How to Employ the Right MERN Stack Developer for your Project

Earlier, businesses only relied on technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to satisfy their web development requirements. But it changed over time with the introduction of the MERN stack, a combination of MongoDB, Express JS, ReactJS, and Node JS that is helping startups, SMBs, and legacy enterprises simplify the process of building applications.

To take full advantage of these technologies, it is imperative to employ a MERN stack developer. What’s more important is to choose the right developers or a team, which is nothing less than a challenge. Our blog today will cover the same subject. Our experts have come up with this interesting blog to give you all the necessary information to onboard professionals of your choice and start your project right away.

All About MERN Stack Developers

A MERN stack developer is nothing but a certified professional with hands-on experience and expertise in MongoDB, Express JS, ReactJS, and Node JS. They can successfully cater to both front-end and back-end requirements. While they use MongoDB and Express JS to effectively manage rapidly changing data, React and Node JS are used to create UI components and handle multiple server and client requests.

Here are some most important MERN stack developer roles and responsibilities to give you a better idea.

• Develop, deploy, test, and maintain front-end and back-end web architecture.
• Integrate applications and systems with preferred cloud technologies and tools.
• Create and analyze user data from multiple systems.
• Build fully functional applications from wireframes and UI/UX designs.
• Incorporate prototypes that best suit the project requirements.
• Manage server and cloud infrastructure by implementing necessary standards and best practices.
• Use proven development methodologies like Agile, Scrum, Lean, XP, etc., for quick pivoting and iteration.
• Deploy needed development tools and third-party resources when required.
• Design and enhance interfaces to keep up with the ever-changing user expectations and market demands.
• Write clean code and validate it accordingly to support system architecture.
• Collaborate with different team members to overcome complex business challenges and technical issues.
• Perform required debugging and troubleshooting activities to avoid potential bugs, glitches, and unwanted vulnerabilities.
• Prioritize Unit and Integration tests to improve performance and overall app productivity.
• Use web development technologies like CSS, JavaScript, and HTML along with the MERN stack to ideate and introduce breakthrough software solutions.

Why Should You Hire a MERN Stack Developer?

MERN stack developers can help you make a smooth transition between back-end, front-end, and full stack development modes. This gives you more clarity about where your application stands. It also introduces quality infrastructures and functionalities to create a progressive production environment.

Here are some more reasons to hire a MERN full stack developer –

• Strong Development Community

  The number of MERN developers available across the market is enough to satisfy your software development needs. They are backed by a continuously evolving community that helps them deliver the right products and services.

• High-quality Solutions

  MERN stack developers help you avoid the complexities related to API calls and focus on designing high-end features, problem-solving, and improving product quality. They make the most out of MERN tools to roll out desired applications.

• Robust Testing

  With MERN developers, safeguarding your web and mobile application architecture becomes easier than ever before. They have the ability to utilize the best testing tools in order to keep your applications up and running against potential bugs and errors.

• MVC

  By building your own MERN stack development team, you get the privilege to experience model-view-controller (MVC) architecture to its best. They can help you distribute MVC components in a microservices architecture in a hassle-free way.

• Flexibility

  One of the significant reasons to choose MERN stack developers is that they can easily isolate the code for your database as well as front-end and back-end requirements. As such, you get enough room to build apps that need separate channels to address business logic and data.

• Budget-friendly

  Hiring individual developers to cater to your client and server-side needs can prove cost-intensive. On the other hand, considering a MERN expert for hire can help you handle both sides effectively without incurring any additional costs.

Technical Skills to Analyze While Employing a MERN Stack Developer

Technical skills and experience are the essential aspects that determine the proficiency of your chosen experts. And now that you have a brief idea of why you need to employ a full stack MERN developer in the first place, it is time to discuss a few things that can help you evaluate this proficiency and pick the right one for your project.

• MERN Technologies

  You need to hire dedicated developers who are well versed in MERN technologies. They should be able to exploit MongoDB to meet complex drivers and data storage requirements alongside making the best use of its indexing, ad hoc queries, and live integration capabilities to monitor business-critical data. They should know how routing can be made easier by using the API of Express JS. Your chosen developers must have a good understanding of React JS and how it can elevate user interactions. They should have the ability to create server-side applications and tools via Node JS.

• Web Technologies

  The developers you choose should have good command over popular web development technologies like HTML5 and CSS. Because HTML5 helps you offer an intuitive structure (layout, table, font, graphics, title, and headings), and CSS enables a pleasing appearance (text, color, etc.). Besides, knowledge of JavaScript and its frameworks like Angular is necessary to deliver seamless user experiences. For instance, displaying animations or changing colors.

• Object-oriented Programming (OOP)

  Object-oriented Programming plays a vital role in achieving full stack development with MERN. Hence, you need to hire MERN Stack developers who are well equipped with all the basic and advanced OOP concepts and pillars, such as modularity, encapsulation, polymorphism, abstraction, and troubleshooting.

• Adjacent Tools

  MERN Developers should have an in-depth understanding of development tools like Visual Studio (VS) code and its core competencies like built-in debugging, syntax highlighting, and smart code completion. They should have considerable experience working with Syntactically Awesome Stylesheet (Sass) and Leaner Style Sheet (LESS). Their expertise should include designing and customizing applications via Bootstrap. They should know how Bootstrap can be used to render a uniform appearance across multiple browsers.

• API Design and Development

  One of the most important MERN stack skills that your selected developers should have is designing powerful APIs. They should have the ability to deliver RESTful API services through Node JS and Express JS. Their experience should include handling Restify to optimize web services. Knowledge of binding UI elements to JavaScript object modules in order to augment API development is an add-on.

