WordPress is a free and open-source content management and blogging system built on PHP and MySQL. It’s one of the simplest and most popular ways for both individuals and organizations to build their own websites.
WordPress actually powers over 40% of all websites on the Internet today. This means that a whopping 1 in 4 websites is powered by the platform. As an open-source CMS, the WordPress licensing allows anyone and everyone to have the ability to use and modify its software at no charge.
WordPress is a content management system, which makes it easy to manage important site aspects, such as written content, images, and videos, without needing to truly know how to program. However, outside of personal blogs and small informational sites, the world of WordPress truly opens up when experienced developers get their hands on code to create custom aspects of the CMS.
In this article, you will learn, among other things, how to hire dedicated WordPress developers.
Costs to hire a WordPress developer
When you hire a WordPress developer you benefit from the skills and experience of a professional who can manage your product’s front-end and back-end and who can deliver customized solutions for every possible need you might have.
The latest data from W3Techs places WordPress as the most popular content management system today, with a 43.3% usage and 65.3% market share. This outstanding popularity is largely due to WordPress’s practicality and ease of use, as well as the sheer variety of options it offers to an experienced developer.
That being said, you need to keep in mind that when you hire WordPress developers there are many variables that must be taken into account when you want to calculate the costs. It’s only possible to provide an estimate of a WordPress development project after analyzing important aspects such as the project’s complexity, deadline, dimensions, urgency, and talent.
How do I hire a WordPress developer?
The first thing you need to do before you hire a WordPress developer is assessing if that is the best direction for your project to follow. Analyzing what can be achieved through a professional developer will show you if you indeed need to look for their services.
In addition, it’s important to have an overview of your needs so you can better search for the proper assistance. This doesn’t need to be a complete and thorough brief, though, since a seasoned professional will be able to assist you in better understanding your needs and steering the project in the right direction.
Finally, it’s important to look for experienced professionals who can integrate seamlessly with your teams, understand your business objectives, and who offer advantages such as time-zone alignment and proficiency in the language of your choice.
There are plenty of companies and freelance professionals out there that can help you, so it’s crucial that you do an exhaustive research of what’s available before hiring a WordPress developer.
WordPress Developer Skills
One of the main reasons for WordPress’ popularity is the fact that almost anyone can use it to build and maintain a website. If you hire a WordPress developer, however, you’ll benefit from the seasoned expertise of a professional well versed in some of the main programming and markup languages of web design, such as HTML, JavaScript, CSS, PHP, and SQL.
These, nonetheless, aren’t the only skills you’ll encounter on a professional WordPress developer. There are 2 main areas in which someone specialized in WordPress may offer their expertise: plugin development and theme development. Each of them requires a set of analytical skills to determine the best course of action and a problem-solving mindset to determine how to achieve the desired results.
WordPress plugin developer
Plugin development is one of the most powerful elements of WordPress, as it allows a WordPress engineer to employ customized plugins for specific needs. This has the ability to extend the website’s functionalities and offer new features. Plugins are mainly programmed in PHP, but employing other languages such as HTML and CSS will definitely allow for more complex and interesting results.
WordPress theme developer
WordPress Themes is one of the most popular tools to customize a website. This feature allows control over the visual presentation of your content and the behavior of certain elements. Developing a theme, instead of using a predesigned one, provides you with an additional level of customization. In order to do so, developers must have knowledge of languages such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, as well as PHP.
WordPress Developer Hiring Guide
Some of the advantages of WordPress can also be pitfalls when you’re looking to hire a WordPress developer. Since it’s simple to understand and doesn’t require complex knowledge for basic use, you may encounter less than qualified candidates for your project. It’s important to have a general idea of the platform’s functionalities and what can be developed using it in order to better assess the developers you evaluate.
Hiring Guide
While it may seem counterintuitive to hire developers for a content management platform that boasts ease of use, WordPress developers are as in-demand as ever thanks to the platform’s booming popularity. Professional WordPress developers commonly manage both the frontend and backend development, however, they may also specialize in one area.
Their most common tasks include creating custom themes and plugins as their client(s) demand. However, the job typically goes much further than that. WordPress developers commonly find themselves building sitemaps or wireframes for site projects or redesigning a site to optimize for search engine optimization (SEO). Another common practice for WordPress devs is the migration of existing websites to the WordPress platform.
Generally, WordPress developers require proficiency in programming languages such as CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. This allows them to create their own plugins, modules, and themes when necessary as well as tweak frontend designs and backend functionality. Currently, there is an enormous amount of plugins and themes available online, which means it takes an expert in the technology to pick the correct one and then customize it if needed.
Availability of WordPress Developers
As WordPress makes up such a huge percentage of the websites currently online, the development market is quite saturated with people specializing in the CMS. However, it’s also so widespread and user-friendly that there are many inexperienced developers out there claiming to be experts. This makes it all the more important for those hiring to find the right dev to take on the tasks at hand.
On the flip side, those hiring must make sure that they don’t hire someone like a Laravel expert for a WordPress job as they would find themselves overpaying. The internet is full of resources, courses, and forums to help developers of all skill levels master WordPress and its accompanying web development to learn it in addition to another CMS.
Interview Questions
Which do you find to be the most useful and exciting features of WordPress?
There are many features that make WordPress as popular as it is today, including:
- Built-in SEO engine and plugins
- Simple and free themes
- Availability in more than 70 languages
- Flexible and easy publishing
- Simplified installation and upgrading
How would you optimize the performance of a website built on WordPress?
Site optimization helps increase a website’s speed while ranking as high as possible in search engine results. There are many key tasks out there to optimize a WordPress website, including:
- Installing a caching plugin
- Using a content delivery network (CDN)
- Keeping the overall framework and theme simple
- Updating the site regularly
- Splitting long-form posts into smaller, more digestible pages
Why should you backup WordPress root files?
There are many files located in the WordPress directory: some of them are downloadable from the hosting provider. However, some are retrievable while others are not. The wp-content directory contains all of the plugins, themes, and media files uploaded onto a site, making it personal and unique. The wp-config.php file is equally as important as it contains user options and the site’s database. Both unique files require backing up.
What does a “child theme” mean in WordPress?
Any extension created of the parent theme present in WordPress is a child theme. When developers make changes to the parent theme, the changes reflect in the child theme. The changes and customizations of the work done on the child themes are then preserved.
What are the limitations of WordPress?
- You can’t use WordPress as a framework as it is a CMS.
- Its plugins, themes, and the WordPress version itself require frequent updating.
- It’s difficult to customize without knowing at least one programming language.
- It isn’t easy to complete a database migration with other frameworks or CMS systems.
Job Description
We are looking for a full-stack WordPress developer to join our expanding team. This job requires the management of website development, server maintenance, testing automation, and customization for the company. The right candidate has the skills and experience required to develop solutions that are not only effective but also adhere to industry-standard methodologies.
The selected candidate will work collaboratively with designers to help translate digital intent into a developed product. They will strive to create deliverables of the highest quality after visually aligning design intent into developed work.
Job Responsibilities
- Code and build out sites from the design team via WordPress modification
- Manage hosting and domain providers
- Integrate WordPress sites with other API integrations
- Install, customize, and build plugins, themes, and modules
- Convert media and written content to compatible web formats
- Develop new software solutions and maintain existing ones
Skills and Qualifications
- Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field and/or equivalent combination of education and work experience
- 5+ years of experience in WordPress
- Proficiency in CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
- Experience managing databases with phpMyAdmin
- Experience in accessibility accommodations
- Ability to work with git-based version control
