7 Must-have qualities to look for when you hire web developers

Having a website is a crucial part of running a business in the present market. Whether you have a clothing business or do computer repairs, every company needs to have online visibility, irrespective of the industry they are in.

Many businesses might not have the required workforce or resources to build a website and maintain it. Even if they do, they might not want to invest in this function permanently if it is not directly related to their source of revenue.

In such circumstances, business owners feel the need to hire a programmer for their projects. You can either hire a remote agency, a freelance developer, or a web development team, to do this work. But since there are so many options available online, hiring a web developer needs some serious thought.

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Why Hire a Web Developers?

Hiring developers makes your life easier as they take up the whole onus of the project. This leaves business owners to direct valuable resources towards other important things. Apart from this, it is always wise to engage an expert for a job that will be a crucial revenue source for your business.

Hiring a web developer can have manifold benefits.

It helps you save valuable time in developing the project.
You can choose a custom design and create a visually appealing website that conforms to your brand standards.
It lets you work with technology that you might not be an expert of.
You do not have to be concerned with the technicalities of the developmental process.
The project becomes professional-grade and more competitive when a developer creates it.
You get an SEO-friendly platform that attracts more traffic.
Your business gains credibility and a solid online presence.
With a professional developer, you get web support and maintenance options.

If you are a business owner thinking about building a website, you must make an informed decision about whether you should hire a web designer or try to build it yourself. Take the right decision, depending on your expertise level and project scale.

If you decide that the project is too vast or complicated to manage on your own, there are two options to consider. You can either hire a full-time web developer or hire remote developers to manage website creation.

Now, both these options guarantee you quality work and maintenance support. However, the size and requirements of your business decide which is the best option for you. If you have a small or mid-scale business and are only looking for an online store or platform, it is best to hire web developers- remotely. This helps to save time and money without having to hire dedicated developers on your payroll and pay them more than you can afford.

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Aspects to Consider Before Hiring a Developer

Before you hire web developers for website creation, there are a few aspects to keep in mind.

1. Scope of Project

You must be clear on the scope of your website, how complicated you need it to be, what features it must have, and which language the developer must know. Once you have a basic outline of the required product, it will be easier to choose what kind of developer you want.

For instance, you can either hire a WordPress developer or hire a PHP developer, based on the project. You should also decide if one person can do the job or you need a team at your disposal.

2. Type of Business

This determines what type of website you need for your business. If you want to build an eCommerce store, you must hire web developers accordingly. On the other hand, if your website offers other services and needs interactive screens, the developer must have those required skills. Hire a front end developer who suits your needs.

3. Resources

You must also consider the amount of time, money, and helpful resources you can invest in building the website. If you have a moderate budget, you can hire freelancers or remote agencies who promise to provide quality work at affordable price packages.

4. Time Frame

The time frame of the project also determines what kind of developers you need. For instance, if you need to hire Python developers who can stick to a tight deadline, you must look for experienced people or employ more than one person to expedite the process.

All these together give you a set of guidelines that can help you choose the right fit for your website development project.

Benefits of Hiring a Web Developer

There are several benefits of hiring a web developer, as mentioned above. Apart from just making your life easier, they can really spruce up your website development process with the following advantages.

1. Speed and Quality

A professional web developer offers speed and good performance. They have the required experience and commitment to code a website and work towards including all the features you need. Their turnaround time is also quicker. For instance, you can hire react.js developers to make your website more interactive and efficient and hire Magento developers to build an eCommerce website.

2. Brand Value

A developer understands the importance of preserving brand value. Thus, they will create a design unique for your brand and at par with your competitors. You can also expect innovation and originality from such a professional.

3. Platform Knowledge

A professional team can provide expertise in multiple platforms. Thus, you can amalgamate several features into your website and make it more responsive and visually appealing. For example, you might hire an angular.js developer who can also work as a Laravel developer. This will save you the additional cost and confusion of hiring Laravel developers separately for your project.

4. Cost-Effectiveness

A web developer offers technologically advanced services at standard costs. Depending on your budget, you can either hire a developer or a team of developers. This will include designers, coders, testers, and so on. All their services will combine to make your website ready for customers.

5. Design Consistency

A novice may slip up on consistency while creating the website, which is unlikely to occur if you hire a professional. An experienced web developer will know which aspects to look out for, how to make your brand appearance consistent, and how to keep track of every activity within the given deadline.

