WordPress Developers for Hire | 13 Top Freelancer Sites (2024)

hire freelance wordpress developer

If you use WordPress but don’t have the time or skills for a particular complex task, it is quite easy to find WordPress developers for hire.

As a WordPress user you might have a habit of doing everything by yourself. Whether that’s writing blog posts, tweaking your theme, creating a landing page or setting up a WordPress security plugin. It is totally justifiable as there are a lot of tutorials out there which can help you to do those things by yourself. However, you can offload work if you need to. 

When you’re not absolutely sure about what you’re doing, or if you are very busy with your own work, a very useful method to get work done is to hire an expert who knows the system inside-out.

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The beauty of working on this platform is that whenever you need a helping hand from a freelance WordPress developer, it is quite easy to find and hire them based on your budget and your job specifications. There are literally thousands of WordPress experts out there and many would love to work on your project.

In this post, one of many tips we share, is how to find WordPress experts and the necessary steps you should take to hire them.

Let us begin with the where. Then we can move on to the what and how. 

WordPress web development

For us, (as you'll soon read below) finding trusted developers has not been a good experience - though definitely a hard lesson we had to learn. We've had to deal with a number of issues:

  • Programmers giving us very low-quality code
  • Suppliers who communicated very sporadically - a significant communication barrier (besides the lack of business English)
  • Work which was 100% plagiarized, creating serious legal problems for us
  • High hourly rates, with quality which was decent at best
  • Developers who vanished without a trace (with our deposit)

But don't let this scare you from outsourcing your work. You just need to find a trusted company and we are in a position to help!

We've been in the business for over 15 years, so we have already built a network of providers and suppliers who we know and trust when it comes to web development services.

Want to know more? Read On!

Job boards to hire WordPress developers

Job boards are great places to find developers for hire.

Unlike Google search, you don’t need to spend time searching and contacting them individually. Instead, the freelancer will contact you. All you need to do is to list your job on these sites and compare the proposals you receive from the applicants.

Of course, you are going to have to make your own selection with job boards. The freelancer you hire here can be anyone who is able to upload a resume, so you'll have to go through your own selection process. Follow the tips in this article for any of these hiring methods.

Below is a list of popular places where you can find WordPress programmers for hire.

There are many ways to find web developers for hire who can meet your requirements. Let’s look at a few of them.

Finding a good website developer for hire is not something that comes very easy. You can find hundreds of developers on dozens of websites but finding a good one is the hard part.

When finding a WordPress developer for hire, first give them a very small job. Something which is not very high profile, not urgent and something which you know how it should be done. If you can put a test task together, all the better. Either way, make sure you can try before you buy. Take it from us, it helps!

With this first job, you can gauge the functionality, expertise, communication, timeliness, budgets and in general, develop a good relationship with the designer that you want to hire for future projects.

If you start hiring without your own screening process, be prepared for a few failures!

Today, we only employ pre-vetted developers. To do that we go directly to the horse's mouth. Toptal - our favourite marketplace uses the top 3% of talent only. Candidates they send you have been thoroughly tested before they are accepted as freelancers. We do highly recommend that you start your search for a developer at Toptal.

And that's why our #1 place to hire WordPress developers is the following:

1. Toptal

Hire WordPress developers at toptal

Toptal is known mainly because their aim is to cut down the time required to find great freelancers. This is because they only hire the top 3% of freelance and best WordPress developers.

Toptal is one of the best choices if you’re looking to hire top developers around the world. In order to identify the best talent, they have developed a rigorous screening process and will not accept anyone who doesn’t meet their high standards.

The company claims that out of thousands of applications, only fewer than 3% are accepted and everyone who is accepted is a senior developer or designer.

If you’re looking to hire a WordPress developer for part-time, your budget must be $1000-$1600+/week. Another thing to be noted is that Toptal is not available for every country.

Hire WordPress Developers from Toptal 

2. Codeable.io

codeable for outsourcing WordPress development

Codeable claims to be the best outsourcing platform targeted specifically at WordPress. You can fulfil almost any kind of WordPress website related job here such theme development and plugin development. This site is 100% dedicated to WordPress services outsourcing.

Like Toptal, Codeable vets their applicants and only allows the top 2% of applicants to join their ranks. This is, of course, a sure way of knowing that any people you hire here are going to be at the top of their game.

