With occupying over 35% of the internet, WordPress is the most popular CMS out there in the market. More and more people now prefer WordPress over other CMS for website development.

One can develop the WordPress website in 2 ways.

1) By hiring a website development company. Or,

2) Hire WordPress developer.

When hiring a website development company, you don’t have to worry about its expertise and experience as you can easily verify their potential and proficiency through various sources such as website and portfolio.

But when you hire a WordPress developer, you need to be extra cautious as in most cases; no such information is available in the public domain.

Besides, WordPress developer is a single person, unlike a whole team in case of hiring the company. For all these reasons, it becomes a bit more complicated to hire a WordPress developer.

However, there are some tips and tricks that you can employ when you hire WordPress developers.

First and foremost, get the most of the details of their work and the way of work.

But how? By ‘interrogating’ them!

Ask as many questions as possible to settle on whatever you have in mind concerning their work.

Here we have enlisted 16 such necessary questions that you should ask when you hire WordPress developers. Take a look.

1. How Long Have You Been Working With WordPress?

This question will help you understand the developer’s expertise and the skills in WordPress development service.

If he has successfully completed many projects in the past, there is no need to doubt his abilities and talent.

However, make sure the WordPress developer you are hiring has an adequate amount of experience and relevant skills that are relevant to your project.

2. What Procedure Do You Follow To Develop A WordPress Site?

Although the website development process remains the same for most developers, it is better to confirm before you hire a WordPress developer.

Besides, as there are several people included in a project ranging from a website designer, developer, tester, content writer, and so on, it is recommended that the developer’s work tune well with the rest of the team and does not hamper the team productivity or workflow.

3. Do You Adhere To The WordPress Coding Standards?

This is indeed a crucial question to ask when you hire a WordPress developer. For a clean, smooth, and error-free code, the developer must adhere to WordPress coding standards.

Moreover, following coding standards not only help in the development process but also reduce the errors. If the coding standards are followed conscientiously, the final code will be impeccable.

It is suggested that you always hire WordPress developers who strictly follow the coding standards.

4. How Will Communication Take Place?

Communication is the key to a successful project. For the smooth development of the WordPress website, the whole team must be in touch with each other and communicate freely. 

Make sure that the whole team, including the WordPress website developer, has the same set of communication channels.

This will ensure smooth and steady website development without any communication gap among the project team.

5. How Long Will It Take To Complete The Project?

Adhering to the project timeline during website development is a basic rule of the development process. Every project is expected to complete on time without much delay.

If you hire WordPress developers who are a one-man army, you need to be more cautious about the deadlines. Any problem with the developer can certainly halt the whole process abruptly.

Besides, always add a few more days to the actual deadline as a buffer period. By doing this, you will find it easy to maintain the further schedule of the process even if the website development work gets halted for any reason.

6. Will You Create A New Theme Or Use The Existing One?

Although most of the WordPress website developers always choose the new theme for the new project, it is better to clarify at the beginning. There are 4 options for selecting the website theme:

A. Choose the existing website theme.

B. Choose an existing theme with some modifications.

C. Choose a brand new theme from available free themes.

D. Designing a theme from scratch.

It would be best if you discuss this subject with the developer during the hiring process.

7. What Do You Expect Me To Provide?

As the owner of the website, your job doesn’t end with hiring a WordPress developer. You also need to take care of all the assistance that the developer will require during the process.

It would be best if you discuss the following things that the developer might need during the process.

1) Website content, graphics, and other data.

2) Website domain and web hosting details.

3) Website SEO details.

4) Software or hardware requirements.

8. Will The Website Be Responsive?

As more and more users are using smartphones for internet access, it is very much necessary that the website is mobile-friendly and responsive.

Ensure that the developer is well aware of this need and will keep this point in mind while developing a WordPress website.

9. Will You Get the Full Ownership Of The Website?

Before you hire WordPress developers, make sure that you will get the 100% absolute ownership of the website once done. You should be the sole proprietor of the website.

For being an absolute owner of the website, you need to get possession of the following access.

A. FTP Access

B. Database Access

C. WordPress Admin access

D. Access to Domain and DNS setting

Once you get access to the following credential, you will be considered as the website owner.

10. How Much Will You Charge For This Assignment?

Discuss the charges of the website development with the WordPress website developer. Also, discuss the payment terms to avoid any misunderstanding and conflict in the future.

Although the WordPress website development cost depends on many factors and varies from developer to developer, getting an estimated cost, in the beginning, is always a good idea.

11. How Secure the Website Will Be?

Website security must be a primary concern during WordPress website development.

Adequate protection must be provided to the website in order to keep the site and the user data safe against the unethical attacks, viruses, and malware.

Discuss the security approaches and strategy with the developer prior to hiring.

12. Will You Optimize The Website For SEO?

WordPress development service also includes SEO optimization.

Every website needs to be SEO optimized in order to drive more traffic, more conversions, and to rank on SERP.

Being an SEO-friendly CMS, WordPress offers plentiful opportunities to enhance the SEO compatibility of the site, including several high-end plugins. 

Ask your developer about the SEO plan or strategy he has to optimize the website.

Ensure that the WordPress developer you hire has adequate knowledge about SEO techniques and its implementation. 

13. How Easy Will It Be to Manage My Website?

Remember, Just an appealing and feature-rich website doesn’t mean anything. The website also needs to be accessible enough so that it can be managed easily. Also remember, not all business owners are tech-savvy or have IT knowledge.

This is why; it is recommended that the developer keep this detail in mind while developing the website.

Also, it would be best if you discuss your IT expertise with the WordPress developer to comprehend her/him about your IT-related knowledge.

14. Will The Website Be Scalable?

It might be possible that, in the future, you decide to expand the business. This exercise will certainly require scaling up your website to meet the growing traffic and user requests.

With this point in mind, you need to have an in-depth discussion about the scalability of the website with the developer who offers WordPress development service.

15. What If I Am Not Satisfied With The Final Product? Will You Make Changes To It?

Although most of the developers are supportive and understanding, it is better to discuss this with the WordPress developer prior to making a deal.

Make sure that the developer will happily make the necessary changes in case you dislike some part or portion of the website without throwing any tantrums. Also, confirm that these changes will be free, and the developer will not charge a penny.

16. Do You Provide After-Support And Maintenance?

Every website needs regular support and maintenance after it is built. With the ever-growing IT sector and updating technologies, changes are necessary for the website.

The changes could be anything from content updates to a software upgrade.

It would be better if the developer also provides the maintenance and after support, as he/she is very well acquainted with the website flow as well as aware of the website requirement. 

Conclusion:

Remember hiring WordPress developers is not a tough job if you follow some regular standards. Ask the questions as mentioned above to understand the developer’s abilities and skills. Make sure you get the quality website in return for the money you pay to the developer.