Hiring a developer can be much more difficult than hiring a designer, especially if you’re not familiar with code. With designers, you can easily look at their portfolio to see what kind of work they produce, but even if a developer shows off their code, it’s not always easy to tell how good or bad of a developer they are.
The quality of a developer’s code is very important, but how can tell the quality of it, if you don’t know what you’re looking at? How can you tell if they’re going to be great to work with? Lucky for you, everything you need to know about a developer can be easily found in their online persona.
Do They Have Personality?
The easiest way to learn about a developer is to check out their personality. Check to see if they have a blog, twitter account or another place where they write. The signs of a good developer should show through their writing.
Here are some things to look for:
- A happy attitude
- No drama or snarky writing
- Acts professional, but personal
- No profanity
- Good grammar and spelling
Read a couple of the developer’s articles. Do they sound confident? Do they know (or sound like they know) what they’re talking about? How does the community embrace this developer? Do they get a lot of negative comments? Even if you don’t understand the topic, it should be easy to figure out if they know they subject well or not.
Do They Keep Up With The New Stuff?
No one wants to hire a developer who’s 10 years behind technology, yet I still seem to find brand new sites written in tables and frames.
Just as the freelancer needs to do some research on the client’s industry before sending out a proposal, the client also needs to do some on the freelancer. What are some of the new advancements in the development world and is that developer keeping up with them?
Give The Developer A Secret Test
While it’s not ok to give the developer something to work on for free so you can test them, it is ok to put their previous work through a quality test.
- Visit W3C.org‘s validator. Does their work adhere to proper coding standards?
- Follow up on the developer’s testimonials and actually ask their past clients what they thought about their work.
- If you know another developer, ask their opinion on the quality of code.
Is The Developer A Known Face?
It’s easy to tell if the developer is good at what they do if you see their work and writings everywhere. Some places to look for their work:
- Do they guest write for popular industry blogs?
- Have they written any non-client based apps or plugins for fun?
- Have they written any books?
- Do they have any large clients?
- Have they appeared in a podcast?
- Have they been interviewed by other sites?
Are They Worth It?
Good developers tend to charge a lot more than everyone else, usually at an upwards of $100 per hour or more. Ask the developer why they’re worth that much and why you shouldn’t just pay the other guy $5 for the same service.
The developer should be able to easily and succinctly explain why they’re both different and better to work with than others.
The Continue Work After Work
Every developer needs a like outside of their IDE (the program they use to code). However, the best developers are masters of combining their personal and professional lives.
Here are some other things to look for in a developer:
- Do they read development and business based books?
- Do they attend conferences, meetups or workshops?
- Are they a member of their local chamber?
- How active are they on both the online and offline communities?
They’re Out There
It seems overwhelming to try and choose the best developer out there, but I assure you it can be done with just a bit of time and research!
For the Developers
Can you help clients out by leaving some tips on how to choose the right developer?