You have some spectacular ideas for your WordPress site that needs fixing, but you’re not a coder. So, you need the services of a professional WordPress developer or designer. But where to begin?
There’s an entire World Wide Web vying for your attention with what seems like an endless supply of developers and designers raising their hands saying, “Pick me! Pick me!”
Sure, WordPress makes it easy to DIY for many things (even for beginners), but there are also times when you might need help for the more complicated projects. Or, maybe you just don’t have the time and want additional feedback on what to do with your WordPress site to take it to the next level.
Time to Get Lucky
Around the world there are thousands of WordPress professionals who sell their services on a contract basis. The question is: where do you start looking?
In this article, I’ll be showing you seven places to find a good web developer or designer for WordPress. We’ll call them your lucky seven because one of these sites is sure to have your next developer or designer ready to work with you.
I’ll be covering:
You’ll see some specific details of each one that should give you a good idea of where to look. Also, you’ll get a nice inside glimpse of how each company operates, the costs involved, and how to get set up looking for a developer or designer.
I’ll also give a breakdown of how to approach a job. There are some specific things to keep in mind when creating a brief, vetting candidates, and ultimately hiring someone.
Fortunately, WordPress developers and designers typically can work from anywhere (like we do here at WPMU DEV). That leaves the playing field wide open for a vast variety of choices of individuals that don’t need to live down the road from you.
If you’re new to the game and looking to hire some WordPress talent for the first time, this post offers a few suggestions on the best places to get you started. You’ll know where to hire your next developer or designer from without scouring the entire web which, let’s face it, could take a while…
All of these websites are places you can find a WordPress developer or designer worldwide and can help you develop a shortlist of potential candidates in no time.
WordPress Jobs
WordPress Jobs is a great resource and is the official WordPress jobs listing page. We’ll start with WordPress Jobs considering it’s free and one of the quickest ways to post a job and find talent.
To get started, you can easily fill out a form under the Post Job tab for free and then submit it for review. You don’t even need to set up an account.
Each post is carefully reviewed before being accepted on its listings. Then, once approved, the listings remain active for 21 days and there are various positions that cover all things WordPress (e.g. design, development, migrations, etc.).
The job categories are organized so your job is easy to find for any candidate with the right skills.
Though you’ll have to vet your prospective developer or designer through their application on your own (WordPress.org has no control over who may reach out to you), it’s a great place to begin the process of finding someone for a project or fulltime employment.
Pricing will vary immensely and you’ll discover that some developers and designers charge much more than others. This is often due to location, experience, and workload.
Sure, you have to do your own vetting, but it’s free to use. And the perfect WordPress pro might be a few clicks away.
Toptal
If you’re looking to hire top talent and don’t feel like combing through a bunch of resumes from folks that you’re not sure are professional or not, Toptal is a great choice.
Their name “Toptal” comes from Top Talent. That means their goal is to find and work with the best WordPress talent. To do that, they have a rigorous screening process that identifies the experts. (P.S., nice play on words there, Toptal.)
Out of thousands of applications each month, Toptal typically accepts fewer than 3%, which means you’re in good hands with your developer or designer.
To hire talent, it has you answer a few questions of what exactly you’re looking for (e.g. how long you need the designer, type of work, etc.). You can also decide on the duration of the projects and budget.
Once you get your form filled out, Toptal is very interpersonal. They set up a skype or phone call with a representative that can be arranged at your convenience. That’s right — personalized service.
When reviewing professionals, their profiles are very detailed. They contain a resume, portfolio, skills, experience, location, recommendations, and more.
There is a cost to using their service to recruit someone. It’s a $500 deposit, however, it can be applied to your first bill when you find a WordPress developer or designer. That price seems fair considering the exceptional candidates it provides.
What’s also nice is there’s no-risk recruitment where companies can work with a preferred freelancer at no cost for a trial period of up to two weeks. If the company is satisfied with the work they’re then billed.
