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Hiring a WordPress Designer? 5 Things to Consider

The WordPress developer you hire will have a pronounced impact on the quality of the product that you receive and whether your project is successful. Not every WordPress developer offers the expertise you need, and their presentations in your search process will help you realize the differences between your candidates. Here are some factors to consider when you are in the market for a WordPress developer.

5 Things to Think About When You Are Seeking a WordPress Developer

  1. Experience

    Experience is perhaps the most important qualification that you should be looking for in a WordPress designer. Not only must the designer demonstrate deep experience in WordPress design, but he or she also must have worked before with your particular field and the tasks you envision. There are good people who have worked extensively with WordPress but not with your particular type of work. They will not be able to help you very much.

    There are a couple of different ways to assess someone’s experience. Of course, you will be checking the number of years that they have worked with WordPress. You can also gauge their experience level by looking at a portfolio of their projects. This way, you can see for yourself what they have done. You can also ask for references and speak to those people about the designer’s experience.

    The key thing about assessing someone’s WordPress experience is not to just take their word for it. Instead, you should verify it on your own by looking at their work and how it relates to your own particular project. This way, you will know a lot more than what various developers tell you about their knowledge, skills and abilities.

  2. WordPress Best Practices

    There are certain things that every WordPress developer knows and does when designing sites. While there is no one definitive list of best practices, the essentials of these practices are well-known among the WordPress community, with some variations among developers. Many of these best practices involve security and the measures that are necessary to protect your site from hackers.

    You will want to understand what each of your potential developers sees as the best practices that govern WordPress development. In a way, these are the guiding principles that the person you choose will use to complete your project. You will get a sense of their governing principles and how they see WordPress. Be prepared for different developers to use varying best practices as they work for you.

    Asking about best practices is a way to get to know the developers and how they work. You should end up with an understanding of each developer’s workflow and how he or she will approach your specific project as well as confidence in his or her detailed knowledge of WordPress.

  3. Affordability

    The costs of your WordPress site can add up quickly, especially if you want to add any customization. WordPress developers will vary in what they charge. There are some talented and experienced developers who are the best in the business, but they may have a high asking price. Ideally, you will want to find someone who gives you professional experience at a price that will not break your bank account.

    At the same time, you want to be careful about people who seem to be underpricing the job. It could mean that they either do not understand the job or will try to add things on to your bill after they start working. A top-quality WordPress job costs money, and it is a professional service for which you must expect to pay a significant amount.

    Thus, affordability is a relative concept. You can hire a professional agency that gives you a great package at a reasonable price. Affordability is about much more than just working cheap when it comes to WordPress projects. To obtain a good comparison, price out the total cost of the job as opposed to an hourly rate.

  4. Ongoing Support Services

    The biggest thing that you will learn about WordPress is that the initial design job is just the first part of the help that you need. There are invariably questions that you will have about how to post and make other changes as they are necessary. While WordPress is a relatively user-friendly interface, you will still need help for your ongoing project that you may not be able to figure out on your own.

    Ideally, you are looking for a developer who will continue working with you to provide support after the initial part of the job is complete. Candidates could either quote support services as part of their initial proposal or offer you an hourly rate for any type of ongoing help.

    Moreover, you should be concerned about the quality of the support services. This includes a commitment to the time frame you specify for turnaround in response to questions.

  5. Culture Fit

    Even though the WordPress developer may not be a full-time employee of your company, culture fit is still an important variable to consider. The developer will be working closely with your people to get the job done, and you must think about how everyone will get along.

    In a way, culture fit can be even more of an issue with a WordPress developer since there are creative matters to consider. There is a bigger picture than just the day-to-day work that the developer is doing. He or she needs to understand how your company does things.

    The last thing that you want is to lose a developer in the middle of the job because of workplace creative or cultural differences. You can eliminate some of these concerns ahead of time by running culture fit issues to ground before you sign the hiring agreement.

These are just a few of the issues to consider at the outset of your hiring process. By no means is this an exhaustive list as your research and legwork when hiring a WordPress developer will greatly impact the success of your project.

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