Again, an excellent place to find web development experts for hire. You don't really post your job here, you tell them what you need and you'll get a quotation and then the development process kicks off from there. 

3. Fiverr Pro

Fiverr is one of the largest and most diverse freelance marketplaces anywhere in the world. It’s a mass of freelancers from every walk of life offering everything from PPC ads to full WordPress development.

You might need the patience to use this platform and sort out the wheat from the chaff on Fiverr but in return, you access one of the widest talent pools anywhere.

On the other hand, Fiverr Pro is a pool of freelancers that have been proven and have a track record of good results.

fiverr pro wordpress

Fiverr is similar to Upwork in that it’s a self-contained ecosystem where candidates bid on jobs you post. A lot of what you get out of it comes down to the quality of the brief you place and your ability to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Fiverr Pro only allows verified, exceptional talent, hand-vetted for stellar quality and service unlike the regular Fiverr where there is no screening, and there is no testing.

Like Upwork, the system is heavily skewed towards the employer rather than freelancer, so if things do go wrong any resolution will usually end in your favour.

There is a lot to like about Fiverr. The depth and breadth of talent available, the range of skills you get to choose from, and the relative ease with which you can hire them. However, like all freelance marketplaces, the term ‘buyer beware’ rings very true.

Hire WordPress Developers on Fiverr Pro

4. PSD to WP Service

We appreciate that PSD to WP Service doesn’t exactly fit into this list of places to find the best WordPress freelancers for hire but we don’t care. But we have used this service ourselves and found the experience overwhelmingly positive.

They specialise in WordPress theme development but can do anything WordPress related.

PSD to WP Service

As the name implies, PSD to WP Service specializes in converting PSD design or sketches to WordPress websites, but they do all sorts of WordPress development jobs. So if you have a WordPress development job that you'd like to outsource for a good price, these are the guys to get in touch with - they are our recommended outsourcing company.

The setup is very straightforward. Send an enquiry, await a quote, send the full set of files for conversion, and wait for delivery. Check the end result, verify the brief has been fully met, and pay the balance.

PSD to WP Service will support all work for 30 days after completion for a little extra peace of mind.

Outsource WordPress Development Jobs

5. WPKraken

WPKraken is a little different.

It is actually a company of WordPress developers who actively seek to help people with their WordPress issues. Based in Poland, they have structured their services a little like a freelance job board where you submit a job.

WPKraken will put together a quote and once agreed, will get on with the work.

WPKraken

The company has some big names on their site including Lexus, Suzuki, Twitch, Euromaster, and others. Assuming they are real, that’s a decent list of big brands having used their services.

Reviews are positive too which is always a good sign when you're looking to hire WordPress developers.

It might be that using a development house that specializes in WordPress is exactly what you need. Rather than waiting for freelancers to pitch for a role you advertise, you could approach a development company and have them do it all for you.

6. Smashing Jobs board

smashing jobs board to hire WordPress Designers

As it is integrated with award-winning Smashing Magazine, the Smashing Job Board is one of the best ways to find creative professionals including programmers and designers for hire. The job board is very busy, and posting a job here requires commitment from your side. In fact, posting a freelance job entails a fee of $75 whilst a fulltime job has a fee of $225.

The difference with this board is also that you won't just find coders for hire. It is open to all types of web designers, so finding WordPress experts will require some sifting. 

7. WP Hired

WPHired - a job board / website specifically for hiring WordPress developers

This job board is not just a section of any popular website. WP Hired is a dedicated job board website for WordPress developer services. That makes it another excellent place to hire WordPress developers.

If you just have a quick job, you should be able to post this on the free plan, which allows you to post 1 job which stays up for 1 week.

If you want your jobs to stay up for longer and increase the chances of getting more respondents, you might want to go for one of the paid plans which start from $39.99.

8. Upwork.com

Upwork is a bidding site launched by integrating popular freelancing platforms Elance and Odesk. All you need to do is to create an account on Upwork, list your job, and accept bidding by freelancers.

upwork

Once again, people will contact you, make an offer, show you their work and experience and then you select which offer you prefer. Incidentally, given that we've mentioned both Toptal and Upwork in this article, you might want to check out our Toptal vs Upwork article.

