There are so many ways to find web developers for your project, it can be hard finding right one. Here, I will attempt to break down the different types of web developers, partnerships, and means of finding the right the web developer for you.
Quick Links
- Remote freelancers: remote.ok
- High competition, low cost freelancers: Fiverr, PeoplePerHour
- Quiz-based freelancer matching: Toptal
- Local freelancer directories: All in. Freelancers (Leeds)
- Get in touch with me: jasonclixby.me/contact
First thing's first, what're you after?
Understanding what you want and need from the developer is a good place to start. There are so many different types of web developers, you'll want to narrow your search down to find the developer that best suits your needs. If it's an existing project, you'll need to find out its digital makeup. What programming language is it built in? Is it more of a front-end, visual project, or is it a back-end (more data driven, nitty-gritty, behind the scenes) project? Is it built on a CMS? (WordPress, for example). Narrowing your search by a specific technology, cms you're familiar with, or just the type of website it is in general, will help leaps and bounds in avoiding you reaching out to the wrong kind of developer for your project.
Let's take a quick look at remote.ok. Remote.ok is a remote worker & remote jobs directory, and it currently has 514 php developers registered on the site. Refine that search to also include WordPress and you've reduced your talent pool to 116. Throw in WooCommerce and you're down to 8! While that's great that we've refined our search down however-many-fold, there's still a few things for you to consider before you start reaching out.
In the case that your project doesn't exist yet, try ticking one of the boxes above, such as the CMS you'd like the website to be in, or even just whether the website will be a brochure site, e-commerce site etc, and go from there. You don't have to be 100% sure about these things, we've more things to consider yet. Plus, if you find a great developer, they'll help you make the right decision in the long run.
The vast amount of options to help refine your search for a remote worker on remote.ok.
A one-off job, or a lasting partnership?
While a developer might have all the right skills and experience for your project, they might not be able to fulfil the partnership you're looking for, or even provide ongoing support for the website going forward. It's important to be upfront about these requirements, as not all developers have the capacity the stick around after playing their initial part.
As well as being upfront and transparent about your needs going forward, it helps knowing the types of developers and work partnerships to expect on different platforms.
PeoplePerHour.com and similar highly competitive sites
I've actually done a stint on PeoplePerHour.com myself, and I found myself doing a bit of a mix of one-off jobs and a couple of working relationships that lasted a couple of months each. While either is possible with the type of developers (generally speaking) you'll find on PPH, I think more often that not you'll find developers more capable of one-off projects than the lasting kind. PPH has a lot of affordable developers, which is great, but that means that they're often busy, taking on a lot of work, and trying to turn them over quick so they can get paid and move onto the next one. Though I can't be certain, I'm sure similar can be said for similar platforms such as upwork.com.
Toptal - a quiz-based freelancer site that asks all the right questions
So Toptal is a pretty new one to me, and while I can't speak for the quality of developers on the site, I am very impressed by their freelancer selection process. They do a great job of asking the important questions which help pair you with developers that match your choices. It takes into account not only the developers' skills, but also their availability, location (you can accept remote workers in the selection quiz), budget, how soon you need the work starting, and more. Once you've done the selection process, you're asked to input some basic contact details in and you'll be connected with the matches. I haven't personally experienced any of the platform beyond the selection quiz, so if anyone has had work through Toptal, be that the developer or the hirer, I'd love to hear from you!
Just one of the steps of Toptals comprehensive selection quiz
Local freelancer directories
Local freelancer directories are great little websites for those looking for local talent, especially if you're after more than just a developer, as there are often freelancers on there that cover practically every role you'd find in a full-service marketing agency. Think of them as the yellow pages, just for freelancers (are those things still in circulation?). This freelancer directory by All in. Leeds is a great example. You won't find me on there as I've since moved out the area, but it serves as a great example of an easy to use list of freelancers, and it may help any of my Leeds friends and visitors that are looking. I was also going to link to a Hull freelancer directory, but I couldn't seem to find one ~my personal projects senses are tingling~.
In conclusion
Like all things, good preparation will go a long way, and hopefully this advice and these links will go a long way in helping you as well. If you've any questions, or some feedback about this article or website, please feel free to get in touch. Also, I'm a fantastic web developer and you can find me here, as I am always looking for great projects to work on.