Developing a website on WordPress is trending these days. It is simple to buy a domain, create a WordPress profile and get started. Gone are the days when developing a website was just as difficult as solving a great jiggle puzzle. WordPress has given an incredible experience for developers in IT domain especially the inexperienced ones. It is found that more than 22% of the websites are on WordPress. Plug-ins and icons contribution have made WordPress exceptional.
So, if you are planning to develop a website on a CMS like WordPress you need to very carefully select and hire WordPress developer who are dedicated towards proper functioning of WP website. WordPress is just not a bloggers or developers. Whether you’re a marketer, educator, content creator or designer first search for a WordPress developer who bury himself in coding practice and takes every opportunity as a challenge.
Simple Advice before hiring a WordPress Developer
Before hiring a WordPress Developer, few things are to be kept in mind. Split the project into two parts: (a) The distinctive design and (b) Development stages. You can work with a designer to create your theme’s look down to the smallest detail where can offer you the constructive and skilled advice. Once you are done with the theme’s designing, you may proceed with the same to a developer, who will only focus to turn that design into a working theme.
Finding Theme developers
Once you are finished with PSD file of your WordPress website design, you can now look for someone to put it all together for you. There are several places where you can find best WordPress developer. Many times designers recommend the best WordPress developers. Another great option is to use bidding sites such as People Per Hour or Elance. Or one can simply do a Google search for WordPress developers in your area. It really can be that simple. The local option allows you to meet personally and may lead to face to face discussions as required.
Consider these questions, they will help surely help you to make a quick yet right decision.
1. What experience do you hold?
Experience counts more than anything else! Just ask them straightforwardly “How many years of experience do they possess?” Everyone learns at different rates, and you will surely get different answers. First decide how many experience holder company or developer you are looking for, depending on your project’s requirement and budget? Try to hire at-least 3 years experience holding company.
2. What will be the rates?
WordPress theme development charges differ from company to company. Many WordPress developers charge more for quick turnaround time services and many costs for complex functionalities. The best way to grab the deal is to evaluate the accusations of your development from different developers/agencies and then decide which one fits your pocket.
3. Will the website be Responsive?
It is very vital for websites nowadays to be responsive. According to a recent survey by Google, 82% of websites are responsive. If you ignore this feature, you will miss the massive influx of mobile traffic in future.
4. What SEO features will be added to the website?
Although WordPress is SEO friendly, it still requires some SEO practices like appropriate usage of heading tags and image, clean permalinks, canonical issues, etc. to be followed. Try to hire a developer who understands the marketing and SEO strategies first and then thinks about website designing.
5. What about Child Theme?
A child theme allows modifying the look of the website without touching any code of the parent theme. Child Theme is helpful if you have less programming knowledge and still want to make minor design customization to the site by yourself.
6. How secured will the Website?
Never be carefree about website’s security. Always be mentally prepared for questioning regarding security from the developer/agency and let them explain what they have planned to protect your WordPress site from hackers. You should also ask them about what preventive measures they will take to harden your WordPress website.
7. Will you keep regular backups of my site?
Make sure that the developer can integrate your WordPress site with some backup solution. There are so many backup plugins available which are supported by WordPress sites. For, e.g., ManageWP and BackupBuddy, etc. The risk is always uncertain so, it is always better to protect your site against any unforeseen event.
8. What coding standards do they follow?
To avoid common programming errors or improving code readability, a developer must follow WordPress Coding Standards. He must keep the website’s code clean and semantic.
9. Provide some client references
You should ask your WordPress development company or developer to provide at least three past references to have an idea about how they deliver projects. Always remember, a trustworthy developer will never hesitate to provide references.
10. What services you will get after development?
This is the last but not the least question. Consider asking your WordPress developer how he will maintain the site after completing the development work. Don’t forget to check the time zone and availability of the developer. Ask them about the mode of communication among them.
Wrapping up
Finding and serving with a good developer isn’t a troublesome job. There are plenty of development companies and freelancers who can support you anyway. All you need to remember is to ask these questions. It doesn’t matter how talented a developer is if they can not answer these questions, choose for some other developers instead of regretting using them.