Just like other freelancing sites where no vetting is done during the application process, you'll need to screen the people you hire. We've had good and bad experiences hiring from Upwork, so make sure you read Upwork reviews and start slowly with any hiring and ramp up as you assess the quality of the developers.

Upwork is flooded with users from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other developing countries. Make sure you find a professional who is able to work according to Western work practices and knows exactly what is expected of them.

Fees for development work are agreed beforehand, but you are typically able to determine the budget. Of course, if you set a budget that is too low, you are probably not going to see many quality applications.

Check the market and look for projects similar to yours and price accordingly.

9. Freelancer

Freelancer is one of the longest-running freelance marketplaces in the world. One of the more populated areas of the site is the hire WordPress developer area. Here you will see dozens, if not hundreds of WordPress jobs covering everything from plugin development, theme development or designing an entire site to updating an existing installation.

Freelancer

Like with other freelance marketplaces, competition is rife and candidates are often selected on price rather than skills or quality. The same rules apply here as they do on Fiverr or any other marketplace. The onus is on you to filter, interview, verify and hire so you have to perform due diligence.

Freelancer is easier to use than Upwork, simply post a project, filter the candidates, chat using the app, interview or test and then select. The site uses escrow so your money is safe while the project is underway. It’s a simple system that can work well if you have the time to vet your own candidates.

10.  HubStaff Talent

Another growing directory of freelancers, including WordPress freelancers, is HubStaff Talent. Whilst most freelancer marketplaces we mentioned here (or the more common ones) actually charge various fees for using their services, HubStaff takes a different approach - it is 100% free for both freelancers and businesses.

Find freelance Wordpress Programmers on HubStaff talent

Freelancers simply create a profile and then wait for businesses to get in touch - with no middlemen involved. If you're looking for hiring WordPress programmers, you can also post a job on the recently launched "Jobs" section.

Whilst we love the approach of reducing the barriers to both the freelancers and the businesses when it comes to finding web designers, we do feel that this freelancer directory will also require you to fully vet the people you get in touch with, just to make sure they've got the right skill set for the job you will be engaging them for. 

11. WordPress Jobs

WordPress Jobs is a jobs board run by WordPress.org, the people behind the platform. It’s a standard job board that looks like a forum where jobs are posted in chronological order.

WordPress Jobs

There is a real mix of roles here from remote WordPress developers to full-time SaaS developers with a little bit of everything thrown in for good measure. It isn’t as populated as some of these other options but works well enough.

The job board is a straight read, reply, filter and go type of deal. You don’t have the safety net of escrow or the processes of Freelancer or Upwork but you don’t have the fees either. If you know what you’re looking for, having the skills to assess candidates and don’t mind spending the time ensuring you hire the quality you’re looking for, WordPress Jobs is a viable place to hire WordPress developers.

12. Guru.com

Guru.com is a freelance marketplace that has a range of skills available. You can approach it in two ways. Scan the available WordPress developers freelancer profiles and approach them or advertise a job and let the developers come to you.

Guru

Guru.com has a new system called the Work Room. This works a lot like Upwork where you can discuss your brief with the developer, manage milestones, make payments and so on. It makes it easy to work with freelancers and is something many freelance marketplaces offer to one degree or another.

The same rules apply here as on Fiverr or anywhere. It’s up to you to sift through candidates, interview and test, hire, and fire. The Work Room makes it easy but you will still have to spend time vetting candidates, verifying skills and setting a test task before the main event. Otherwise, it’s a viable way to access skilled WordPress freelancers.

13. Stack Overflow

Most of us know Stack Overflow from the technical help forum where we ask experts how to solve particular problems. Did you know they have a job board too? We must admit that we didn’t until recently but now we know, we have been regular visitors.

Stack Overflow

This is a traditional job board in a forum format. Employers post a role or project on the board and candidates apply through the board. The majority of applicants will be regular users of Stack Overflow which should mean some degree of technical ability or interest in technology. No guarantees though.

Like most of the sources in this list, the quality you get out of Stack Overflow depends on the effort you put in. Place a descriptive brief, perform an initial sift, interview, test task and employ. There is no ecosystem here like escrow or a workroom. It will all be done via email or your chosen method of communication. 

