How To Hire Web Developers

Knowledgeable experts estimate that there are 23 million web developers in the world today. They project this number to reach 27.7 million by 2027.

These statistics might give you the impression that finding a web designer and developer is easy. However, this doesn’t quite tell you the full story.

You first need to decide the kind of web development project you are undertaking. This will help you to determine what you need to succeed.

Analyzing your project requirements will help you decide what kind of developers you need. You then need to analyze the skill requirements for the project.

You need to decide on the kind of hiring platforms you will use. This could include freelance platforms or software development companies, and you need to make a choice.

You now need to interview the shortlisted candidates. Finally, you need to hire web developers and give them the required project information.

We now go through these steps in more detail.

How to Hire a Web Developer

You will follow these steps to find a web developer.

1. Analyze your project requirements

What are your project requirements? To answer this question, you shouldn’t just review your technical requirements. You need to look at your larger business requirements. Analyze the following questions:

Why are you undertaking a web development project?

Analyze your business needs for undertaking a web development project. You might need this project for the following reasons:

• Establishing an online presence for your small business: This is self-explanatory. You need an online presence in this era, therefore, you need a website.
• Adding value to customers: Your customers can reach you easily, thanks to a good website or application, etc.
• Marketing: A website provides that invaluable direct marketing channel for you to reach your customers.
• Engaging customers: Your website offers valuable opportunities to engage your customers.

Are you undertaking a simple project like eCommerce development or a complex project?

Some web development projects can be relatively simple. For example, an eCommerce development project.

To take another example, you might undertake a WordPress development project. Such CMS projects need a medium level of skills and experience. Designers and developers need to know about the best WordPress themes, furthermore, they need to know which WordPress plugin to use.

On the other hand, you might have a complex project at hand. You will need skilled and experienced programmers in this case. Such projects need a high-quality front-end developer with HTML and CSS skills. You need back-end developers with skills like PHP, JavaScript, Python, etc.

Having analyzed your requirements, you know the kind of developers you need. You also get an idea of the hiring lead time.

2. Decide on your skills requirements to hire web developers

What skills and competencies do you need when you hire web developers? Focus on the following:

Programming languages and frameworks skills that a full-stack developer needs

Depending on the project requirements, you might need developers with skills in one or more of the following programming languages:

• JavaScript;
• PHP;
• Node.js;
• Java;
• Python;
• Ruby.

You need website developers with sufficient experience in HTML5, HTML, and CSS.

Web development frameworks and libraries can help you to expedite the project. A full-stack developer knows how to achieve high productivity by using the relevant frameworks. The choice of frameworks and libraries depend on your project.

For example, you might need developers with experience in jQuery, a popular library. Alternatively, you might choose to use Ruby on Rails, the popular framework.

Are you planning to use Node.js in your project? You might choose to use popular Node.js frameworks like Express.js. Check for relevant skills when you hire coders.

Do you plan to offer a cross-platform mobile app in the future? You might use mobile frameworks like React Native in the future. In that case, you might want to use JavaScript for both front-end and back-end development. You should hire full-stack developers in that case.

Note: Web developers don’t configure and manage a CI/CD environment. You will likely hire DevOps engineers for that. However, web developers should have a sufficient understanding of DevOps processes, tools, and best practices. That will allow them to utilize a CI/CD environment effectively. Look for this when hiring web developers.

Specialized skills for back-end development

Do you have a medium-to-high complexity project that you need to develop? Perhaps you are incorporating cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), big data, etc.? For example, you might be planning to leverage social media analytics for better marketing.

Back-end development becomes very important with complex projects. You need coders with sufficient back-end development skills. They should know the relevant programming languages, libraries, and frameworks, etc. They also need the following skill sets:

• Web application architecture;
• Web application security;
• API development;
• Relational databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.;
• NoSQL databases like MongoDB.

Development experience

The nature of your website development project drives developer experience requirements. Look for WordPress development experience if you have a CMS project. For an eCommerce project, you need developers with experience in relevant frameworks.