• Database Management System

  A MERN stack developer should be familiar with popular database management systems such as MongoDB, MySQL, and SQL Server. Knowledge of these imperatives is necessary for writing queries that can fetch data from available databases and tables related to your application.

• Version Control

  Make sure you pick MERN stack professionals who are capable of using common version control platforms like GitHub and Git. This is because Git helps you track user activities and manage project files effortlessly. Whereas GitHub facilitates source control functionalities via Git.

• Web Hosting Platforms

  Familiarity with dedicated hosting platforms stands amongst the MERN stack developer skills that you should never underestimate. You should always go with candidates that are proficient enough to host your web and mobile applications on the most sought-after cloud-enabled infrastructures, including Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Microsoft Azure.

How to Find and Employ Dedicated MERN Stack Developers

You now have the criteria to validate the credibility of a MERN Stack developer. The next step is to identify the resource that can help you employ developers or a development team of your choice. You can build an in-house development team via job boards such as LinkedIn, Monster, Careerbuilder, and so on. But the most competent way to hire potential candidates is by outsourcing your MERN stack project requirements.

This is because freelancers may prove unreliable during complex project handling, and hiring in-house employees will give you access to a limited number of resources. Contrarily, partnering with a software development company can help you overcome these challenges in the best way possible.

Here are some benefits of outsourcing your project to a trusted and experienced MERN stack development company –

• Get end-to-end support to manage your small or large-scale projects.
• Complete transparency to monitor and check project progress with a daily/ weekly reporting mechanism.
• Access to comprehensive MERN stack consulting at any development stage.
• Privilege to choose experts of your choice from a global talent pool.
• Exposure to the latest frameworks, IDEs, APIs, programming languages, and other tools.
• Industry-acclaimed practices to ensure confidentiality and security of your code.
• Change your team size anytime with flexible hiring and pricing models.
• Align with the best testing and QA practices to ensure error-free development.

You can also rely on other hiring resources such as open-source coding platforms, renowned tech universities, reviews and recommendations, technology blogs, and attending events (tech conferences, hackathons, etc.). But when you choose to outsource your project, you get the advantage of hiring preferred MERN developers in just six easy steps. Let’s take a look at them one by one.

• Step 1: Share Your Project Requirements

  The first step is to share your project requirements with the concerned person and discover the resources needed to fulfill them.

• Step 2: Screen Resumes

  The next step is to screen resumes and shortlist candidates based on the aforementioned skills, industry experience, and work portfolio.

• Step 3: Interview the Selected Candidates

  This step involves interviewing the shortlisted candidates. You can assess and choose the ones that perfectly suit your project criteria by conducting an online coding test or asking your preferred set of MERN stack interview questions.

• Step 4: Choose an Engagement Model

  You can either extend your in-house capabilities by hiring remote MERN developers on a contract or choose an onsite team model to dedicatedly work on your requirements from your location. You can also go for a hybrid model and make the best out of the combination of onsite and offshore resource engagement.

• Step 5: Finalize a Payment Model

  After choosing an engagement model, it is time to opt for a payment model that fits your overall project budget. You can employ MERN experts on a retainer basis – full-time or part-time or go for an hourly model.

• Step 6: Onboarding

  Last but not least, this step involves onboarding your preferred developers or a development team by providing them with the necessary resources, infrastructure, and other equipment.

How Much Does it Cost to Employ a MERN Stack Developer?

The cost to hire a MERN full stack professional depends on what your project requirements are. Some aspects to keep in mind include project scope and size, app type to build, preferred platforms (OSs and devices), advanced features and functionalities to add (if any), skills required, tech stack to use, third-party integrations, and set timeframe to accomplish all the milestones. You should have a clear understanding of these essential factors, along with desired goals and objectives, beforehand.

Along with these, aspects like the work portfolio, experience, and geographic location of your developers also play a vital role in defining the pricing structure. Therefore, it is really important to identify whether your project demands can be satisfied by a contract-based model, a long-term dedicated partnership, or just one-time support. This will not only accelerate your mobile app development process but also help you employ certified MERN experts within the set budget. You can contact us with your requirements to know the specific costs involved.

How can Mobisoft help?

Partnering with Mobisoft will help you employ dedicated MERN Stack developers for your existing or upcoming projects quickly and easily. With more than a decade of experience in the software development landscape, we help you deliver contemporary applications and solutions that your users would love to interact with. We are driven by talented MERN stack developers, software engineers, app architects, and consultants who are committed to extending our services to those looking to capitalize on potential business opportunities and niche projects. You can also choose our team augmentation services to extend your in-house MERN app development capabilities and satisfy your project requirements with ease.

With an even mix of technical expertise and strong industry background, we focus on catering to the requirements of diverse business sectors and helping them stand out. Our MERN development services aim to generate smart mobility experiences without compromising on quality. From custom development and maintenance to UI/UX design, migration, and upgradation of applications, we offer nothing but the best. Altogether, we help you adopt the latest tech advancements and create a lasting impact on your end-users.

Conclusion

When it comes to app development with the MERN stack, it is essential to consider a few factors and analyze their importance before jumping to conclusions. Choosing the right professionals or a team is one of those key aspects that you cannot afford to miss out on. Ensure that you hire a MERN stack developer, who supports your app ideation, understands your vision, complements your existing team, and is skilled enough to fulfill your business-critical needs. This will maximize your success rates and help you generate profitable outcomes in the long run.

Author's Bio:

Pritam Barhate