Based on the site’s user reviews and client feedback, developers listed on Toptal seem to develop high-quality professional work. Sure, you’ll be paying premium prices for it (most freelancers start from $60 per hour) but the costs, communication, and professionalism are a worthwhile investment for whatever WordPress development you need.
Envato Studio
Envato Studio consists of hand-picked WordPress developers and designers.
They make it easy to work with the right talent by comparing prices, portfolios, community recommendations, and more.
You search what you’re looking for, supply a brief to the talent, and then Envato Studio takes payment. Payment is held until the job is completed and you’re completely satisfied with the outcome.
It’s quick to get started. Just type in what you’re looking for on their conveniently placed search bar.
You can limit the search by including a price range, turnaround time, location, and sorting. If the number is too high, try to customize it down.
Once you have a comfortable amount of options to browse through, click on the choice that seems like it might be a good fit to get a closer look at the professional’s profile.
In the profile, all the reviews, jobs, and repeat clients are listed. You can also contact the WordPress developer directly.
You’ll see prices and the amount of time it takes for the service. After you browse the portfolios and individual services, you provide a quick brief to the one that works best.
They also have a job management tool that helps with the collaborations by adding file sharing, feedback, and more with their inbuilt messaging.
When the work is done and approved, the talent that you hired will hand over all deliverables and that’s that. Pretty easy system to manage and to work with.
You can get a nice feel for potential developers and designers to hire because it clearly shows how many jobs they’ve done, their recommendation percentage, and how many repeat clients they have.
The prices and time frame for projects vary, but typically start at around $50 and it goes up from there.
For simplicity, ease of use, and flexibility, Envato Studio is a great option.
WP Hired
WP Hired is a simple and cheap platform for posting jobs and then recruiting talent.
Similar to WordPress Jobs, you’ll have to vet your own applications based on applications alone. There are no reviews and anyone can apply to a job or project that you post. A potential developer or designer simply uploads their resume and can add a cover letter.
To post a job, you will have to create an account. However, this is free to do. You can choose from freelance jobs all the way to fulltime.
Your job will be featured for 30-days with the free posting. Keep in mind you can post an unlimited amount of jobs at no cost, which is a terrific attribute.
If you want to upgrade, for $39.99, you can post three jobs that will get featured job credits, posted for 60 days, and also included in their weekly newsletter. There’s also an option for $69.99 for five jobs with the same benefits as the $39.99 price. All of the paid options also get featured on their social media feeds.
There’s nothing fancy about WP Hired (not the bells and whistles that some other options have), but that’s okay. For a no-cost option, with pricing available for premium features, it’s worth posting a job there if you’re on a budget and have time to scout for the perfect candidate.
Freelancer
Freelancer is an extremely popular marketplace for freelancers looking for work. Any WordPress developer or designer can upload a profile and portfolio and bid on projects.
You simply give the details about the work that needs to be completed, add a budget, post the project for free, and professionals that fit the skillset will bid on the work.
Once your job posting goes live, it will appear under a specific category, where it’s searchable for freelancers to find and bid on the proposal.
You’ll be able to browse freelancer profiles, chat in real-time, compare proposals, and then award your project to the WordPress rockstar that is best.
Freelancers are rated by a star system, so immediately you can get a good idea of how well they’ve worked with previous clients.
You pay only when you’re 100% satisfied with the work. Once you are, the payments are released safely and securely with their DigiCert 4096-bit SSL encryption.
You will need to set up an account to post a project. Also, though it’s free to post a project, a 3% project fee is collected when your payment is processed.
The price range truly varies depending on the scope of the project. It can be anything from a few bucks to thousands of dollars.
Freelancer is a great option for short-term projects. If you’re looking to hire a WordPress developer or designer full or parttime, it’s probably not the best website to use. However, it can be a quick fix to get the job done when needed.
Upwork
Upwork (formally Elance) is a marketplace where you can post a WordPress development or design project and prospective freelancers can bid for the job. It’s considered one of the largest online job marketplaces available.
Similar to many of our other options, it’s free to post a project. You’ll just need to create an account, describe what needs to be done, a budget, and then Upwork connects you with talent, either locally or around the world.