Google search to hire WordPress developer

Using Google search is one of the best ways when it comes to finding a freelancer or an agency that specializes in WordPress. Once you find their websites, all you need to do is to look at their portfolio, testimonials and start talking about your assignments.

Customized Google search syntax for finding people ready to be hired

With that said, for finding a WordPress expert if you used a generic search query on Google like “wordpress developer for hire” most likely it won’t cut it. You might be expecting the result that contains relevant websites of freelancers and web development agencies. 

In reality, you would end up with search results that include blog posts on the topic “hire a WordPress developer” or bidding sites that are successfully ranked well on such keywords.

So how would you effectively use Google to find a WordPress developer/freelancer? Instead of doing a generic search, enhance your search query by using Google search operators like ‘inurl’ and ‘site’.

For example, here’s how I would search for a freelance WordPress developer for hire on Google who is currently available:

inurl:"hire me" wordpress developer -site:wordpress.org

The above search query will restrict the results to the pages that contain the word “hire me” in the URL. In addition, it also avoids showing any pages from wordpress.org. This search is more likely to find good results.

You are free to make any changes to your search query as per your requirement. The basic idea here is to find a huge list of freelancer websites so you can compare their services easily and hire the right WordPress developers or freelancers who meet your requirements.

How to hire WordPress developers: Infographic

If you’re looking for some practical strategies that help you find great WordPress developers you can use on your site today, then you’ll love this infographic.

WordPress developers

Hire WordPress developers: a cautionary tale

Before we actually start discussing how to find WordPress programmers for hire, we want to tell you a short story. A story of how CollectiveRay first gained experience in hiring freelance WordPress developers.

It didn’t end well.

We really hope you don't go through anything like this.

We first tried hiring programmers on Fiverr. We set our project and budget. Not a cheap one mind you, we went for a small plugin development project. We were all set to find a professional.

The first candidate we chose made a complete hash of things. They ended up delivering completely untested pages, broken and missing functionality.

We dumped them and tried again. Same story, only this time, they were not responsive and they wanted payment outside of Fiverr (NEVER accept that). Then the work never materialized.

Recovering our money was a huge hassle. We had to perform credit card chargebacks, and give proof that the work never materialized. The time we lost messing around with this was huge. Our clients were NOT amused. We were already starting to get discouraged and were really starting to wonder where we could hire good freelancers.

We then switched to another freelancing platform. Same story. We went through dozens of failed attempts at hiring good candidates. Suffice to say we learned our lesson the hard way. Today we go through a rigorous process of vetting staff. It takes a lot of time and effort and the results are not guaranteed.

We've also mostly abandoned these dirt cheap directories of cowboys, newbies, and plain old clueless programmers.

Want more articles like this one? Top 5 Places to find the Best App Developer for hire (iOS/Android)

First things first.  You need to know what you'll need to hire. A great project or designer brief is critical for you to be able to find the right fit.

Job description

Create a great project brief before hiring WordPress developers

Before you can find quality WordPress freelancers, you need to know what kind of person or people you're looking for. So before we see locations or ways of finding programmers or maybe different websites where you can meet them, we need to actually create a job specification.

The project brief will help you to communicate with applicants effectively and set expectations from the very beginning. It also creates a very professional appearance, which helps set your standards. Make it as thorough and as self-explanatory as possible to minimize miscommunication.

For example, if you’re looking to hire a WordPress expert to build a customized theme or plugin from the ground up, here are a few things to consider while writing a project brief:

  • Goals of the project – You need to clearly state what you want to achieve. Is it theme customization? Plugin customization? Is it the development of a website plugin?
  • Budget – It is essential that you are upfront with how much you intend to pay for the task. Your programmer will need to understand the scope of the project and the budget you will be allocating. You, on the other hand, will want to know how much the job is going to cost you. Projects might not seem as simple as you think, so have some leeway.
  • Timeframe – It is important to state by when exactly you will need the coders to deliver the final version of the project. This, of course, will allow the freelancer to see whether they can take this project due to other commitments that they may have.
  • Users and target audience – Whilst your other details in the project brief should define the intent and audience of your project, by outlining the audience you expect to serve, you are setting the scene for everything else.
  • Design guidelines and look and feel – It is likely that you've already got brand guidelines, usability requirements, or have a general idea of what you want the result of the work to look like. This should be mentioned in detail in your project brief.
  • Success evaluation – If you’ve worked with an agile approach such as SCRUM, you’ll know that success of task does not depend on how something is achieved but what the success criteria of the end result. The same goes for your website project, your freelancer needs to understand how you will define a successful project.
  • Test project – All freelancer job postings should make mention of a small project or test project so you can test their skills. It will have to be a paid project as nobody works for free but you need to know who you’re hiring.

