Freelance Website Developers for Hire

In the era of the internet, having an online identity in the form of a website is essential, especially when you are from a business sector. Because when almost everyone has a smartphone, and no matter what the question is, the first thing we try to do is find the answer online. What will you do if you need anything and need help knowing where to get that? You will search on the Internet! Similarly, if someone needs your product or services but doesn't know you, they will search online, and if you don't have a presence online, they won't know that you exist.

According to research done by Verisign, around 70% of people (in most countries) admit that they are likely to search online for information regarding a local store or service. In fact, around 50% of people say that they won't trust a business without a website! So now, if you are not online, you miss a lot of business.

Now, when you understand the importance of making a website, the first question that comes to mind is how to make a website.

Making a website is majorly divided into two parts

• Website Designing

• Website Developing

Many people make a mistake by thinking website designers and developers are one and the same. They are not! They both work in entirely different areas. A website is basically a graphic designer who designs websites; they are responsible for the website's visual appearance, from layout to usability. At the same time, a website developer focuses on making the design come to life by coding and putting it online.

Now, as the difference between website developers and website designer get clear, you can focus on hiring the person needed. So here we are going to talk about hiring a website developer:

How to hire a Freelance Website Developer?

Before understanding the roles and responsibilities of a website developer, you have to understand the different parts of website development out there:

1. Back-end website development:

The back-end development includes creating a website structure by writing code and verifying code. Even giving access to people for managing website content is also done in the back end. With strong back-end development, websites will work well in the front. [https://www.refrens.com/hire/back-end-developer](Hire freelance backend developer)

2. Front-end website development:

The front-end development includes creating a visible part of the website through coding. In addition, Front-end development involves developing all the pages on which users will interact and ensuring to design of each page's physical layouts and integrated graphics. This is where the use of Javascript and HTML happens to enhance the website's performance. [https://www.refrens.com/hire/front-end-developer](Hire freelance frontend developer)

3. Full-stack development:

This is a combination of front-end and back-end development of the website. [https://www.refrens.com/hire/full-stack-developer](Hire full stack developer)

4. Webmasters:

This is where the maintenance of the website happens. This is where one makes sure all the pages of the websites are working with the latest content and appropriate links—and regularly updating the information on the website.

Now let's understand the roles and responsibilities of a website developer so that when you go for hiring, you know what to expect and what not to expect:

• Understanding, creating, and testing applications for the website
• Writing and reviewing code (typically HTML, XML, or JavaScript)
• Collaborating with the web designer to make the design come to life
• Integrating content into the site
• Troubleshooting problems and bugs
• Maintainance and updation of the website
• Staying up-to-date with technology

Once the roles and responsibilities are clear, the next step is to look for candidates to hire.

Where to find Expert Website Developers?

• Online Job Portals:

All the trusted online platforms, like Refrens, Indeed, Glassdoor, etc., can be an easy and fastest option to find specific people with specific skills. This is because almost everyone on these platforms has all the details required to evaluate them. But apart from this, there are other ways to look for good website developers.

• LinkedIn:

You can search LinkedIn for keywords like website developer and get 1000s of results. To find quality and reliable ones, look for people with mutual connections. If some developers are in mutual connections with you, then consider them first. Ask your mutual for feedback, if they don't know, then look at the designer's portfolio and find the recent companies they have worked for, and then see the company's designs, and then you can message them to connect.

This process can also be done on social media like Instagram or Twitter, but LinkedIn is preferable as most people come on LinkedIn to showcase their professional work.

• Websites:

The most unique and effective way of finding a good web developer is finding a good website. If a website has reasonable structure, speed, adaptation, error-free performance, and more, then the website can be judged as good. And if the website is good, look for the web developer of that website. Usually, web developers put their authorship at the end of the footnote on any website. So look who the creator is and contact the one that suits your style and requirements.

Criteria to evaluate Freelance Website Developers

• Technical Proficiency

1. Website developers are required to be technically strong. It is essential to identify whether they know what they are doing, apart from asking about their experience and resume. Asking the right questions can help us understand the depth of their technical skills.