You can specify a fixed amount and if you’re willing to go off-budget for the perfect candidate.
Once you have posted the job, you can invite freelancers that seem like a good match. Also, you’ll be able to view all of the proposals potential candidates submit.
The proposals have the rate, amount earned while on Upwork, job success, and location. You can reach out to them directly here and can hire with a click of a button.
Upwork also lets people collaborate in finding and selecting suitable web developers, so someone can post the job and someone else can vet the applicants. You can invite team members and create a whole organization to get the project completed.
The rates vary depending. Obviously, if you have just a quick-fix and need a developer’s help, it can probably be done at a low rate. However, for bigger projects, the rates will be higher.
Upwork is a great site to connect with professionals, show transparent workflow, and to keep payments organized – by team or individually – and ensure the development or designer task is being completed in time, on budget, and exactly how it needs to be done.
Developers for Hire
Developers for Hire is unique because, like this article (yes, the one you’re reading), it will help refer you to the right place to look for a developer by asking several questions and then leading you to the best resource.
Their recommendations can pinpoint what works best for your situations. For example, if you need a team of developers, or have a budget in mind, they’ll send you to a website that is suited best for your situation. This can save you a lot of time and research with their quick search.
You start off by answering 10 questions that will help it better understand your needs.
It will then give you their top choice, followed by others. In this example, you can see that the top choice was Toptal.
It includes the pros and cons of why the company would be a good fit.
You also don’t need to sign up for an account when using their service.
There are no rates available for their site because, well, you don’t hire directly from Developers for Hire since they take you to recommended companies. From that point, your rate will vary based on the project.
This site is a quick and handy resource to help you find a suitable WordPress developer or designer.
Take Me Hire
Now that you know where to look for quality WordPress developers and designers, let’s break down the ways to ensure you aim high to get a top-notch professional to work with.
- Creating The Brief: Create a compelling brief that clearly outlines the scope of the project. The more detailed the information, the better. That way the project has an improved chance of staying on budget and the right candidate or team will know for sure if they can handle the job. Make sure the developer or designer understands completely the scope of the job. You don’t want to throw any curve balls at them mid-project.
- Ratings and reviews: Many of the websites that I covered have a rating and reviews for professionals. Be sure to read them carefully to help determine if that individual is right for you. If you’re using applications to find someone, be sure to look over their website for any testimonials, portfolios (with live website examples), and never hesitate to ask for references.
- You get what you pay for: A good WordPress developer and designer costs money. They deserve a fair rate and should be paid accordingly. Typically, the cheaper = cheap. If you don’t pay the going rate for a project to get done and someone offers to do it for a very low cost, expect a cheap outcome that’s probably not worth the costs. Please don’t lowball developers and designers.
- Paid test project: A small paid test can save you a lot of money in the long run. It will usually help you determine if the person is right for the job, without wasting tons of money by bringing that person in and ultimately not performing great. If it goes well, then you’ll be able to hire with confidence to have the project completed by that same person.
- Good communication: Be aware of time zone differences, work schedules, and any communication gaps to ensure your communication is good. After all, a good developer or programmer needs to communicate well with you, and likewise, you need to communicate well with them. Don’t assume they’re on the clock 24/7 at your beck and call.
Follow these guidelines and use them when finding a good WordPress developer or designer. Otherwise, you’ll just be adding more work to your already busy schedule trying to fix mistakes that were made on the way to finding a professional.
If you have a new WordPress site being built or upgraded, we provide easier site management, award-winning plugins that will optimize and improve your site to keep it in good shape with a WPMU DEV membership, our hosting, and our 24/7 support.
Job Well Done
As you can see, it’s not just luck, but it’s all about knowing where to look, having guidance, and knowing what outcome is expected. And the job of finding a WordPress developer or designer can be done fairly easily with remarkable results.
Then, when that right WordPress developer raises his or her hand and says, “Pick me!” you’ll call on them with confidence.
