Running a Magento-centric design and development agency is not an easy task. And if you have managed to work with the leading Magento companies in the UK and across Europe, just like WAM, this is by no means a small achievement.
With a passion to work for Magento clients, and with strong teamwork and culture fueling the working philosophy, a development agency like We are Magneto is bound to succeed.
Let’s check out how the journey began for We Are Magneto, a British design and development agency that takes pride in serving its diversified client base from the United Kingdom and across the European continent.
Background: We Are Magneto
We Are Magnento is part of the Elementary Digital Group, which started trading in 2013. We originally began as a ‘digital agency’ and adopted a platform-agnostic approach. We decided to become a Magento specialist in 2015-16, and as such, we re-branded our Magento team as ‘We Are Magneto.’
We recognized the demand for agencies focusing purely on Magento and realized that we needed to create a brand that represented our team and capabilities. WAM (We Are Magneto) quickly grew and became recognized for Magento development expertise. Today we’re a Magento certified agency. The whole team is Magento accredited, and we’re working with some of the biggest ecommerce businesses in the UK and Europe.
We’re continuing to invest in developing our Magento expertise both in skills and capabilities to work on enterprise-level websites. In our offices in London and Leeds, we have a team of 30, including 16 developers, three designers and a dedicated digital marketing arm called Pedro.
Drive Solutions as per the Challenges!
Perhaps the biggest challenge was finding ‘talent’ (better known as ‘recruitment’). The lack of talent in Magento developers affects all the Magento development companies, however, we have been fortunate in building a passionate, skilled team through our culture, open working environment, and the type of clients we work with.
Other challenges include the quality of code. Not all developers in the Magento space are equal in terms of adopting best practices. When inheriting websites, we’ve had to spend much time getting them to a level of quality (and stability) before we can work on them. Unfortunately, due to the nature of Magento, many can’t work on it, few understand how to build it properly while solving stability issues. Built and hosted correctly Magento is second to none.
Growth Hacker
Learn and adapt: The world of web design and development changes every day, new coding approaches, jQuery, header-less websites; it’s continuously evolving. Some of these are fads; others will become fundamentals for future projects.
A company such as (We Are Magneto) needs to be continually evolving and adapting its approach, as such; we’re constantly learning and investing in the skills of our team and more extensive business. Delivering a Magento project now is just a part of the overall needs we have to factor in conversion rate optimization, website speed, ecommerce trends, etc. the list is endless.
If something fails, we learn from it and move on. It is important to have the peace of mind, and a strong financial support to take on the failures and then adapt to taste success.
What’s the Bases Line of Your Success?
The holding group (Elementary) was already a success (not to be arrogant) in the areas we focused on. When we launched We Are Magneto the success came very quickly, within months we were picking up more Magento work, and our studio was booked up for more than six months.
For me, the real success came when we started working with more recognized brands such as Global Knives, Travis Perkins, and Barker Stonehouse. Working with such brands confirms that what you’re doing is recognized. .
What’s the Biggest Success of “We Are Magneto”
First and foremost is developing a great team and culture around that team. m. We offer various initiatives to ensure that the work adds a positive element in their lives. The next is our specialization in Magento and the level of growth we have achieved in a short time period. Finally, we’re working with some recognized and respected brands in the UK and Europe, the projects are exciting, and we love helping our clients achieve success.
In terms of how we achieved this: the team, without them, we could not have the outcomes we do. Our Magento Solutions Specialist, an Oracle on Magento, is the driving force behind We Are Magneto. Finally, a real focus on not just ‘working on’ Magento but being good at it.
Processes Behind the Magento Store Development
Working in digital media for over 14 years, we’ve developed a deep understanding of how to design and develop ecommerce websites with a focus on using the Magento framework. We have created a methodology that takes the client on a journey covering customers, user experience, development and conversion (plus much more). To implement this methodology, we have employed, ‘experts’, who lead and guide the project, not simply deliver.
Throughout the implementation process, we try to align ourselves to the challenges the client has, and deliver the ‘future’ for the client taking into account where they’ve come from, where they’re going and what they’re trying to achieve.
Reasons to Choose Magento & Its Audience?
The passion for the Magento framework, the community around the system and everything ecommerce. The founders both came from a bespoke CMS background and found this approach to development limiting. Working on a framework such as Magento you have a development community of 1000’s, it’s global, and great ideas are either already available or in the pipeline. Magento is at the cutting edge of ecommerce, this is why so many enterprise-level businesses use it. We wanted to be part of that.
Trips & Tricks for Newbies
Don’t do it (only kidding!). I would say be very focused on your Magento specialization, and how you’re going to deliver it. In recruitment, find senior Magento developers who teach good PHP developers. Build an excellent culture, allowing your team to work flexibly and invest in them. Think big, demonstrate your ability to work with bigger companies, because the smaller ones take all your time and you’ll make no money.
A Picture of We Are Magneto Office
Syed Muneeb Ul Hasan
Syed Muneeb Ul Hasan is a Magento Community Manager at Cloudways - A Managed Magento Hosting Platform. He is an expert in PHP and Magento and prefers to educate users in the implementation of Magento. When not working, he loves to play games and watch cricket.
