: They are like a family to me.
Cloudways: Where do you see Magento in the near future? Any predictions for 2020?
Lars: Magento is already the leading ecommerce platform, and I expect that the acquisition of Adobe will strengthen its position and accelerate growth. Adobe can add the missing ecommerce components and Magento will gain access to bigger companies. With the Adobe commerce cloud, an extraordinary product is available for the enterprise market and can also be extended with additional services from the Adobe shelf. The year 2020, will be the year of Progressive Web Apps (PWA). Of course, this has been a topic for us developers for quite some time, but I assume that PWAs will then also reach merchants and the demand for such solutions in the market will increase.
Cloudways: What would you like to say about Magento events? How useful are they for growth of Magento platform?
Lars: As a developer, I think the Mage Titans and Mage Test Fest, both are awesome events because they allow you to meet a lot of developers and exchange ideas. The Meet Magento is a little bit more business oriented, even though there is the option of a developer track. Basically, all Magento events are well organized and you can always meet nice people to network with.
Cloudways: You’re working at TechDivision for more than five years, please share your thoughts on it.
Lars: For me, TechDivision is the first choice. We have a professional and friendly team with a unique spirit. In addition, we work in a self-organized and cross-functional environment where we enjoy a high degree of freedom for decision making.
Cloudways: How do you spend your free time? Do you like sports, traveling, entertainment, or hanging out with friends and family?
Lars: For me, the work is actually more fun and pleasure. Of course, I also need balance for my mind. I search this especially in the beautiful nature here in the south of Bavaria. I like to ride bike, climb mountains or sometimes just relax and clear my head.
Cloudways: From whom do you get inspiration? Name top Magento influencers who have inspired you.
Lars: Vinai Kopp with Mage2TV. I have learned a lot from him.
Found it interesting?
Connect with Lars on Twitter and feel free to ask him more questions related to Magento. Or, you can also comment below with your questions and we will ask Lars to reply to them.
Editor’s note: The views presented in this interview belong to the interviewee. The interview is edited for clarity.
Sharjeel Ashraf
Sharjeel loves to write about startups and ecommerce. In his free time, he is on the road or working on some cool project in his den.
