Vishal Gelani – Our Magento Master!

Vishal Gelani – Our Magento Master!

Every member of the KiwiCommerce family is valued for their own special skills, however we do have an extra special member of the team who deserves a mention on our blog. Vishal Gelani, one of our Project Managers, has been selected by Magento and awarded the title of Magento Master! This means that Magento recognised his outstanding contribution to the Magento community and awarded him this badge of honour!

 

We thought we’d find out a bit more about Vishal and what makes him tick with a friendly interview style feature that we’re proud to share with the world. Congratulations Vishal!

 

Hi Vishal, how long have you worked with Magento?

I’ve been working on Magento for almost 8 years now. When I started work on it we were using Magento v1.7, so it’s changed quite a lot in that time and I’ve been able to grow with it, learning how all the ever changing features work and how to develop creatively. Magento is definitely super flexible and allows me to customise it to do almost anything!

 

Why did you choose eCommerce web development as your occupation?

Because at that time there was a soaring demand for eCommerce. I was looking for career growth and work flexibility which ultimately made web development an extraordinary career choice. I’m so glad I took this path.

 

What did you have to do to become a Magento Master?

While developing a range of professional projects I faced a number of issues in the core functionality of Magento, so I started to fix those issues and reported back to Magento so they could use the fixes. I’ve worked with Magento for years and develop it as my passion as well as my work, so I think these were the reasons I was selected as Magento Master.

 

Vishal and some of the team working on a project

 

What is the best brand you’ve worked on?

I have worked on a huge range of popular eCommerce brands over the years, however the one I think I enjoyed the most was one of our recent projects BroschDirect. I worked on some complicated enhanced functionality and this was one of the jobs where I was the lead project manager for the full project. I was really proud when we completed and handed it over to owners, who then reported big jumps in conversion.

 

What are your favorite Magento extensions?

Photo Gallery is my favorite extension and in my opinion one of the best extensions for Magento as the coding style, format and methodology used in this extension is flawless, plus it’s simple for merchants to use. It is also free, so I’d 100% recommend anyone who isn’t using it to check it out.

 

What was the last conference you attended?

I attended Magento Meetup 2019 in India which was an excellent conference! The presentations covered a wide range of topics and yet were all connected by our common research interests. My next conference is Magento Imagine in Las Vegas which should be amazing, I’m super excited for that.

 

Best coding tips?

• When you’re stuck, think of the simplest method with the cleanest code. Don’t overthink it and sometimes remember that you don’t need to sit behind the computer to solve the problem. Take a break and come back to it when you have a clear head.
• Two heads are better than one. Pair Programming is not always possible, but when two people code together it can be a real learning experience for both.

 

What’s your favorite film?

Inception

 

Do you have a favorite quote?

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

 

Your favorite animal?

Lion

 

What hobbies do you have?

My main hobby (aside from coding) is cricket.

 

Do you have any special skills?

• Self Management
• Financial Planning
• Problem Solving
• Cricket!

 

And finally, what’s the best thing about working for KiwiCommerce?

Everything.

 

Thanks to Vishal for taking the time away from coding and cricket to do this!

 

If you’re looking for Magento experts to help with your eCommerce site, don’t hesitate to contact us today.