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Fortunately, there are lots of developers out there who have experience in Facebook API development.
You can take the risk and hire from freelance sites or focus specifically on freelance platforms that specialize in software development.
Alternatively, if you have a more complex project, the best solution is to outsource your development to a software development company that has all the developers and skill sets to make sure it is a success.
The first step is to have a clear understanding of your project requirements. This will allow you to understand exactly what you need in your Facebook API developer.
Essential Facebook API Developer Skills
With this project scope in mind, you can now evaluate your developers according to the following 5 skills.
1. Knowledge of Facebook APIs and SDKs
Evaluate whether developers have in-depth expertise in the following:
- The Facebook Graph API: Programmers need to use this API to read and write to the Facebook social graph. This API allows apps to access pages, users, posts, groups, events, etc.
- The Facebook Marketing APIs: You can use Facebook Marketing APIs to manage your ad campaigns, create custom audiences, get reports, etc.
Depending on your project, you could use one of the several SDKs that Facebook offers. Facebook offers the following SDKs:
- Android SDK;
- iOS SDK;
- SDK for PC games;
- PHP SDK;
- Facebook Business SDK, which helps you to manage your ad campaigns;
- React SDK;
- Swift SDK;
- tvOS SDK, which helps you to develop apps for Apple TV;
- Unity SDK, which helps you to develop cross-platform games.
Evaluate whether the developer you are interviewing knows the SDKs relevant to your project.
2. Programming Language Skills
You will no doubt want to develop a software solution that uses Facebook APIs for certain features. As a result, you need developers with appropriate programming language skills for developing this solution. Depending on your project scope, you might need one or more of the following:
A. Web Application Development Skills
You need web developers if your project scope includes web app development. In that case, you might need Node.js skills. This open-source runtime environment is an excellent choice to develop scalable and performant web apps.
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B. Native Android Development Skills
If you plan to develop a native Android app that uses Facebook APIs, then you need native Android developers. Java has been the mainstay for native Android development for a long time. In recent years, Kotlin has emerged as a popular choice.
Read more about which to choose in our guide “Kotlin vs Java: Which is the best choice?”.
C. Native iOS Development Skills
You might be developing a native iOS app as part of your project. Native iOS developers have used Objective-C for a long time, however, Swift has emerged as a popular choice in recent years.
Fortunately, there are huge numbers of developers out there who are well versed in these two programming languages.
D. React Native Development Skills
Depending on your project scope and budget, you could choose to develop a near-native mobile app using React Native. While it can’t exactly match the native user experience and performance, React Native has gained a lot of popularity and as such more and more developers are working with it.
E. AI/ML/Analytics Skills
If you are developing AI/ML or analytics apps as part of your project, then you will need Python developers. Since the project scope is going to be more complex, you are likely to need more than one developer.
In such cases, it is important to hire through dedicated software development platforms only.
The underlying process of finding developers with the right skills is essentially the same. We will cover this in the interview section at the end.
3. The Knowledge of Coding Secure Applications
Your product will likely deal with users’ Facebook data and other social media data from platforms like Instagram.
In addition to aggregate data like Google Analytics, you might also process personal data. With the growing concerns around data breaches, you need to pay attention to application security.
This means that you need developers that know how to code secure applications. This includes the following skills:
- Programmers need to know how to mitigate key application security vulnerabilities by following the best practices for application development.
- If they develop 1st party REST APIs, then they need to understand how to secure them using access tokens.
- They should have good knowledge of how to use tools and techniques like multi-factor authentication, encryption, etc.
4. The Knowledge of How to Succeed in a Software Development Project
You need programmers that know how to succeed in a development project of your size.
For example, if your project is a complex one, developers should have experience working on complex projects and in large teams before.
On the opposite end of the scale, if you are only hiring a single developer then they need to have good communication skills and be able to provide regular update reports on their own.
Consider the following examples:
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- While a UI designer would design the front-end of the application, developers should know how to reflect that design and the functionality of the UI in their code.
- A software architect will decide on the architecture pattern most suitable for the app. All programmers should know how to code in perfect alignment with the architectural decisions.
- Competent developers should know how to work with testers and DevOps engineers in a spirit of collaboration. This will ensure timely fixing of code defects, meaning that you will be able to keep a steady pace of sprint completions.
- Capable programmers know how to develop scalable and performant apps.
5. Code Review Expertise
Even a first-time project manager knows the importance of testing, however, some don’t realize automated testing won’t unearth all the defects in a piece of software.
Since it is important to identify defects as early as possible, you need to hire a developer who is able to identify and fix defects early in the project lifecycle, or preferably not to make them in the first place.
Code review plays an important part here since it can identify defects that automated testers might miss. So other than being able to write great code, a developer should be able to review their own code and spot defects and bugs.
It is handy to find a developer who has plenty of code review experience. This might be only part-time reviewing other people’s code to make a little extra money or working full-time for a specialist code review platform.
Experienced code reviewers become expert programmers.
