With over 60 million websites powered by WordPress, businesses are eager to bring WordPress developers onto their teams. But finding the perfect fit can feel overwhelming. You want someone with stellar WordPress skills who also gels with your business objectives and workflows. This comprehensive guide will take you through the full hiring journey, from pinpointing your website needs, to locating top talent, to best practices for interviewing and onboarding. Follow our tips for thoroughly vetting candidates, asking illuminating questions, and clearly conveying expectations. Doing so will help ensure you find the ideal WordPress expert to collaborate with in building a high-performing site that effortlessly evolves alongside your business. With the right developer, you gain so much more than just a contractor, you gain an invaluable partner invested in your success.
The Benefits of Hiring a WordPress Developer
Hiring a WordPress developer provides immense value in terms of expertise, optimization, and risk mitigation.
- Expertise in WordPress – Developers have an in-depth knowledge of WordPress functionality and architecture. They can build custom themes and plugins tailored to your needs. Their expertise helps implement features and integrations not available out-of-the-box.
- Optimization – Developers optimize WordPress sites for maximum speed and performance. They enhance security and protect against vulnerabilities. Developers optimize for SEO through best practices to improve rankings.
- Customization – Developers can build in custom features, integrations, designs, and functionality tailored to your brand and business needs. This enables a site that matches your specific requirements.
- Risk Mitigation – Developers help prevent breakages, downtime, and technical issues through diligent monitoring, maintenance, and updates. Their expertise significantly reduces risk.
- Scalability – Developers ensure your site architecture and stacks scale gracefully as your business grows over time. This enables managing increased traffic and complexity down the road.
Define Your Website Goals and Requirements
Having a clear vision of your website goals and requirements will ensure you find the right developer fit. Start by thinking through what you want your site to achieve. Do you want to generate leads, drive ecommerce sales, or share information? Defining these goals will shape functionality needs.
Next, make a detailed list of must-have features and functionality required to meet those goals. Also note nice-to-have items to be prioritized later. Be as specific as possible about integrations, metrics, performance needs, and more. Having this information will allow you to assess if a developer’s expertise matches your project.
- Consider your target audience and what would be most useful for them.
- Determine what types of content and features will be necessary.
- Decide on your site architecture – how many pages, sections, layout, etc.
- Set realistic goals for traffic, conversions, speed, and mobile optimization.
- Prioritize core essentials over nice-to-have items.
Where to Find WordPress Developers
With WordPress being the most widely used CMS, there are fortunately many places to find skilled WordPress developers. One option is leveraging freelance platforms like Upwork, Fiverr and Freelancer. These give you access to developers from around the world. You can view profiles, reviews, work samples and hourly rates.
Another good option is utilizing WordPress-specific job platforms like WPHired and Codeable. These cater specifically to WordPress talent, allowing you to post your project for interested developers to apply. This lets you select from candidates tailored to WordPress.
For finding local talent, try networking events, co-working spaces, and local WordPress Meetup groups. There may be freelancers or agencies in your area ideal for an in-person partnership. Attending relevant events lets you connect directly with developers to gauge fit.
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Qualities to Look For When Hiring
When evaluating WordPress developers, there are certain key qualities that indicate strong expertise. Focus on these areas during screening:
- Strong portfolio – Look for a robust portfolio showcasing a wide variety of custom WordPress work. See relevant examples of complete WordPress sites, custom themes, plugins, and functionality they’ve developed.
- Breadth of experience – Look for expertise across core WordPress development including hooks, actions, custom post types, custom fields, taxonomies, plugins, integrations, headless WordPress, custom REST APIs, and more.
- Technical skills – Strong proficiency in fundamental web languages like PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript/jQuery is vital. Bonus for WordPress-specific skills like developing custom plugins, custom post types, custom taxonomies, and creative integrations.
- Design skills – For customizing design and UX, see if they have web design skills for UI principles, mockup creation, and ability to convert designs seamlessly into WordPress themes. An eye for design brings themes to life.
- Communication – Responsive, patient and clear communication is essential for an effective partnership. Look for accountability, promptness in replies, clarity in conveying technical topics, and transparency.
- Passion – Opt for developers who actively follow WordPress news, engage in the community via events, blogs, forums etc, and are excited to constantly learn new techniques and solutions. Passionate developers go the extra mile.
The Interview and Hiring Process
The interview and hiring process is key for evaluating WordPress candidates thoroughly. Start with an initial screening call or questionnaire to assess overall fit. This gives you a chance to explain your project needs and gauge skills.
Next, have candidates walk through work samples of past WordPress projects. Ask detailed questions to understand their technical capabilities, communication style and approach to projects. You can also conduct a small paid trial project to assess work.
- Do a video call to evaluate communication skills
- Ask about their development process and workflow
- Assess problem-solving skills with technical questions
- Discuss roles, responsibilities, availability and timelines
- Check references to validate past work and reliability
Conclusion
Hiring a WordPress developer is a major investment, but the right one can take your business to new heights through an exceptional website. By following this guide, you now have the steps to find a developer who not only has stellar WordPress skills, but also meshes with your team and goals. Take the time upfront to thoroughly screen candidates and have clarity around your needs. This diligence means you’ll hire an expert developer who can provide immense value for years to come through a high-performing and innovative WordPress site. With a meticulous hiring process, you’ll gain a true partner invested in transforming your online presence and advancing your business.