How to Choose the Right Marketplace Development Company?

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Codica
  • Date Published
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There are dozens of web agencies, and their services seem to be quite similar. So how can you know whether you can trust a software provider?

Do you want to build an e-commerce website but cannot pick the right marketplace development company? There are many software providers, and their services seem to be quite similar. So how can you know whether you can trust a web agency?

We have a solution for you. In this article, we have prepared the most important factors you need to take into account when choosing a marketplace development agency.

Why is it challenging to choose a marketplace development company?

Nowadays, the number of web development companies is growing rapidly. According to the Global Developer Population 2019 report, there were 18,9M developers in Q4 2018.

It means that more and more web development companies enter the market. This way, it becomes extremely tough to choose the right company, even if it has an elegant portfolio.

How to solve this problem? The answer is simple: you should know exactly what kind of platform you need.

Why is it important to pick the right agency?

You may be wondering why it is so crucial to find the proper software house. Most companies seem to have a sufficient experience level, great portfolio, and average rates. However, there is more in this than meets the eye.

Do you want to start a custom marketplace with specific business logic? Then the quality of the final product really matters. It includes the following list of aspects:

  • scalability
  • maintainability
  • sustainability
  • the number of features
  • SEO optimization
  • the value-for-money ratio
  • duration of online marketplace development, and so on.

So, what aspects should you pay attention to when choosing a marketplace development company?

Marketplace development expertise

Experience in online marketplace development is one of the most important aspects you should take into account. The matter is that this niche requires extensive learning and many years of practice.

Experience in working with startups

When you ask the company to help implement your ideas, make sure of their experience in working with this type of business. An expert software developer will consider your needs and requirements. Specifically, they will conduct an analysis and offer features that your website needs.

UX/UI design expertise

Among the most important factors that may affect your online platform’s success, we can highlight a user-friendly design (both UX and UI). It is the way you will interact with the users.

Consider web agencies that offer UI/UX design services. Experienced software providers know what user interface and experience your online marketplace should have.

If you partner with such a company, it will provide you with mockups and interactive prototypes. Show them to investors or early users. This way, you can get their feedback and improve particular aspects to build the most user-friendly design.

Take a look at the mobile and desktop mockups our design team created for a multi-vendor vehicle marketplace project.

Portfolio and reviews

Client reviews

How can you see the company’s expertise and competence in practice? One of the best ways is to read reviews from existing clients. If you’re not sure where to start, you can visit Clutch – a website collecting feedback from customers all over the world.

Here you can see a review from one of our customers on Clutch.

The company’s website

You can form your first impression by visiting and analyzing the provider’s website. Consider the design, content, social media profiles. If the agency positions itself as an experienced player with high-quality delivery, then its website should be a piece of evidence.

Case studies

A portfolio is a great way to check an agency’s expertise in a particular domain. Most companies offer you to see the case studies on their websites. Also, you can check such platforms as Dribble and Behance to learn more.

At Codica, we provide our customers with detailed case studies. They show our expertise and experience in delivering e-commerce products.

Development approach

Communication and reporting system

It is crucial to know how the agency organizes the development process. Learn the way the company creates a project team and how it distributes the roles. Also, you can ask about the report system and the frequency of reports. It is important as they can help you stay updated on the progress status.

At Codica, we have developed an internal tracking tool called Timebot. It enables us to specify a particular project, task, and the amount of time spent on it.

Thanks to this system, our developers can easily provide customers with daily, weekly, and monthly reports on the work done. Thus, our clients always stay informed and can check the product development status at any time.

Product development methodologies

Pay attention to the product development approach followed by the software agency. It affects time and resource management. In case you are a startup, we recommend choosing a web company that implements the agile approach. It enables you to make changes at any stage of the development process.

Team composition and tech stack

Full-cycle development team

Since you will be creating a platform from scratch, you will need a full-cycle development team.

This includes:

  • UX/UI designers
  • Project Managers
  • Developers (back end and front end)
  • DevOps
  • QA engineers

So make sure that the provider has the required team with the corresponding qualifications to successfully work on your project.

At Codica, we have a strong team of highly skilled UX and UI designers, software developers, DevOps and QA engineers, who cover all the stages and aspects of marketplace development.

We also have experienced project managers, who ensure timely delivery and great communication with the customer throughout the project duration.

Technology stack

Programming tools and technologies define the future foundation of your marketplace. The tech stack you implement will influence the application’s performance and maintainability. Shortly, you may get low page loading speed and face scalability and update problems.

Do not search for a marketplace development company that specializes in everything, the so-called “master of none”. Better find online marketplace developers with vast experience in using a particular technology. This way, you will be sure of the high performance and maintainability of your platform.

In general, there is a list of questions you should answer before choosing a programming tool:

  • Do you want to scale the platform in perspective?
  • What are your timing expectations to roll the product to the market?
  • What integrations and features do you plan to implement further?

Below you can see the technology stack we use at Codica for custom online marketplace development.

Final thoughts

We have discussed the primary aspects you need to take into account when choosing the right online marketplace development company.

Contact different agencies, analyze their pros and cons, compare with their market rivals, and make a proper decision. Definitely, one of the crucial factors of your future platform outcome is the development team you will cooperate with.


This article was initially published on the Codica blog.