2. How many websites have you made? Can you please share the links?

3. The best way to evaluate any candidate is through a resume; in web development, their websites are the resume. This will provide us with enough data to see whether they are good at their job.

4. Please share one of the most challenging projects you've worked on and what you did do about it.

5. The first thing to check is whether they are humble enough to admit that they find something challenging. The answer to this question shows which kind of work they find challenging. It also shows what solution they saw and how. Look for creativity, clever work, and intense clarity in logic.

6. What are some of the websites that inspire you? And why?

7. This will show whether they get inspired by others; if yes, what impresses them? Whatever they are inspired by is something they try to achieve in their work.

• Soft Skills

In any work, mastery of technicality is more effortless than mastery of soft skills. No matter how talented a developer is, if they are not good at soft skills, it is better not to hire them—looking for creativity, humbleness, innovativeness, good communication, integrity, sincerity, and discipline in work. They should be good team workers and also at an excellent individual level. These things are visible when we are taking the interview. In the interview, ask about how and why they chose this line, their favorite creation, websites that they like, most challenging client and why, mistakes that they have made, etc., all of these are something to be observed and read between the lines.

Clear out the Expected Deliverables and Timelines

After evaluating the developer, the next step is to get clarity on their deliverables and the timeline; most of these are common in a lot of other fields too:

• Letter of agreement: There should be a simple, easy-to-read document that states all the terms of the arrangement. The written document helps prevent misunderstandings, and in worse situations, it can protect your legal rights.

• Scope of work (SOW): A significant range of work must be cleared from the beginning. What will be the deliverables from the developer's end? What will indicate that the project is complete? What will be the measurable outcome? How many drafts and revisions will be offered by the developer? Everything clear before starting the project makes the work much smoother and easier to execute.

• Expiration Dates: This includes the time you can take to give feedback. This saves the developer from clients who don't reply after some work, and they never get paid.

Timeline

The timeline can vary from developer to developer and work to work. Still, if the web developer includes everything, it takes around one or two months to make a pretty good website, but it can stretch to a lot more if the website has additional features like an online store or community. So, it all depends on the project's depth, the employer's expectations, the scope of work, and the number of people working. Even after aligning the timeline, you should know that this is a subjective field; no matter how much planning has been done, there is a possibility of delay due to n number of reasons.

Once the timeline and deliverables are aligned, the last step is understanding what not to do. Here is a not-to-do list to follow:

Common Pitfalls When Hiring a Freelance Website developer

• Only looking local: After the ease of the internet, the best talent is available from around the world within your budget. Finding only local people is like missing out on ample opportunities. When you are aiming to make a website, aiming to create a world-class website should be the goal, and finding the best web developers should be your work.

• Not choosing the correct payment method: Do you want to pay on an hourly bid or project-wise? Are you clear about exactly what you want down to the font size? If you are unclear, hourly is the best method as it gives flexibility. But if you are clear, fixed will help you only pay what you are willing to.

• Unrealistic timeline: You must take your time in this. If you hurry, it will impact the quality of the website directly. Take a reasonable timeline, have some patience and let them do the work.

• Not considering maintenance: This is not a one-time job. You have to consider maintenance. Your website requires someone to do the work of a webmaster. Not considering this will make the website outdated without you even realizing it.|

• Well, now the last part of the process is money! But, of course, you don't want to overpay or underpay the developer. That's why knowing the industry standards will help in decision-making.

How much does it cost to Hire a Freelance Website Developer?

Website development pricing directly varies with the complexity and the amount of work. There are two significant ways of pricing: direct one-time fees and hourly working fees. If you select a direct one-time fee for the website, in India, it will cost a minimum of 20,000, while in the US, it will cost around $1000. We are saying minimum because the maximum limit of the cost is undefinable. It goes up to $100,000 as well. But make sure to choose this payment method only when you know precisely what you are looking for; if you need to, then hourly is the best option.

Note: This is only the website development; it doesn't count the time and hours that go into website designing.

So, here is the guide to help you answer the "How to hire a Freelance Website Developer?"