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How to Evaluate WordPress Freelancers and What to Look for

In the fast-paced world of web development, accurately assessing the performance of WordPress developers is crucial. This evaluation is not just about technical skills but also about how these professionals approach their work. Understanding the key performance indicators (KPIs) for a successful WordPress developer can significantly impact the outcome of your projects, ensuring efficiency, quality, and innovation.

Understanding the Task Before Starting the work

An essential attribute of a proficient WordPress Freelancer is their ability to read the task description and thoroughly understand it before starting their work. This involves carefully reviewing the project requirements, including the text, expected outcomes, videos and any relevant files. Freelancers who pay attention to those details will provide better value and reduce the back and forth communication with the client.

Self-Testing Before QA/Review 

It’s important for the WordPress Freelancer to take the quality of their work seriously. It’s important for them to test their work well before the task is moved to the internal test/QA stage.  This proactive approach of identifying and resolving issues not only saves time but also demonstrates a high level of professionalism and responsibility. 

Analyzing Bugs and Fixes in Features

If you’re working with a WordPress Developer the evaluation criteria would be if the code does what it was designed to do. It could also be the number and severity of the glitches in their code, however, it’s crucial to categorize features based on their complexity – small, medium, and large – to ensure a fair assessment. This approach offers insights into the developer’s problem-solving skills and attention to detail.

It is important to set the expectations that whoever is working on the project is also beta testing it and should be reporting any glitches they might find. We have a client who is exceptionally good at finding bugs – so much so that it can be both amazing and slightly embarrassing for our team. Their attention to detail makes us craft a good product. This is a nice reminder that perfection is a journey, and client involvement is a key part of that journey.

Do you have WordPress Staging site? that’s a password protected site where the whole team and the client can see any updates and progress. If you don’t have one you can quickly create one on WPSandbox.net or qSandbox.com.

Adherence to Project Timelines

Timely delivery is a critical component of a developer’s performance. Assessing their ability to adhere to project timelines without compromising on quality reflects their efficiency and time management skills. It also indicates their capability to work under pressure and manage unforeseen challenges. 

Effective Communication and Collaboration

A freelancer’s ability to communicate effectively with team members and clients is as important as their technical skills. Assess how they articulate technical concepts, provide updates, and collaborate with others to solve problems. Good communication fosters a collaborative environment and ensures that everyone is aligned with the project goals. If an unexpected issue pops up the developer should communicate with the client or with their manager about the unexpected delay so the client can be notified and an extension granted or the feature can be turned off temporarily until the issue is resolved.

Adaptability and Continuous Learning

The tech world is ever-evolving, and so should be the skill set of a WordPress freelancer. Evaluate their willingness to learn new technologies and adapt to changing project requirements. A freelancer who is open to learning, accepts and shares feedback and is adapting is an asset to the team.

Client follow up & internal review

It’s important for the business to check with the client after the project is done.

This is important because everybody on the team can improve their approach.
This could be how the project scope was handled, how the communication was done, how the project documents were organized and so on.

You can check with the client and ask how happy you were with our services?
or do you have it down to several questions on happiness with Copywriter, Design Team, Development Team, Etc.

It’s also important to check with whoever was involved in the project to ask them what we did well and what we should do differently the next time.

Evaluating WordPress freelancers extends beyond their technical expertise. It encompasses their approach to work, problem-solving abilities, and their collaborative and adaptive nature. By focusing on these important key metrics/KPIs, you can ensure that you are partnering with freelancers who are not just skilled but also aligned with your company’s vision and values.

How to Find a Freelance WordPress Developer

The first step is to figure out what kind of Freelance WordPress professional you are going to need.

Do you actually need a freelance WordPress developer (who can write code) or web web freelance WordPress designer (somebody who can make things pretty) or a content writer.

It’s very tempting to want a developer & a designer all in one package but to be really good in those fields, the professional must have spent enormous amounts of time.

They are pretty rare and for this reason their rates might be higher than the other WordPress professionals.

Some clients may also want the candidates to know SEO. That falls into the marketing category.

Marketing is also a vast field that too, in turn it requires time and effort to master.