Besides the above basic and generic criteria, your project brief should discuss the following items:

  • Explain the frontend and backend features (development).
  • The exact look and feel of your theme or plugin (design). It's best to use a mockup tool to do this. It will allow you to generate what you have in mind really quickly. For theme development, in particular, you need to make sure you take nothing for granted as they can get pretty complex. Will you cater to responsive and mobile devices? Will you need a customization framework?
  • Resources/ examples: Show examples of your competitors’ websites or websites for inspiration.
  • Milestones: You'll need to decide a number of milestones for development. You'll want to monitor progress and milestones are the best way to do that. You have a series of agreed points where you can decide whether work is on track.
  • Payments: This is, of course, something which is very important to both parties. Some sites will actually have an escrow facility that will protect both of you. If this isn't in place, you should agree in writing how things are going to work. The terms of payment should be determined beforehand.
  • Deadline: You need to have an end date for when your WP designer for hire is to submit their work. You should also agree on what happens if the deadline is missed, to make sure that work stays on track.
  • Communication: Like with any other job, communication is critical to the success or failure of any project. Agree beforehand how you will communicate, whether it's by email, chat, messenger, Slack, Skype or something else. If you are in different time zones this is especially important. Set expectations on both sides to make sure everyone knows what is expected.
  • Output and deliverables: If you are developing a plugin or theme for reselling, you need to agree on what is going to be part of the job or not. You are more than likely going to need designs, copy, documentation and plenty of other outputs. Agree on what makes part of the job and what is outside of the scope of the job.
  • Intellectual property: If you are hiring a contractor, especially on a freelance basis, who is going to own the intellectual property of the developed end product?
  • Decide whether you want to implement an auto-update mechanism or not.
  • What will happen if some bugs are discovered after you've agreed that the job has been completed? Will they give you a warranty period? How long will this be? What happens when the warranty period expires?
  • How would you resolve any security vulnerabilities which might be discovered? Again, security vulnerabilities should be considered serious bugs that need to be fixed within a very specific timeframe. This should be agreed upon beforehand. Even if these are discovered, months or years after the job has been completed, there need to be clear terms of reference. CMS development, in particular, is very prone to these issues.
  • You'll probably want to keep on developing your project, so it would be great if you agree beforehand how updates would happen.

The above points will give you a basic idea of what a project brief should look like. The more you agree before you hire a WordPress designer, the better and the less likely that there will be a conflict later on in the project.

In fact, the quality of your deliverable relies heavily on the project brief. Make sure you explain everything in the brief so it avoids any disappointment down the road.

If you plan to hire freelancers, you might want to set a contract template so that each time you plan to hire someone, you'll just need to update the specific sections. This will make the hiring process faster, whilst making sure you are covered from all aspects.

Project brief

A sample job description to hire WordPress programmers

If you're looking for a WordPress developer on a full-time basis, rather than a project brief, you'll actually require a full job description of what the job will entail. We've listed below a complete sample that you can copy and use for your own hiring process.

Just add or delete elements as appropriate.

Position Description

Overview

Begin with a brief description of what the company doing the hiring is looking for. For example:

A junior/senior/intern/part-time/freelance WordPress developer to join a team of five in-house programmers to expand capacity and skill set. Our primary aim is to fill these openings with full-time/part-time/freelance/remote/on-site developers.

Summary

Develops custom, often complex WP-based solutions along with PHP framework-based solutions (e.g. Laravel). Aids sales staff, account managers, and others in requirements gathering, web project planning, and general technical questions.

Provides leadership in finding/developing new technologies and methods to advance the company’s web offerings. Aids other in-house developers with system design and implementation. Performs server maintenance and monitoring. Supports current client websites by providing technical support.

