Sharetribe allows you to build a unique marketplace fast with custom development. To work with the Sharetribe Developer Platform, you need these development skills, or you need to hire a software developer. Though any developer with the required skillset will be able to help, we recommend hiring a vetted developer from Sharetribe's official Expert Network for great quality work at competitive rates.
To hire a developer to build your Sharetribe marketplace, you'll need to take three key steps:
Firstly, you should use Sharetribe's no-code tools to modify the starting marketplace theme. This will reduce the setup work a developer needs to do and introduce you to Sharetribe's out-of-the-box capabilities. You can get started making these changes in the Console after creating your trial account.
Secondly, you need to consider what custom features you want to build or modifications you would like to implement to the starting template and communicate these requirements to the developer.
Lastly, you need to match your requirements with your specific budget and timeline while also taking into consideration Sharetribe's capabilities.
How to find a qualified developer
Although you have the option to hire any developer with the required development skills to build your Sharetribe marketplace, we highly recommend considering one from our Expert Network. Experts in our network are vetted for their skills and professionalism. Each has built at least one custom marketplace using Sharetribe's technology previously, though most have built several.
You can connect with a developer from the Expert Network through the Console. Either book a call with Sharetribe to discuss your project and questions. If you prefer, you can review Expert profiles and contact them directly in the Expert directory.
The first step to working with an Expert is to meet and share your requirements. They can then prepare a high-level estimate for you, including the estimated cost and time to build your marketplace.
Prepare your requirements to get proposals
Key to a productive developer evaluation process is having clear requirements for the work you want them to complete. Developers want to know what your marketplace is all about and how you envision it working so that they can prepare proposals for you to consider. Proposals typically include information about the estimated cost of the project, estimated timeline, and outstanding questions, alongside information about the practicalities of working together, such as account setup and ways of working.
You will get more accurate proposals with greater detail if you have clear requirements. You are not expected to know everything about how your marketplace will look and work at the beginning, but you should try to prepare clear guidelines for your most important feature needs. This generative process is made easier by having the starting Template to use as a jumping-off point for your custom marketplace. In our next article, we share more tips on how to use the Template to prepare requirements for meeting with developers.
Check out this article to learn more about the costs involved with customizing your marketplace with code.