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7 Important Qualities to Look for While Hiring a Developer

Since a lot of things are at stake when you hire web developer, you must look for certain qualities in them before making the final decision.

1. Technical Knowledge

The most important quality in a developer is their knowledge of various technologies that would be required for the project. Make sure the developer is experienced in working with multiple technologies, preferably in similar projects. This way, they would know the industry standards well and also find suitable solutions for issues.

Some important qualities include familiarity with development and task management software, version control, full stack, and deployment processes. For example, if you hire Drupal developers who cannot work with PHP, your project might suffer. To ensure your chosen developer has the required skills, you can:

Ask for work samples
Conduct a technical interview
Hire web developers from hackathons
Present them to mock programming scenarios
Ask for credible reference

2. Flexibility in Learning & Work Patterns

Apart from technical knowledge, it is crucial that the developer has a flexible approach towards their work. They must be willing to adapt to project demands, arrange a schedule according to the deadline, and also modify work patterns based on the project’s requirements.

A rigid outlook towards work might lead to issues in collaboration and an inability to take feedback constructively, which can harm the development process. The programmer must be equally invested in the success of your app or website, and must take ownership of their work.

3. Intuition and Positive Attitude

Where experience doesn’t have the answer, intuition does. Great programmers have developed an intuition by working with algorithms extensively. They can understand issues faster, arrive at better solutions, and give new ideas. This intuition can only be complimented by a positive attitude.

They must be enthusiastic about the work and give their best, which is why you should not set very strict deadlines. While crunch time cannot be avoided completely, that should not be the work pattern you follow. The developer must take criticism without being offended, and the employer must pay compliments for their good work.

To ensure your developer has a positive attitude, you can:

Ask them to describe a difficult work circumstance
Discuss how easy it would be to meet your deadlines
Ask them about their favorite part of the job

4. Time and Resource Management

While working on a developmental project, time and resource management is very important for smooth deliveries. An ideal programmer would manage their time according to the deadlines and chalk out a rough plan of action. Even though unforeseen issues may come at any time, having a set timetable helps to keep track of progress.

They should have the ability to estimate time requirements accurately and deliver accordingly. Good developers also manage clients well, even without you getting involved. Whatever resources they have, be it man power or source code, they must know to utilize it efficiently for the best results.

To ensure these needs are met, you can arrange a trial period with the developer to see if they can work on time and implement all feedback. This would also help to recognize strengths and weaknesses, and work around them.

5. Problem Solving Capabilities

Problem solving is one of the key tasks of a programmer. They need to be able to identify issues on time, chalk out a solution, and deal with unforeseen errors efficiently. Whether it is a bug in the code or a scalability issue during deployment, your developer must be well-equipped to address each problem.

This comes more in handy while working with complex codes and a team. Not only does the problem need to be solved beyond doubt, but it must also happen without putting too much on an individual or sacrificing the deadline.

6. Curiosity and Creativity

Here, curiosity does not kill the cat. Instead, it prevents the cat from having an accident when it is released. Your developer must be adept at writing code that is well conceived and innovative. They may not find ready code snippets in many cases; then they can use creativity to find a solution.

Creativity and curiosity come with passion towards work. These qualities lead them to learn new languages, experiment with codes and designs, and look for new avenues. It would also make them question their work and find out if there are ways the program might fail after deployment.

Some questions that need to be asked are:

Which features are missing from the website?
Is there any scenario where this code would not work?
Can you find loopholes in my thought or product?
Is my product sturdy enough to be used by multiple people?
Is it scalable and easy to troubleshoot?

These questions help the programmer to identify which areas need improvement and further thought.

7. Communication Skills and Team Management

Good communication skills go hand-in-hand with development expertise. A suitable programmer must be able to communicate effectively the goals, ideas, and issues associated with the project. They must also be able to explain hypotheses, concepts, and solutions clearly to the team.

It also helps if they can work with a team seamlessly, while also managing their own work. If there are multiple developers on your project, they must elevate each other’s work, not bring each other down. A good team works together to give suggestions, address problems, and use their individual skills for the project’s benefit. They must also keep any personal issues aside and work professionally with all team members.

Conclusion

Finding the right fit for your web development project might seem like a monumental task at first glance. But once you get a good developer, your project will take off successfully and give you a great rate of return on investment.