TEN QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK A WORDPRESS DEVELOPER BEFORE HIRING THEM

When you are about to hire a developer for your WordPress website who has the required experience and skillset to work according to your requirements, you should not limit yourself. To find the perfect fit, you should look around and make a list of options. There are several online platforms that can help you select from a pool of professionals and beginners.
This post lists down the ten questions that you should ask from a WordPress developer before hiring them. When you think you have spotted a good profile, consider asking these before you begin your collaboration.
1. HOW LONG IS YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH WORDPRESS?
Experience matters a lot! When you are interviewing an agency or a developer, began by asking, "How many years of WordPress experience do you have?" Because each of us learns at a different rate, you are likely to receive different answers to this question. Therefore, considering the requirements, you will first need to determine the level of experience required. However, you should hire a developer/agency with a minimum of three years of WordPress experience.
2. WHAT WILL YOU CHARGE?
The differences in the charges of WordPress web developer for developing your WordPress themes basically depends on several factors. Many developers charge more for quick turnaround time, while others charge more to add complex functionality to your website - such as a forum. The best way to get the best possible deal for your project is to make a list of your needs and then compare the fees of different developers/agencies.
3. WHAT WILL YOU NEED FROM ME?
As a business person, you must never be irresponsible to present all important matters to your contracted developer/agency and not unnecessarily delay the development of your new website project. This means that to make your project run smoothly from start to finish, you need to read and agree to all terms of use as well as provide all files and information needed to get started with your project.
4. HOW WILL YOU WORK ON MY SITE? WILL YOU BUILD A CUSTOM THEME OR ALTER THE EXISTING ONE?
These questions are a bit technical. However, you must ask them in order to ensure that you and your developer are on the same page. As their client, you should know how the developer will work on your website.
When it comes to WordPress, building a dynamic website is possible when:
• You use an existing theme as it is.
• You customize a theme according to your requirements.
• You convert a PSD file into a customized theme for your WordPress site.
If you are on a budget and have less technical knowledge of WordPress, go for the first option, which doesn't require large dependencies on theme developers other than support and updates.
The second option needs relatively less design and development time, but future updates can break the design and functionality of the theme if the coding is not done correctly. The latter option is perfect for you if you want a website with more flexibility and a lighter code base for customization and fulfillment of your business goals. However, this method takes more development time; also, it is more costly than the rest of the options.
5. WILL YOU MAKE MY WORDPRESS WEBSITE RESPONSIVE?
Responsive design is a matter of concern. Make it a big deal. This is the era of mobile phones where every website needs to be responsive in order to be successful.
Websites that have responsive designs usually get higher traffic and conversions. It simply means that ignoring this feature can affect your mobile traffic.
6. WILL MY WORDPRESS WEBSITE LOAD FASTER?
Speed is important! The lightning-fast theme not only makes your website resources available to end-users in no time, but it also gives you the ability to rank your website higher in search results. Most developers avoid writing a few lines of code and rely on many bulky add-ons to perform certain functions that can slow down your site significantly.
7. WILL YOU ADD SEO FEATURES TO MY WEBSITE?
Apart from the fact that WordPress is usually in search engines’ good books, a website that is built on WordPress requires some alterations in order to make it more SEO-friendly. The most common SEO practices include using correct heading tags and alt attributes for images, clean permalinks, avoiding canonicalization issues.
8. DO YOU STRICTLY FOLLOW WORDPRESS CODING STANDARDS?
Your developer must follow the coding standards of WordPress. He should be able to avoid all errors related to programming. Moreover, ask him whether or not your site will be W3C validated.
9. WILL YOU MAINTAIN MY WEBSITE?
Ask your WordPress web developer if he is taking the responsibility to maintain your website. It is better to clear all of your doubts before you begin the collaboration.
10. WILL YOU OFFER SUPPORT AFTER THE SITE’S LAUNCH?
Ensure to ask your developer if he is willing to offer support for your site after its launch. Check his availability and mode of communication.
Once you have got satisfactory answers to all your questions, you don’t need to scrutinize the potential WordPress web developer further, You can hire them confidently!