10 Questions To Ask A Freelance WordPress Developer Before Hiring

Are you planning on hiring someone? In this article, we'll share the top 10 questions to ask a freelance WordPress developer before hosting.

By Claudio Pires
Updated on July 25, 2022
10 Questions To Ask A Freelance WordPress Developer Before Hiring

Are you planning on hiring someone to build a professional-looking WordPress website for your business? Are you planning on hiring someone to redesign your current WordPress website? Do you want to upgrade your WordPress website to modern design standards? If you said yes to any of these questions, you need to find the right WordPress Expert that best fits your needs. In this article, we’ll share the top 10 questions to ask a freelance WordPress developer before hiring.

10 Questions To Ask A Freelance WordPress Developer Before Hiring

But how do you know if you have the right WordPress Developer? The first step in any hiring process is to narrow your candidates and prepare for the interview. Narrowing your candidates is the easiest part since all it requires is a basic resume/background check. Do they fit your general needs? Experience? What’s the Budget? What are some of the projects you’ve worked on before? Do they have a Portfolio website? Once the initial screening is finished. You move to step 2, which is interviews. Interviews are meant as an opportunity for potential employees to get a chance to showcase their skills.

Keep in mind that this article will not be covering the pre-interview checklist. Instead, we have compiled ten questions to ask your freelance WordPress Developer before hiring. These questions are project-specific and are often overlooked by buyers, which leads to both parties being unsatisfied. With that being said, make sure to ask these ten questions to increase the chances of finding the right Freelance WordPress Developer. Without further ado, let’s get started.

1. Duration of the project: Questions to ask a freelance WordPress developer

The duration of the project needs to be discussed, set, and met. Therefore, if you hire a solo developer, they might take 5x longer to develop your WordPress website; Compared to a WordPress development company. 

You and your developer must set reasonable delivery dates to avoid confusion. This is especially important if the developer is outsourcing which will be discussed in question 6.

2. Revision Counts/Requests

Suppose you have been in the freelance web development space for a while. The customers usually don’t know what they like and don’t like unless they see the first draft. This makes wireframing especially important since no one wants to spend hours developing something the customer won’t be satisfied with.

During the hiring process, make sure to ask what the freelancer’s rules are regarding revision counts/requests. Is it a fixed amount? What if I go over that set amount? Is it free?

3. Payment Method: Questions to ask a freelance WordPress developer

Every freelancer is different; some like to work per/hour, per/project, commission, etc. It is important to discuss payment methods since this usually changes by what you ask them to do. Make sure to set a payment method before agreeing to a contract.

4. Fully Customized or Pre-made Template?

WordPress and many other third parties provide many themes and templates you can choose from. The question is, do you want your website to be fully customized from scratch? Most businesses hire WordPress developers for this sole reason. But for some, a pre-made template will do. Determine whether your business needs a fully customized website or if a pre-made template will suffice. Then, discuss the decision with your Freelance WordPress Developer.

5. How about SEO & CRO?

SEO or search engine optimization is essential to implement your WordPress website if you want it to rank. Make sure to discuss the topic of SEO with your Freelance WordPress Developer since they might not want to implement best SEO practices. However, it would help if you also considered CRO or conversion rate optimization. CRO is the percentage of users who performed the desired action on your website. This can be ready by clicking a “Buy Now” button or visiting a page. CRO is a topic you should discuss with your Freelance WordPress Developer. Because what’s the point of having lots of traffic if you can’t get them to stay?

6. How about Outsourcing?

Companies outsource all the time. The problem arises when you are working with someone who doesn’t tell you that they are outsourcing. This is a big problem since you have more hands working on the same thing, which means more and more things can go wrong without your knowledge. It is essential to disclose this information with your Freelance WordPress Developer and ask them if they will be outsourcing or not.

7. How about Web Design?

Technically, developing a WordPress Website only means you are creating it and not “designing” it. But it has become a standard for some developer jobs to have web design skills in their job descriptions. Because this is not a worldwide accept standard, you still need to clarify this with your Freelance WordPress Developer. Ask who will be creating the design or if they want to have a professional web designer working alongside them. It’s also worth asking them if they are creating the layout. Will this increase the price of the original package? 

8. Questions to ask a freelance WordPress developer: How about Mobile-friendliness?

Did you know that more than half of the web traffic worldwide is by mobile phones? 

This makes the topic of mobile-friendly websites more critical than ever! Discuss with your    

Freelance WordPress Developer whether you’d like to focus more on mobile users, desktops, or you would like to cater to all devices. 

9. Who owns the rights to the assets of the website?

After the website is deliver to you in its final form, the question of “who owns the rights” is prevalent, and misunderstandings can arise, which is something we want to avoid at all costs. Luckily, this can avoid by talking about it beforehand. Ask your Freelance WordPress Developer about his rules on rights and licensing. This way, misunderstandings are to keep to a minimum.

10. How about After-Support/Maintenance?

After-support/maintenance is a topic to save for the very last for most projects. However, it is essential to address this sooner rather than later. This is because many websites look good but unfortunately have numerous development errors that the WordPress Developer is no longer accountable for. To avoid this, make sure to discuss whether the Freelance WordPress Developer you are considering hiring is willing to provide after-support/maintenance. And if not, consult with you or your team whether this is a manageable sacrifice.

Claudio Pires

Claudio Pires is the co-founder of Visualmodo, a renowned company in web development and design. With over 15 years of experience, Claudio has honed his skills in content creation, web development support, and senior web designer. A trilingual expert fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, he brings a global perspective to his work. Beyond his professional endeavors, Claudio is an active YouTuber, sharing his insights and expertise with a broader audience. Based in Brazil, Claudio continues to push the boundaries of web design and digital content, making him a pivotal figure in the industry.