They know how to prevent defects by following coding guidelines, are able to quickly find application security vulnerabilities, and most of all know how to avoid many of the pitfalls that create bugs and security flaws in the first place.
How to Find the Best Facebook API Developer?
Now that you understand the main skills that your developer will need to succeed with your new app, here are the basic steps that you need to take to find that great developer.
Choose Which Platform to Use
Having been involved in the salvage of numerous poorly undertaken software development projects, DevTeam.Space strongly recommends that you avoid hiring cheap freelancers from general-use freelancer sites.
However, if money is at a premium and you need to go the low-budget route, then such sites offer direct access to software developers both in the United States and worldwide.
Keep in mind that these sites do not offer protection, project management (PM) tools, and take as much as 20% of the developer’s income themselves.
A much better option is the software development-specific freelancer site. They usually vet their developers to ensure quality. Naturally, such sites are a little more than general freelancer sites.
The drawback to the software-focused freelance site is that they don’t offer much in the way of help after they connect you with your developer. There is no developer managerial oversight or tools to help development, for example.
While building a Facebook API solution is not the most complicated software development project, it is no less important to get it right.
Software development companies offer both reliability and the option to take a vast amount of the stress off the project owner’s shoulders too. The best ones have full-time developers and not freelancers. They will sign NDAs with you to protect your property and if you are not happy, you don’t need to pay.
Start Interviewing Potential Developers
Once you have found the best platform or software development companies, it is time to see what is out there and sign up for the developer you want.
The key here is to do your research. If you are not a software developer then hit Google and start to collect a series of questions that will help you assess a candidate’s skill set. Be sure to cover all the points in our list above.
Make sure to ask about past projects that they have been involved in and what their role was. Ideally, you will want to test out the software wherever possible to get an idea of its scope and effectiveness.
Some startups or companies ask the developer to complete a mini-test project to ensure that they are what they say they are. Expect to have to pay for this should your task take more than 30 minutes to an hour to complete.
Explain the Project Until They Know it Back and Front
The final step before you set your developer roling is to ensure that they understand your project, your work approach, and what they are expected to do.
Go through your project specification, set up communication channels, cover things like where your code will be kept, what they are expected to do (including when there are roadblocks, etc.), and how sprints and payments will work.
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We strongly suggest that you agree that no sprints will be paid for until you are completely satisfied with the work and that all agreed deliverables have been completed.
Interview tips for hiring Facebook API developers
When you hire a Facebook API developer, keep the following interview tips in mind:
A. A Facebook API development team should manage the external dependencies well
You are consuming a Facebook API. You might have a web development or mobile application development project where you need it. Effectively, you are adding an external dependency. That’s the same if you consume any other external API like Google API.
You need a team with the appropriate software development experience. The software engineers in your team should be able to manage the external dependencies.
Hiring Facebook API experts from companies like DevTeam.Space puts you at advantage. Such companies extensively screen their developers.
B. Top Facebook API developers should be able to manage the complexities
Every 3rd party API you consume increases the degree of complexity of your application. Whether you consume a REST API or GraphQL API isn’t important here. If you develop all APIs as a part of the backend development, then you control the development fully. That’s not the case if you don’t build web services or APIs yourself.
Look for experienced Facebook API developers with experience in handling complex projects. We at DevTeam.Space can provide Facebook API experts with the requisite experience.
C. Look for talented developers with deep knowledge of application security
You will likely consume Facebook APIs for web and mobile development. In addition to Facebook API experts, you will have web and mobile app developers on the team. That could include Android and iOS developers.
Look for in-depth application security knowledge. Best Facebook API developers should know how to securely consume the APIs. The web and mobile developers should know that as well.
Examples of interview questions for hiring Facebook API developers
Ask questions that help you to assess the relevant experience. A few examples are as follows:
A. Which Facebook Graph API queries can you use with the Facebook Ads API?
Answer: You can use the following Graph API queries in the Ads API:
- Broad target categories;
- Connection objects;
- Ad statistics;
- Keyword stats;
- Reach Estimate;
- Autocomplete data.
B. List the steps to register and configure an app to use Facebook APIs.
Answer: You need to take the following steps:
- Login to Facebook;
- Create a developer account;
- Create a new app;
- Provide the app details;
- Select a platform;
- Configure the “advanced” settings;
- Assign developer roles;
- Create users for testing;
- Update the app development status;
- Submit your app for a review.
C. Explain the rules for using test users.
Answer: The rules for using test users are as follows:
- You can have up to 2,000 test users.
- Test users can’t “Like” or “Follow” the public Facebook pages. They can’t post on the timeline.
- Test users can submit comments on the posts administered by an app. This can be done by using the Graph API or the Facebook “Share” dialog.
Submit a Project With Zero Risk
Developing new Facebook API solutions is as much a challenge as any other area of software development. For this, you will need a good Facebook API developer.
Why not begin your search by completing a DevTeam.Space product specification form. After you have done so, a dedicated account manager will get back to you to answer any queries you might have and show you our most suitable developers for your project.
