Last updated - January 12, 2024
As we have mentioned many times before, one of the most loved features of WordPress is its flexibility towards customization. Users of all knowledge levels can achieve a lot of DIY tweaks to their sites, if they have time available. However, a lot of business owners face shortage of time to immerse themselves completely in site management. In such cases, relying on freelancers could be an obvious solution. In this article, we will discuss some of the best ways you can adopt to hire a WordPress Freelancer and Designer for your site.
How to Hire a WordPress Freelancer & Designer?
Though it may seem like a relatively easy task, there could be a lot of hassles if you hire the wrong person for the job. So, it is only wise to follow some of the best practices offered by industry experts while hiring a freelance developer or designer for your next WordPress project.
Before getting into the best practices to follow, let us reiterate why you need to be careful while choosing a freelancer.
Challenges you may face if you hire the wrong freelancer
- High cost with not the expected quality.
- Low quality code that could lead to several other problems.
- Below-par communication skills that could lead to wastage of time.
- Duplication of work that could land you in legal troubles.
- Outright scamming.
All these possibilities could be minimized if you take adequate precautions while hiring a freelancer for your WordPress project. To help you out, we have created a list of best practices that you can follow.
When to hire a WordPress freelancer?
Before knowing how, it is important to understand when you need to hire a freelancer for your WordPress project. A shortage of time is one of the most common reason for WordPress site owners opting for freelancers. In certain cases, there could be a lack of specific skills in the team that you really require to tackle a problem. Or, it could be for better organization of tasks within the team. For any such reasons, you could be in the lookout for a WordPress freelancer.
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Traits of a good WordPress freelancer
You may want to look out for some of the following traits while considering to hire a freelancer for your WordPress site.
- Solid experience in WordPress and associated aspects.
- Prompt and professional communication.
- Capability to meet deadlines.
- Good references and portfolio.
- Fits your budget.
The process of hiring a WordPress freelancer
When you plan to hire a WordPress freelancer, you can follow these essential steps to ensure that you get the right person for the job.
Create a project brief
One of the first steps that you need to take is to create a project brief that clearly defines your business requirement. The brief should communicate your requirement effectively to the freelancer. It could be a development or design project, or a third-party integration. A well-defined project brief will help you set the expectations right, and avoid any confusion later.
Look out for developers
Now, you can actually start the process of searching for a freelancer. There are many ways to do this. Here are some of the options that you may consider.
- WordPress sites – There are several sites that offers expert developers and designers. The advantage of searching for a WordPress freelancer on these sites is that their skills are trusted and approved before.
- References – If you have never hired a WordPress freelancer before, it is a good idea to ask references and recommendations from someone you know who has already done that. Sometimes asking around your local community could also help.
- Google searches – You can try specific keywords to ensure that you can easily get a list of freelancers who are ready to get hired.
- Job boards – This is a great way to hire the best person for your job. You can post your job requirements with sufficient details so that the right people will apply for it. Job boards like jobs.wordpress.net is a great option to post your job requirement.
- Outsourcing platforms – There are several outsourcing platforms that will offer you skillful freelancers for your project. You will have to go through the freelancer profiles thoroughly and evaluate their skills before hiring.
Evaluate and shortlist
Once you get sufficient leads, you can evaluate the applicants and create a shortlist. One of the first steps could be to look for a direct match with your project brief so that you can eliminate those who does not fit. If you are considering a freelancer from some outsourcing platform, you can easily evaluate based on ratings and reviews. Another option would be to check the portfolio of past projects. For example, the quality of previously written code could be a good measure to evaluate a WordPress developer.
Also, a simple logic that you can apply here is to not go for cheap pricing always. It is always good to find the market pricing for a freelance job, and choose one in that range.
Directly interact
Once you shortlist some of the applicants who you think are fit for the job, you can do a more detailed evaluation. This is the time when you can have a better understanding on the communication patterns of the freelancer. If at this stage, you are feeling lapses in communication, it could definitely be a red flag.
Another strategy to evaluate a freelancer would be to give a paid test project. This will be a clear indication of the freelancer’s approach to work and your experience in the future with the person.
Best places to find a WordPress freelancer
Here is a list of options where you can find a WordPress freelancer according to your requirements.
Toptal
Toptal is a great option to hire a WordPress freelancer including developer, designers and product managers. Their applicant network is thoroughly vetted, and you will be able to complete the hiring process within 48 hours. Moreover, there are easy options to scale up and down according to your requirements.
Codeable
Codeable is one of the most popular platforms to find a WordPress freelancer. They will help you find freelancers for a range of WordPress projects including plugin or theme development, site redesign, eCommerce site creation, etc. Importantly, they have a professional vetting and screening process to help you find the very best talent in the industry.
WPhired
WPhired is the right place for you if you are looking to hire a WordPress developer. It allows you to post a job requirement for free, and it will reach a large number of experienced developers. You can also find professionals to help you with theme development, SEO, etc.
Upwork
Upwork is one of the largest freelancer network that will help you find the right talent easily. You will be able to post a job and hire the talent yourselves, or you can purchase from a predefined project catalog. Whether you are looking for help in development or design, you will surely find a freelancer quite easily here.
Fiverr
Fiverr is another popular, global freelance marketplace that you can use to find a WordPress expert. You will be able to find the right talent that fits your budget easily on this platform. More importantly, you will get round-the-clock support from a friendly support team.
Hopefully, this article has provided you with some insights on how to find the right WordPress freelancer for your project. Leave us a comment if you wish to share your opinion on the matter.