For complex projects, you should look for designers and coders with the following experience:

• Website design with graphic design experience;
• Front-end development;
• Back-end development;
• Web services development;
• API development;
• Web application security;
• Using cloud computing platforms;
• Using web development tools and frameworks;
• How to make a web page load fast;
• Developing scalable web applications.

Note: You want Google to rank your website well. “Search Engine Optimization” (SEO) plays a key part here, and landing page design is very important. Your web design should incorporate SEO best practices, therefore, look for web designers with the relevant experience.

Software quality skills

Every software development project will have defects, and your project won’t be an exception. You need a development team that knows how to prevent and resolve defects.

• Look for the following skills when you hire web developers;
• The knowledge of coding guidelines and best practices;
• The ability to follow software quality management processes;
• Sufficient knowledge in software defect prevention techniques;
• Code review expertise and experience;
• The ability to work with testers and DevOps engineers in a collaborative manner to expedite defect resolution.

3. Identify competencies that the best web developers need

You need good web developers to have certain competencies. These are as follows:

• Passion for excellence;
• Commitment to the project objectives;
• Communication skills;
• Teamwork;
• A proactive attitude;
• The ability to see the big picture.

4. Choose a hiring platform to hire web developers

Now that you know the skills and competencies that you should look for, it’s time to focus on the hiring process. You need to choose an appropriate hiring platform.

Your decision in this regard carries plenty of importance. After all, you need competent web developers for success. Best project plans and development tools will not help if you don’t hire the right people.

You can’t risk your web projects turning into troubled projects. We can conclusively say from our experience that turning troubled projects around costs a lot of money and effort. You want to avoid this.

Choose the right hiring platform. This gives you the best chance of hiring competent people. You can choose one of the following options:

A) General-purpose freelance platforms

General-purpose freelance platforms can help you to find web developers. Some of these platforms have a wide reach. Your job posting might get good visibility.

You might get several applications, and you need to interview the candidates. Freelance platforms provide a transparent contracting process. You might be able to get freelance web developers with a low hourly rate.

You also have software development-specific freelance platforms. Some of them claim to allow only the top developers to join their communities. They state that their screening process helps you to find quality developers.

Note that these freelancer platforms don’t offer any project management support. You hire a freelance web developer on these platforms, subsequently, you are on your own.

Part-time freelancers might work on multiple projects simultaneously since they try to improve their earnings. They might not dedicate the kind of bandwidth you need. You will need to manage the work done by freelancers working remotely. That can be hard.

Some of the freelance platforms deduct up to 20% of the fees that freelancers earn. That often acts as a demotivating factor. Freelancers might leave your project if they find a more lucrative offer. You will need to find a replacement.

B) Software development companies

Hybrid software development companies like DevTeam.Space can help you to find web developers. You can find dedicated programmers. Software development companies can provide development teams, moreover, they can provide end-to-end development support.

You can get project management support from them. If a developer leaves mid-way, such companies can help you to find a replacement quickly.

These companies encourage their developers to develop their skills. This focus on professional development helps you to find motivated developers. That helps when you have complex projects.

You might process sensitive data as part of your project. Naturally, you would want competent developers to secure this data. You would want appropriate commitments on the part of developers in this regard. Software development companies follow appropriate policies and practices in this regard. Your sensitive data is secure with these companies.

These development companies offer user-friendly and transparent contracting processes. They often offer flexible billing processes, which makes your life easier.

5. Conduct effective interviews to select a web developer

You have chosen a hiring platform. It’s now time to conduct effective interviews. You can conduct interviews yourself if you have the required web development expertise. Otherwise, ask a knowledgeable associate to conduct interviews. You can also find useful interview tips online.

Cover all technical areas during interviews. You need to ask questions relevant to your project. For example, ask about web development libraries and frameworks that you plan to use in your project.

Remember to focus on actual development experience. Looking at the years of experience might not always help you, and you need to focus on relevant experience. Interviewers might often focus heavily on programming languages and tools. While that’s important, you might miss several key aspects.

