Programmers and IT specialists are also in great demand in the area of e-commerce. You benefit from the rapidly growing online trade. From PHP, JavaScript to Full Stack: Webshop developers should have these qualifications and knowledge.
Online trade is growing
E-commerce is booming. This means that around 2 trillion dollars are turned over worldwide every year. The end customer business (B2C) alone has a volume of over 50 billion dollars. Trend: continues to rise sharply.
Amazon, Otto, Zalando and the like seem to grow inexorably. There are also tens of thousands of smaller online shops. In addition, many companies are currently entering e-commerce because they have not yet followed digital sales. The business customer area (B2B) in particular is considered “underdeveloped”, there is still great potential here.
The future of retail belongs to e-commerce, that’s clear. Accordingly, IT specialists are currently in great demand. You create new online shops and develop the existing ones further. The wheel of innovations and trends never stands still here.
Which shop systems are used?
There are now a variety of systems. These can be divided into four categories:
- Self-developed platforms
Many companies that entered e-commerce a few years ago are betting on self-developed systems. These have to be kept alive with a lot of effort in order to adapt them to modern requirements. - Webshop systems for beginners
This category includes webshop plugins (for example WooComerce for WordPress) and modular systems. The latter include Jimdo, WixStores and the Ionos eShop from 1 & 1. - Online shop systems for advanced users
Medium-sized companies that have numerous products on offer and many customers usually have “correct” online shop systems in use. These include, for example, Shopware, Shopify, Digital River and Intershop. - E-Commerce Enterprise Solutions
Large companies often rely on powerful platforms. With these, for example, many transactions and the operation of international branches are possible. They are based on systems from Salesforce, Adobe or SAP.
What does an e-commerce substructure have to offer?
Choosing the right shop system is no easy undertaking for companies. In addition to the costs and the range of functions, other factors are important for the decision-making process. This includes, for example, the scalability and the possibility of adapting the system to your own requirements.
The latter is an important point, especially for medium-sized and large companies. As a rule, they have had ERP, PIM- and CMS systems in use, which data are to be exchanged with the online shop. Or you would like to connect additional systems and platforms as part of a so-called headless commerce strategy. For example smartphone apps, smart home or IoT solutions.
Online shop development: Which developers are in demand?
If the importance of e-commerce grows in a company, the online shop platform must grow with it. This usually requires individual adjustments. In order for such “special requests” to be implemented, a company needs special developers and IT specialists. That means: There is no such thing as a “shop developer” profession.
As a rule, an e-commerce system, whether small or large, is divided into two areas: backend and frontend.
- The front end is what customers get to see. For example, a smartly designed online shop with colorful product images.
- The backend is what runs “under the hood” – the technical substructure. The backend is often complex because different systems work together.
The qualifications and knowledge of front-end and back-end developers overlap because they develop with the same programming and script languages in places.
What must an online shop developer be able to do?
An online shop developer should have completed training as an IT specialist, application development or a IT degree. Many years of experience in developing web applications are also part of the basic requirements. Likewise, the motivation to always be up-to-date with IT trends and to want to learn for a lifetime with further training.
Most web shop developers have mastered more than just one Script or programming language. These are often used in webshop development:
- PHP
In-depth knowledge of PHP is essential for the backend and partly also for the frontend Very popular with developers. PHP is often used in conjunction with a MySQL database. - JavaScript
HTML, CSS and JavaScript are the typical skills that a frontend developer should master. - Java
Java is used in various areas. For example, in backend programming and in the development of smartphone apps. - .NET
Dot Net from Microsoft is – to put it simply – a hodgepodge of different tools and development languages. These include, for example, C ++ and C #. - Full Stack
A full-stack developer is an all-round developer who masters various backend and frontend languages. He is familiar with PHP, Java, JavaScript, HTML, CSS and Python, for example.
What jobs are there for programmers in the field of e-commerce?
When companies are looking for new developers, they have different approaches. On the one hand, they are looking for the specialist areas, for example: Developer for …
- Backend
- Frontend
- Databases
- full stack
On the other hand, you write jobs that refer directly to a development language. For example: Developer in the area …
- PHP
- Java
- JavaScript
- C #
- .NET
There are also positions for experts who specialize in special online shop systems. We are looking for Magento developers, Shopware developers or SAP ABAP programmers, among others.
These positions are also part of it
Programmers never work alone. Since the adaptation and further development of online shops is an extensive task, the developers exchange ideas with other specialists. These include these job profiles:
- Software architect
He plans building a shop system and networking with other systems. - Project manager
If a web shop is developed according to the classic waterfall model, the project manager plans and coordinates the project. - Product Owner / Scrum Master
Most software teams develop their products using an agile method such as Scrum. The Product Owner, the Scrum Master and the development team form a unit. - PIM / ERP / CRM / CMS developers
Flexible online shop platforms allow other systems to be connected to for example to exchange data. For example, an online shop receives its product data from a merchandise management system (ERP) and product information management (PIM); the customer data flows into a customer relationship management system (CRM). Accordingly, there are special CRM jobs. - SAP professionals
If an e-commerce platform is linked to one or more SAP systems, the expertise of the SAP experts to wear. - Docker / Kubernetes specialists
The technology of online shops is increasingly moving to the cloud. Administrators and developers with special skills are required to set up and operate such solutions. - UX Designer
You work closely with the front-end developers. Together they ensure that the web shop is well served.
Conclusion: The job profiles in e-commerce are versatile
To set up and adapt an online shop, the skills of web developers are required. PHP, Java, JavaScript and HTML are among their tools. Such experts are currently desperately wanted. Likewise, programmers who specialize in a system. For example on SAP, Magento or Shopware.
As the e-commerce market is growing and becoming increasingly complex, specialization is advancing. The demand for IT experts who are familiar with cloud, smart home and IoT platforms will increase. If you want to benefit from this boom, you should constantly train yourself and familiarize yourself with new systems – it’s worth it!