For this reason it’s better to look for several candidates that have those skills individually and not all in one package. Because if the person claims to have that kind of knowledge and experience in those fields their skills may be superficial.

The next step is to screen them.

Finding WordPress Developers

Reach out to your friends, colleagues, and other business owners who have recently hired a WordPress developer and ask for their recommendations.

What mistakes they made during the hiring process and what good ideas they had used to filter out the bad candidates.

Remote sites

Try online/remote job platforms such as Upwork, Freelancer, and Guru, Fiverr and WP Gigs that connect clients with freelancers and agencies who specialize in WordPress development. You can easily find and hire a WordPress developer from these platforms by browsing their portfolio and reading their reviews from past clients.

Orbisius.com (the owner of WP Gigs) can help you out with your WordPress needs as well.

Local WordPress Meetups

You can also check for local WordPress Meetup groups. There are lots of Meetup.com and also you can check on Facebook. 

Local WordCamps and also WordCamp Europe or US can be an excellent option to find developers.

Check for certifications and/or courses that they have taken from learning platforms such as LinkedIn, Udemy or other. These certifications are a good indication that the developer has taken the necessary time to complete several WordPress courses and acquire skills and knowledge to build high-quality WordPress websites.

Screening the WordPress Developers

It is important to check the developer’s portfolio, experience, and possibly testimonials from previous clients. Look for developers who have delivered quality projects on time and within budget.

Look for experience: It is important to hire a developer who has experience in building WordPress websites or whatever you’re looking for.

Sometimes clients are looking for somebody that has experience customizing a specific WordPress plugin. You could find such a WordPress developer if the plugin is very popular such as WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads. The experienced developers can customize any plugin.

Again, it’s important to understand that WordPress developers write code. WordPress Designers make things pretty by writing HTML, CSS and possibly some JavaScript to achieve the desired look and feel.

Evaluate communication skills: Communication is key when working with a WordPress developer. Look for a developer who is easy to communicate with and is responsive to your inquiries and requests. It is also important to ensure that the developer has a good understanding of your requirements and is able to deliver the project within the specified timeframe. It’s good to ask them how they intend to complete the project by outlining the necessary steps.

Consider the cost: WordPress developers charge different rates, so it is important to find one who fits within your budget. However, it is also important to remember that the cheapest option may not always be the best choice, as a high-quality WordPress website requires investment.

Check for availability: Make sure that the WordPress developer you choose is available to start working on your project as soon as possible. If you need the website to be completed within a specific timeframe, make sure the developer is able to deliver the project on time.

Look for a developer with a strong support system: Look for a WordPress developer who has a strong support system in place, such as a team of developers or a reliable support system for bug fixes and maintenance. This will ensure that your website runs smoothly and is always up-to-date.

Have a contract ready: Finally, it is important to ask for a contract or have one ready before hiring a WordPress developer. The contract should outline the scope of the project, payment terms, and expectations for project delivery. This will help ensure that both you and the developer are on the same page and will help to avoid any misunderstandings and/or miscommunications.

How WordPress Developers Can Improve Their Skills

We came up with the following list. Shared your favorite lists in the comments below.

  • Check the free WordPress resources (learn.WordPress.org and WordPress.tv)
  • Learn from the codebase of popular plugins/themes
  • Create a new WordPress plugin/theme that solves a specific need
  • Take a Course on WordPress
  • Learn by Doing using qSandbox or WPSandbox

Check the free WordPress resources (learn.WordPress.org and WordPress.tv)

the learn subdomain has lots of resources. It seems it is planned to host content in different languages but the content is primarily in English.

There are recorded tutorials

https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorials/?series=&topic=&language=en_US&captions=&wp_version=

There are online workshops as well
https://learn.wordpress.org/online-workshops/


WordPress.TV (https://wordpress.tv) has lots of recorded videos from WordPress Camps.

Learn from the codebase of popular plugins/themes

One of the great things about the WordPress ecosystem and plugins/themes is that the code is written in php which is an interpreted language AND the source code can be viewed. This in the learning context is great because you can reverse engineer how the authors of a plugin or theme have created the product and learn from their good and bad practices.

Also you can pay attention to how each feature and benefit is described. Good ideas can be found everywhere.

