Web development is a highly competitive field, filled with thousands of developers who want to make a living by creating exceptional web applications. To hire a web developer, you need to have a process. You can’t just post your job on the Internet and expect hundreds of developers to contact you.
A good hiring process can significantly impact your business since it determines how quickly you’ll find the right person for the job. This guide will walk you through hiring an exceptional web developer.
Ask yourself some questions:
- What is most important to you?
- How much are you willing to pay?
- What type of developer do you need?
- When would the project start and finish?
Things you should remember while hiring a web developer:
Experience and Expertise: Experience is an essential factor when hiring a front end developer. You don’t need to hire a developer with more experience than others, but it certainly means that if someone were working on similar projects before, they would get through the project faster and with fewer issues.
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Communication
The development process goes through different phases which require proper communication. You should find a developer who understands your messages and can communicate his ideas with you in the same way. The developer you’re hiring must have good written and verbal communication skills. Without proper communication, you won’t understand each other, setting different project goals.
2. Tolerance
Generally, developers can’t stand their clients/customers if they contact them every second with new requests and changes. So ensure that you’re hiring a developer who knows how to deal with this. Generally, a developer who is willing to work for you, even if you change your mind a million times at the end of a project, will be the best for you, or at least that’s what I’ve experienced.
3. Work progress
Ensure that a developer reasonably estimates the project’s time frame and its progress. For example, some developers might try to sell you a project which can’t be finished in the given timeframe, or they don’t have enough experience to estimate it correctly.
4. Domain expertise
It’s essential to find a developer who is an expert in your field of business. But, unfortunately, expertise can’t be learnt within a short period, which means that if you’re hiring someone from another industry, you risk spending months training them to get them where they need to be.
5. Portfolio
The best way for a potential developer to sell himself is by portfolio. It doesn’t matter if they have a few projects in their portfolio, as long as they’re impressive and unique. Like experience, it’s one of the most important things to consider when hiring a developer. A portfolio showcases a good understanding of the project’s requirements, skills, and talents. It also shows the time they took to finish each project, which can estimate the project’s timeframe.
6.References
References can signify how skilled a developer is, and you should always contact them before hiring someone from the Internet. You can ask references about their work with the developer and their opinions about them.
7. Price
The prices of web developers vary greatly depending on their experience, location and demand. The best way to find a reasonable price is by researching freelancer websites. Keep in mind that experienced website developers are expensive, but they’ll be able to complete the project in a limited timeframe.
Availability
Ensure that a developer is available throughout the project’s timeframe and has a good response time. Should be available for a quick talk and has a reliable communication channel (Skype, phone number, etc.).
Web developer hiring process
The process of hiring a web developer is essential as it can ensure pleasant cooperation between you and your developer. You should always keep in mind that you’re not buying some products from a store, but you’re hiring a web developer who’ll be building your project from scratch. Therefore, you should always hire someone you can trust as an essential factor in your project.
Nothing is more frustrating than losing money on a failed investment because a developer didn’t know his work and did a project that your clients couldn’t accept.
Now that you know how to hire a web developer let’s go through the hiring process.
- Plan your project: Make a list of features and tools you want the project to have. Then, write down a detailed description for each of them so that your web developer knows what you’re looking for.
- Define your budget: Outsource web development is an expansive area, and hundreds of tools help web developers achieve the same result. The price will depend on numerous factors, such as custom graphics and animations, content management system (CMS), plug-ins, speed and functionality.
- Find candidates: There are several places where you can find potential candidates to hire as a web developer – social networking platforms such as LinkedIn, Upwork and Freelancer or job boards such as StackOverflow Jobs or Authentic Jobs.
- Make contact: The hiring process begins the instant you contact a developer. Their work, communication skills and problem-solving abilities will become apparent during the hiring process.
- Shortlist your candidates: You can shortlist up to five developers, then compare them based on their experience, prices and portfolios.
- Interview your candidates: When you’ve selected your top candidate(s), schedule an interview via Skype/phone. This is the most effective method of getting in touch with them and assessing how they respond to your questions.
- Make your decision:Finally, choose the candidate that best suits the project you want to develop and negotiate their price based on their experience and portfolio.
Conclusion
There are many factors to consider when hiring a developer. One must make sure that the person you’re about to hire has enough experience and expertise in your industry. Don’t be afraid of asking any questions, since you shouldn’t take the decision lightly. Web development is not something that can be done quickly by anyone.
