A major reason why people who own a website or blog use WordPress is that it is easy to use and does not require expenditure on professionals who develop and manage your website. Although other CMS is also very user-friendly, they do require some prior technical knowledge of programming, CSS, PHP, and HTML. When the content management systems were not much popular. Website development required intense technical skills due to which entrepreneurs had to spend a significant part of their budget on website development. CMS eliminated this issue!
Millions of global users of WordPress claims that they were able to design their own simple blogs and websites without any prior knowledge of programming and without seeking any help from experts. They added that if they were stuck with any problem. It was not very difficult to find help from WordPress user forums online and those video tutorials helped them solve all the difficulties they faced related to WordPress. But it is really that easy to getting started in WordPress theme development?
Despite all these facts, a survey revealed that WordPress developers are high in demand usually by large-scale entrepreneurs. It demonstrated the fact that WordPress being easy to use does not mean everyone will develop websites and blogs by themselves!
For this reason. You may need to hire a WordPress developer which is not an easy task given that hundreds of developers would be willing to offer their services. The hiring process will consist of the following steps:
Your Business, Blog, and Plan
Before trying to approach WordPress developers, make sure you analyze your business needs and prepare a plan first. Analyze carefully why you need a professional WordPress developer and what work would you ask him to do. When hiring a WordPress developer. You will have to tell him the expected outcome. So that the developer can set his goals according to the instructions and deadlines were given. If you only are unsure of what you want, how can you expect perfection in the developer’s work? So spend some time making a plan of why you need a developer and your expectations from him.
Fee Survey and Budget
Unfortunately, you may not be able to consume every service that you want because the resources are limited. When analyzing your needs in the plan. Keep in mind that you must prioritize tasks. So that you are able to rule out the least important ones in case of an insufficient budget. Successful entrepreneurs set a fixed budget for everything and so you must know what the maximum amount is that you are willing to spend on a website. Since website could be a major determinant of the success of your business, it is wise to allocate more on it!
However, in order to set a budget, you need to know what majority of developers in the market are charging. There is no point assuming the rates because you never know when the demand for developers is high and so they are charging a high fee for their service. So use the internet and local sources to approach as many developers as possible to get an estimate of your plan. Note down the ones you believe are not charging an abnormally high fee and would not be difficult to bargain with.
Search for Developers
While a part of this has been mentioned in the previous point. It is necessary to elaborate because this search is probably the toughest part of the hiring process. There are many developers in the market willing to offer WordPress services but not all are reliable enough. Following are a few places you can search for WordPress developers but further investigation would be required with the shortlisted ones:
- Online job searching websites: A great and convenient way of finding some of the finest WordPress developers is by searching for them on an online job searching website. These websites operate like a marketplace where employers meet the applicants. You will surely receive more than enough applications but the difficult part would be to filter the best ones out. You must be proficient in analyzing an applicant’s capabilities through his résumé. Or else you might end up shortlisting the wrong ones hence ignoring the real talent.
- Social media: Social media is not only helpful in connecting people for fun but it also helps employers find their perfect employees. Twitter, for example, helps you find a WordPress developer if you only search for them in the search box. However, the task may be more time consuming and require work from your side. Visit the pages of the WordPress developers you are thinking to shortlist and observe if they are active on their page and if they reply promptly and professionally.
- Bidding websites: Marketplaces, where the applicants are required to bid on projects, may also be considered but are not recommended. This is because bidders tend to demand a lower fee for their services given the intense competition which may eventually result in a compromise on quality. So be careful if you use this source to search for WordPress developers.
Shortlist and Finalize
In as little time as possible. Filter out the ones you believe do not deserve to be in your list of developers and that you need to determine through their résumés. However, further investigation is to be carried out in-depth because that is the final step of the entire process. After you have shortlisted the few best ones, ask for their portfolio and previous work experience in the first place. Also, check the reviews of their previous clients which will provide you with sufficient information to take the decision. Cut the developer off your list if he refuses to present client feedback! Check his website and professionalism and then compare all the developers to finalize the one.
Make an Agreement and Hire
The final and most important part are the preparation of an agreement once you find the perfect WordPress developer for your website. Include all major and minor details like work ethics, goals, deadlines, fees and other policies in the agreement signed by both the parties. This agreement eliminates any chances of misunderstanding in future.
If you follow these steps carefully, you will be able to hire a perfect WordPress developer for your website. You should never compromise on the website quality, maintenance, and security and hence this becomes an important process.
Author Bio:
Florencia Gerrard is an HR manager at a multinational software house Dissertation help in Houston. She studied HR management in graduate school and holds 18 years of professional experience in this field.