Smart web developers might only use 20% of their skills most of the time. The key lies in using the right skills to solve the right problems. Coders need to develop sound judgments for this, which comes from experience.

Find out how a candidate has approached complex projects. Ask about the various problems that candidates faced during the project. This could include resolving application security vulnerabilities or scalability challenges. Experienced developers should have considerable experience in solving complex challenges, and you need to ascertain that during the interview phase.

Focus on your project requirements. Find out whether candidates have worked in similar projects. Encourage them to explain how they approached such projects. Explain the business requirements of your project and invite their suggestions on how to approach them. You should expect high-level responses.

6. Help developers to succeed

You have interviewed candidates and selected developers. Now, you need to help them achieve success in your project.

You need to provide detailed information about your project. This could include business requirements, technical solutions, technical requirements, architectural diagrams, etc.

You might follow specific standards and guidelines in your organization. Developers need to know them, therefore, provide this information.

Developers need access to your project repository. This could include your document management system, project management tools, collaboration tool, code repository, etc. Provide the necessary access.

You might have an existing team already, and your new developers might need to work closely with it. Introduce new developers to your existing team. Explain the roles and responsibilities of various team members. Establish communication channels.

New developers need to understand your project plan, quality management systems, project schedule, etc. Explain these in detail. You need to explain iterations, milestones, approval processes, etc. Set clear expectations.

Focus on collaboration and foster an environment of teamwork. You might consider setting up a Scrum team since such teams can deliver value rapidly.

Interview tips

Keep the following interview tips in mind when you hire a web developer:

A. Look for web developers that keep up-to-date with changes in technologies

When you interview web developers, assess their knowledge of the recent changes to web app development technologies. You will likely use open-source technology when developing websites. Programming languages like JavaScript, Java, Golang, Python, Ruby, and PHP are common choices for developing web applications. They are open-source languages with vibrant developer communities.

Many of these developers routinely come up with important open-source tools and libraries. These tools and libraries can offer notable productivity gains. The right web developers keep track of these developments.

A hybrid web development agency like DevTeam.Space can offer such developers. They routinely encourage their web developers to upskill.

B. Look for enough senior web developers when using dynamically-typed languages

You will likely need JavaScript skills when hiring front-end developers. The choice for the backend development technology often depends on the project scope. Did you mention dynamically-typed languages like Python, PHP, or Ruby for back-end development in the job description? These are dynamically-typed languages. In such a scenario, hire a sufficient number of senior web developers.

Dynamically-typed languages are powerful and flexible. However, junior developers can make variable type-related errors. In this web developer hiring guide, we recommend you use a judicious mix of experience.

Companies like DevTeam.Space have a credible track record of providing web development services. Such companies can provide enough senior web developers.

Examples of interview questions

Depending on your choice of technology, you can use the appropriate DevTeam.Space interview questions. A few examples are as follows:

• JavaScript interview questions;
• Ruby on Rails interview questions;
• Python interview questions;
• Java interview questions;
• Node.js interview questions.

A. In Node.js, what are the 2 arguments that “async.queue” takes as inputs?

Answer: “Async.queue” in Node.js accepts the following arguments:

Task function;
Concurrency value.

B. What does the “finalize()” method in Java do?

Answer: The Java garbage collector calls the “finalize()” method if it finds objects without any references. Such objects can then be discarded. You can override the “finalize()” method of the object class for these clean-up tasks.

C. How do you define a “controller” in Ruby on Rails?

Answer: Define a controller in Ruby on Rails in the following way:

class ClientsController < ApplicationController
  def new
  end
end

Submit a Project With Zero Risk

The above guide can help you to hire competent web developers. If you want help with this hiring process, contact DevTeam.Space.

We request you to take a few minutes out of your schedule. Fill out a DevTeam.Space product specification form. A dedicated account manager from DevTeam.Space will soon contact you and explain how our experienced web developers can help you.