Key Success Indicators

Degree in related field or comparable experience in the web development required. Substantial experience working with similar technologies and environments. Knowledge of PHP, MySQL, HTML/CSS, Databases, PHPMyAdmin, intermediate JavaScript, DNS, Linux, Apache-based hosting and <other requirements you may need>.

Experienced in developing for WordPress. Laravel development experience preferred. Ability to breakdown client problems and develop a software solution from system design to implementation. Ability to communicate well verbally and in writing with good time management skills. 

Works with: Principal, brand strategists, brand managers, designers, WordPress programmers, development, account service, copywriters, online marketing team members and <other positions in your company>. Will be regularly engaged in internal and client meetings to explore and confirm project scope.

Make sure to mention the fact the application includes a paid test project as a condition of hire. This is important so all applicants know what to expect.

Specific developer skills

  •         Strong understanding of PHP full-stack/front/back-end development.
  •         Good understanding of front-end technologies, including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery.
  •         Intermediate to advanced knowledge of WP.
  •         Knowledge of PHP frameworks (CodeIgniter, Symfony, Yii, Zend, etc) a plus.  Laravel strongly desired.
  •         Knowledge of how to interact with RESTful APIs and formats (JSON, XML) a plus.
  •         Knowledge of change control systems, specifically Git, a plus.

Responsible for:

  •         Contributing to the scope of build conversations with the development team, project managers, designers, and other peers
  •         Integrating sliced PSD files (usually already converted to HTML/CSS) into either WordPress or some other proven open-source system (note: WP is our primary CMS platform); many of our builds are responsive.
  •         Developing custom web applications that drive business processes.
  •         Setting up e-commerce applications.
  •         Monitoring health and uptime of servers (general server admin in a managed services environment; no in-depth configuration required).
  •         Collaborating with design, strategy and sales teams to find solutions for client website projects.
  •         Contributing and provide support to current client websites.
  •         Participating in regular company-wide and team meetings.
  •         Participating in on-site and off-site client meetings.
  •         Contributing to best practices; recommending, exploring and implementing better ways to deliver.
  •         Growing personal and team member expertise through training, exploring and prospecting.
  •         Communicating with the customer when necessary, through various means, such as email, call, on-site visit, etc.

Examples of projects the WordPress Developer will work on

  •         Setting up multi-site website builds.
  •         Integrating feeds from social networks.
  •         Custom developing blogs.
  •         Integrating with third-party APIs.
  •         Customizing the CMS to support specific functionality.
  •         Integrating shopping carts.
  •         Building out responsive layouts.
  •         Developing wireframe mockups to illustrate possible solutions.
  •         CRM integration.
  •         Developing new plugins.
  •         Contributing to the build and development of internal web applications to run internal systems and processes.
  •         Working with offshore designers on specific project deliverables to assure scope, quality and timely delivery.
  •         Developing documentation for complex systems.
  •         Minimal content migration (separate team for this).
  •         Minimal front-end development.

Additional Requirements

  •         An excellent communicator and collaborator.
  •         Able to organize and run meetings, leaving with clear objectives and tasks.
  •         Comfortable talking with clients (via phone, email and in-person).
  •         Detail-oriented in the context of a fast-paced environment.
  •         Capable of hitting daily deadlines.
  •         Exceptional analytical skills.
  •         Strong interpersonal skills.
  •         Pleasant, personable demeanour (face-to-face, on the phone and via email).
  •         Keen ability to multitask; self-starter.
  •         Capable planner.
  •         A strong vocabulary.
  •         Teachable spirit.
  •         Sense of humour.
  •         Compensation: based on experience and skill set.

Perform a brief skill match and shortlist a few developers

Perform a brief skill-match and shortlist a few WordPress developers

Refine applications and shortlist potential hires

If you list a well-considered ad on one of the websites or marketplaces we listed above, you should quickly gather a list of potential freelancers. That’s when the real work begins!

Here are a few tips for shortlisting and eventually selecting your freelancer:

Match skills with your requirements

Once you've selected a few potential candidates, compare their skills to the project brief. At this point, you’ll need to figure out whether the developers can deliver what it takes to complete your project.

Sometimes, there’ll be some mismatch between the requirements and their skill set. For example, not all designers can carry out the complete process of theme creation. For a developer, it is far more likely to take a PSD file of the finalized design and create a working theme from it.

