Adobe Commerce development
Storefront design
Performance & SEO
AI & agentic commerce
Release tracker
The best way to choose a Magento development agency is to ask the same specific questions to every shortlisted agency and compare how they answer, not just what they charge. Good agencies answer with process, evidence and honest limits; weak ones answer with adjectives. Below are 20 questions across five areas, what a good and a weak answer sound like for each, and the contract red flags to catch before you sign.
Before you ask anything: prepare a brief
Agencies can only answer well if they know what you need. Write down your edition (Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce), current version, traffic, integrations, frontend, the business goal, and what "done" means. A structured brief makes answers comparable; our ecommerce RFP template gives you a ready format.
Also decide what kind of help you need. If you are weighing an agency against freelancers or an in-house hire, read freelancer, agency or in-house: how to hire Magento developers first.
Experience and fit (questions 1 to 4)
| Question | A good answer sounds like | A weak answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Which Magento projects like ours have you delivered, and can we speak to one of those clients? | Two or three comparable projects described in detail (edition, integrations, problems faced), with a reference you can call | A logo wall, "hundreds of stores", no reference available |
| 2. Who exactly will work on our project, and what is their Magento experience? | Named roles, the lead developer's background, how long they stay on the account | "Our team of experts"; people assigned after signing |
| 3. Which parts of this project do you see as risky? | Specific risks from your brief, such as an ERP integration or extension compatibility, and how they would reduce them | "No problem, we've done this many times" |
| 4. What would you advise us not to build? | Features to drop, use natively or defer, with reasons | Agreement with everything in the brief |
Technical quality (questions 5 to 9)
| Question | A good answer sounds like | A weak answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| 5. How do you customize Magento without editing core code? | Plugins, observers, service contracts, declarative schema, Composer patches as a last resort | "We change whatever is needed" |
| 6. How do you review code before it reaches our store? | Pull requests, peer review, coding standard checks, automated tests in a pipeline | "Our senior developer checks it" |
| 7. How do you decide between buying an extension and building one? | Fit, vendor health, upgrade cost over several years, and Hyvä or headless compatibility | A default answer either way |
| 8. What frontend would you recommend for us, and why? | A reasoned choice between Luma, Hyvä, Breeze, headless or Edge Delivery based on your extensions, budget and team | The agency's favorite option for every client |
| 9. How will you measure performance before and after? | Field Core Web Vitals, server response times and load tests, with baselines recorded first | "It will be fast"; lab scores only |
Process and communication (questions 10 to 14)
| Question | A good answer sounds like | A weak answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| 10. How do you estimate, and what happens when scope changes? | Discovery first, estimates with stated assumptions, a written change process | A single figure on the first call |
| 11. How often will we see working software? | Regular demos on a staging site you can access | A reveal near the end |
| 12. Who is our day-to-day contact, and how fast do they respond? | A named person, agreed channels and response times | A shared inbox |
| 13. How do you test before release? | Regression, payment, integration and user acceptance testing on staging with real data | "We test everything" |
| 14. How do you deploy, and how do you roll back? | Automated, repeatable deployments with a tested rollback | Manual file uploads or "we're careful" |
Security, support and upgrades (questions 15 to 18)
| Question | A good answer sounds like | A weak answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| 15. How do you handle Adobe security patches? | A schedule tied to Adobe's releases, testing on staging, an emergency route for critical fixes | "When you ask us" |
| 16. How do you plan upgrades to new Magento versions? | Lifecycle dates in the plan, compatibility checks, upgrades budgeted ahead | Upgrades only when something breaks |
| 17. How do you manage access to our systems and data? | Individual accounts, 2FA, least privilege, removal when people leave | Shared logins |
| 18. What does support look like after launch? | A defined support plan with response times, a warranty period and a clear route for urgent issues | "Just email us" |
Ownership and exit (questions 19 to 20)
| Question | A good answer sounds like | A weak answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| 19. Who owns the code, the repository and the hosting accounts? | You do, from day one; the agency works in your repository and accounts | The agency keeps the repository or licenses code to you |
| 20. If we part ways, what do we get and how does handover work? | Documentation, credentials, a handover period and no exit fees | Vague, or a fee to release your own code |
About certifications and partner status
Adobe runs individual certifications for Commerce at Professional, Expert and Master levels, covering developers, front-end developers, business practitioners and architects. Certifications show that a person passed an exam on a recent version, which is a useful signal, especially for developer roles. Ask for the named people's credentials and verify them through Adobe's credential verification or the Credly badges Adobe issues. Our guide to Adobe Commerce certifications explains which ones matter for which role.
Agencies can also join Adobe's Solution Partner Program, which (per Adobe's program page, checked November 2026) has Community, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum levels. Adobe sets level requirements on both sales and certifications, so partner level reflects a commercial relationship with Adobe as well as skills, so treat it as one input, not a substitute for the 20 questions above. Ask how many of the people on your project hold current certifications, rather than how many the company holds overall.
Contract red flags
Read the contract with the same care as the proposal. These clauses cause most disputes:
- Code ownership stays with the agency or transfers only after final payment with no escrow or repository access during the project.
- No acceptance criteria. "Delivered" is not defined, so you cannot reject unfinished work.
- Unlimited change-request pricing with no agreed rate or approval step.
- Fixed price with an open scope. Either the scope is fixed and written down, or the price will not hold.
- No warranty period for defects found after launch.
- Hosting or licences in the agency's name for Adobe Commerce, extensions or hosting.
- Exit fees or long notice periods on support retainers, with no handover obligation.
- Subcontracting without disclosure of who actually writes the code.
- No data protection terms for customer data the agency can access.
- Liability caps so low they cover nothing meaningful.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review any development contract before you sign.
How to score the answers
- Score each of the 20 answers from 0 (weak) to 2 (good), using the columns above.
- Weight the questions that matter most for your project, for example integrations or upgrades, double.
- Set a minimum: any agency scoring 0 on code ownership (19) or security patches (15) is out, whatever the total.
- Compare proposals only between agencies that pass that bar.
- Run a small paid discovery or audit with your top choice before committing to the full build.
A paid discovery phase is the best test of all: you see how the agency works, and you get a document you own even if you go elsewhere.
FAQ
Should we choose the cheapest proposal?
Only if it covers the same scope with the same assumptions. Low quotes often leave out testing, integration error handling and post-launch support, which return later as change requests.
Is a large agency safer than a small one?
Not automatically. What protects you is a named, experienced team, clear process and code you own. Ask who will work on your store, whatever the agency's size.
How many agencies should we shortlist?
Three to five is enough to compare without turning selection into a project of its own.
Using these questions with Mistri
We would expect you to ask Mistri the same 20 questions. If you are shortlisting for a build, start with our Adobe Commerce development page; for an existing store that needs a steady partner, see Magento support and maintenance.
Sources
Adobe Commerce certifications overview (Adobe Experience League); Adobe Solution Partner Program benefits (Adobe); Adobe Commerce lifecycle policy (Adobe Experience League); Security best practices (Adobe Commerce Implementation Playbook).
