How to Make Sure That a Development Team Fits You the Best

It’s no surprise that hiring a good specialist is a critical thing for any project. However, the less you know about the way their work should be accomplished, the fewer possibilities you have to approach the hiring process critically. So what should you know to make it right and get worthy specialists on the board? In this article, we will answer these and other questions that may help you hire web developers.

What Should I Know about the Programming Part?

You may have asked yourself this question if you have ever tried to hire web developers. And it could be quite a challenge if you don’t have any programming-related knowledge. But don’t worry, you don’t need to learn programming to be able to work with web developers.

First things first, so, at the very beginning, you need to know that programming on web development projects consists of front- and back-end parts. Simply put, the front part is the one you can interact with. Therefore, front-end developer is in charge of making interface design function properly.

Of course, evaluation of the front-end developer’s job may be easier for a non-programmer, but you should keep in mind that it’s not the only part that makes your website function. When you get to hire web developers, you need to consider the less transparent part of web development which is back-end programming.

Back-end programmers deal with the features that are not obvious to the users, such as databases, cloud operations, API integrations, etc. Not only interactivity of front-end elements but also communication between front- and back-end parts make up the exceptional user experience.

There’s one more type of programmers you may need to know if you are going to hire web developers – full-stack ones. They take up both front- and back-end programming tasks. In case of small-scale projects, hiring one full-stack developer is enough sometimes for successful accomplishment. However, when it comes to large scale, the most efficient way to go is to hire a team of front-end and back-end programmers.

To drill down into differences between front- and back- developers follow the link.

Main Criteria

Well, you may think that it’s all good, and now you know something about front- and back-end programming, but it still may be not clear how you find out whether a web developer is good at his work and fits your project the best. That’s why it’s always helpful to stick to common criteria. Let’s take a look!

Evidence of similar projects in the past will assure you that the web developer has previous experience with such tasks. How can you find that out? From portfolio, which basically is a work history of the programmer. Usually, web developers put together all the projects they have worked on.

Excellent references matter. You can find a talented developer, but it may still not guarantee that he is reliable. Unfortunately, the hiring process is way more complicated than just filtering candidates by their tech skills.

Therefore, when you want to find a developer, you also have to consider how serious a he is about deadlines, how good he is in communication, etc. That’s why recommendations and references from other clients may help you find out the way he works before actually hiring him.

Of course, great tech skills and reliability are must, but the picture is still not full without good communication. If you want to have your project done on time and precisely the way you see it, you (or your project manager) will have to communicate with the development team at all stages. So it’s always helpful to make sure at the beginning that developers are open for communication along the way.

Steps to Follow

Now when you got familiar with the main criteria, it’s time to define steps that help to understand how to identify a development team that is right for you.

Decide about the Place

You may want to find a remote employee (freelancer) via online outsource platforms or turn to a web development agency. Obviously, both ways have their own pros and cons and depend on the way you operate – whether you are looking for a developer to join the team or you have a one-time project, what budget you have, etc.

Keep the Description of the Project/Task Clear

First of all, make you need to have a clear vision of what you want to get as a final product. If you turn to a web development agency, the project manager may help you with it. However, if you are to hire web developers via such platforms as Upwork and Fiverr, you need to be extremely clear about the final product.

Explore Previous Projects of the Web Developer

Whether you are going to use the services of a web development agency or you want to hire web developers via freelance marketplaces – you need to take a look at previous projects of web developers. So don’t hesitate to ask them to showcase their similar experiences.

Pay Attention to Reviews and References from Other Clients

We have already discussed the importance of references in the criteria part. You may be wondering where you can get them. For instance, web development agencies often put reviews they’ve gained from previous clients on their websites, and freelancers usually have references on their online portfolios. If you cannot find out references by yourself, you can always ask directly whether the web developer can show you any recommendations.

Negotiate, but Always Stick to a Reasonable Price

Negotiations are a part of any healthy business relationships, so it’s not the thing to be afraid of. Just be sure that your price isn’t too low and the rate suggested by the web developer isn’t too high. You can handle it if you get prepared by initially researching market prices.

Discuss Things

Don’t hesitate to talk with a developer – what his suggestions about the project are, how clear your job description is, how he sees your communication during the project. Setting up a decent communication always helps to solve most of the problems that may come up.

LaSoft’s Team

In LaSoft, we pay attention to all the parts of communication with clients by:

• Showcasing our experience
• Keeping clear how do we work
• Explaining as much as we can
• Offering unique solutions
• Delivering a full package of services for businesses

And our clients prove that by leaving their references.

Conclusion

Although hiring a great web developer isn’t the most straightforward task, a simple preparation will help to handle it successfully. Don’t hesitate to research market prices and the workflow for similar projects, explore previous projects of a candidate, look up references, reasonably set the prices, set up decent communication – and you will have a worthy web developer on the board.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the article and found what you were looking for. Contact us for more information – we are here to help!