Speaking of themes, this roundup of the best WordPress membership theme options and plugins is an excellent read for anyone wanting to create a members WordPress site.

Take note of reviews

Reviews also go a long way towards showing whether the person should be hired.

Whilst not a perfect picture and reviews can sometimes be manipulated, users with excellent reviews, a long history and plenty of earnings are a good choice for hiring for your next website.

New users with little to no earnings and a very short registration time are riskier. They may genuinely be new to the platform, but they could equally be fraudsters or people who have earned bad reviews and had to close their previous accounts and create new ones.

Check their website and portfolio

We know that websites and portfolios can be manufactured in the same way reviews can but they also help paint a picture of the freelancer. Use them to build up a picture of the person you might be working with and see if they have actually done work like it before in the portfolio.

Communicate directly with chosen candidates

Communicate directly with chosen candidates

Make them an offer, hire and start coding!

Once you've made a shortlist of potential hires who are a great match, you should communicate directly with them. You'll need to discuss any queries they may have, ask any additional things you may want to know and clarify any doubts you may have.

You may want to ask or review any references at this point, probably this is the point where you might want to make a few calls to references provided.

Set the test piece or small project

Assuming you mentioned that there will be a test project as part of the application, now is the time to set that up. Make sure it’s a paid project otherwise you will put off the higher-quality applicants. If you have a series of smaller projects in the pipeline, use one of those or have another developer set up the test.

We think test projects are essential when using job boards or freelance marketplaces. Pre-screened portals like Toptal don’t necessarily need them as they do the testing for you but you should set a test everywhere else you look for talent.

Hire the best developer you find

Once you're completely satisfied with the capabilities of the people you're dealing with directly, make a hard decision based on the consensus of your team, or based on your gut-feeling and choose who you want to work with. Do trust your gut feeling. It works.

Once your chosen candidate accepts your offer, at that point, you're ready to start your web development project!

WordPress Developer For Hire Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find a good WordPress developer?

Finding a good WordPress developer requires some time and effort. We would highly recommend visiting one of the vetted marketplaces which we mentioned above, then run a small test with a number of candidates to see which of them is the right fit for your company.

Where can I find a WordPress designer?

To hire a WordPress designer requires the same strategy as hiring any WordPress freelancer, the only difference is in the actual job they will do. In reality, you'll have to find a number of people from vetted marketplaces. Then perform a small project with them to see whether they are suitable for the work you need.

What does a WordPress developer do?

WordPress developers typically write custom code to enable custom functions and features on your websites. They do this by creating a custom plugin, use the WordPress API, create a custom theme, or perform any other WordPress customization. Most WordPress developers will also be able to design websites at will, but design and development are typically done by a different set of people because they require different skill sets.

How do I outsource WordPress development?

Outsourcing WordPress development is nearly identical to hiring a freelancer. The above steps can be used to find freelancers or agencies to whom you can outsource development. As with hiring, we would suggest first undertaking a small project to ensure that you find the right person or company to work with.

What skills do you need for WordPress?

To develop with WordPress requires a number of web development skills. You need to be able to program in PHP and be fully conversant with HTML and CSS. Knowledge of SQL is also necessary together with good knowledge of using backend technologies such as MySQL, Apache, PHPmyAdmin. Knowledge of other programming and infrastructure will typically help.

What is Codeable?

Codeable is a platform that can be used to outsource WordPress development. It is a very popular platform that is very safe to use.

Over to you, what's your best process to hire WordPress developers?

Have you ever hired a WordPress expert for your projects? What are the measures you take for due diligence? What are your favourite websites for meeting a development expert? Tell us your good and bad experiences with finding WordPress developers for hire.

Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

About the Author
David Attard
David has been working in or around the online and digital industry for the last 21 years. He has vast experience in the software and web design industries using WordPress, Joomla and niches surrounding them. He has worked with software development agencies, international software companies, local marketing agencies and now is Head of Marketing Operations at Aphex Media - an SEO agency. As a digital consultant, his focus is on helping businesses get a competitive advantage using a combination of their website and digital platforms available today. His blend of technology expertise combined with a strong business acumen brings a competitive edge to his writings.

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