Create a new WordPress plugin/theme that solves a specific need

Creating a new project focuses you and tests your current skills. Every project is different and very requires new set of skills. It’s always good to challenge and ask yourself these questions as a WordPress professional

  • How can you improve your workflow each time?
  • How can you improve the code that you write each time?
  • How can you improve the time it takes to create a feature?
  • How can you collect feedback more efficiently
  • The most important one of all is how many people have this problem that I am about to solve? Yes, you can write but does anybody need this kind of solution?

Take a Course on WordPress

There are lots of WordPress courses that you can take on YouTube, Udemy SkillShare etc.

Learn by Doing using qSandbox or WPSandbox

Absorbing information can trick you into thinking that you’re making some progress.

If don’t really know a submit until you apply the knowledge in a project and/or teach it to somebody else. That’s how we as humans work.

You can set up a Free WordPress Staging site on qSandbox or a Temporary WordPress Staging Site on WPSandbox.net . Both services allow you to try WordPress for free and without a domain name. Feel free to check each service and see which one you like best.

5 Mistake WordPress Beginner Freelancers Make

The mistakes are

  • Not investing into own domain and hosting
  • Not having an email at your domain
  • Using nulled/cracked WordPress plugins and themes to save money
  • Copy/paste the same message to multiple clients
  • Not having a portfolio

Not investing into own domain and hosting

Having your own domain name and hosting is absolutely necessary if you are at least semi-serious about your WordPress freelancing career.

The more descriptive the site better it will give an idea what you are offering.

Your site should preferably end in .com, or .net

  • your-name.com
  • the-service-you-are-offering.com

You can use NameCheap to get your domain name.

Not having an email at your domain

It may not look like the most important thing but it’s professional to have yourname@yourdomain.com.

Using nulled/cracked WordPress plugins and themes to save money

In the WordPress eco system the plugins are usually licensed as GPL which allows modification and distribution. It is not illegal to change the code and sell it.

There are sites that offer plugins and themes that have their license related code removed or turned off. Those sites resell other people’s work at a usually very low cost.

We’ve seen sites offering plugins at $5/month. This sounds like a great deal but it’s really a bad idea for multiple reasons.

First, it hurts the original authors that have put in lots of effort to code the plugin or theme. It takes enormous time and money investment to create, launch and maintain a WordPress plugin/theme.

Second, there’s a chance that the plugin/theme may have a virus or a trojan horse silently hibernating until it is waken up from a central location.

The virus or the trojan horse could be used to simulate visitors to sites or to try to overload a particular sites.

Just imagine if 10,000 sites are just sitting and waiting for a command to make a request to a given site at a scheduled moment. That spike in traffic would make the site unresponsive for some time unless you use a Managed WordPress Hosting that is prepared to handle that sudden traffic.

Third, having a virus could potentially steal your or your client’s data.

The virus could be just collecting data as new orders come in and forward it to 3rd party without your knowledge.

Copy/paste the same message to multiple clients

We get it you want to be able to message (spam) as many potential clients as possible to ensure that you won’t starve. I have been on both sides.

When I first started as a WordPress freelancer I have prepared a message that would paste on projects but then asked myself how can I differentiate myself and also show the client that I am a great consultant to work with.

Well, I started asking relevant project related questions.

Sometimes clients are so sick of people not reading their project information page that they have put a secret word that the candidates have to submit to ensure that they have read the whole document.

Not having a portfolio

How would you stand out from other developers?

One of the best ways to showcase your skills is to have a portfolio that shows what you are capable of.

Lots of designers/developers just send a list of links to their previous customers but that doesn’t really tell or show what work you have done because there are so many moving parts.

As I client I would like to know:

  • Your programming style. Do you write comments.
  • Do you write code that is extendable
  • Is the code secure or full of security glitches
  • Was the site customized and how or a new template was imported
  • Were there any optimization done

You can use source code hosting services such as GitHub or Bitbucket to manage your theme(s) or plugin(s) source code. You can easily send your portfolio link to the clients. They can browse through the code and see for themselves how good you are.

You have to make sure that either the project is set to public or you have added the client to the repository in order to view the code.