How to Hire the Best WordPress Developers
Aside from hiring great content writers, graphic designers, and website developers, businesses must also consider using a content management system to build a visually-stunning and user-friendly website. Content management systems differ in functions and features, making it important for businesses to choose a platform that answers to their needs. To do this, it is essential for employers and hiring managers to have a basic understanding of content management systems such as WordPress, as well as the technical skills that they must look for in WordPress developers. The following guide presents essential information you must know when hiring WordPress developers. By the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of CMS along with how to hire the right developers for your business.
WordPress is a flexible and powerful content management system that powers more than 30% of all sites on the internet. With WordPress, anyone can build and maintain a website without any knowledge of coding. However, to create a more responsive and customised website according to your brand, businesses must work with a WordPress developer to be able to customise every aspect of the site and add-in features related to the business.
The very first version of WordPress was created by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little in 2003. Back then, it was just a simple platform built for people who wanted to create basic blogs and host them on the internet. Today, the platform has exponentially grown to be a powerful tool used to build websites of any type and for any purpose.
Before going any further, it is important to differentiate between WordPress.com from WordPress.org
WordPress.com is a free website builder enabling anyone to create and host a site. A simple yet limited, easy-to-use platform.
WordPress.org on the other hand, a more powerful open-source platform that offers a wider selection of features and customisations. Although you will still be hosting the site, you will also need to hire a WordPress developer to help you get the most out of the platform.
Now that we know the distinction between the two WordPress platforms, we will be focusing on WordPress.org for the rest of the article.
Why should you hire a WordPress developer?
Hiring a WordPress developer to work on your website will help make your websites easy-to-use, attractive and cost-effective. Moreover, experienced WordPress developers have the ability to cater to your specified requirements as they already possess the knowledge and experience to quickly deliver a variety of quality website features. When you hire a WordPress developer, you will benefit from the following:
Tailored Website
- As the market continues to become competitive, businesses must separate their products or services from the rest by establishing their brand online through their website.
- A skilled WordPress developer has the ability to construct a website that is tailored to your requirements and brand. They must possess the skills and technical knowledge in working with codes, themes, and plugins to produce a website targeted to your market, resulting in an increased ROI.
Better Understanding of Clientele
- A WordPress developer understands what can attract and retain users to your website. The developer has a good grasp on both the business’ and the web users’ needs and will implement changes or new features as they see fit.
Quality Work in Ample Time
- When you hire a WordPress developer, you can expect consistent quality of work produced at a lesser time in comparison to one who has less knowledge of WordPress development.
Technical Assistance
- A WordPress developer provides overall support regarding all the technical aspects of your website. Employers don’t have to worry about maintaining the site since all technical issues and the website maintenance will be taken cared of.
Proficient in Various Languages
- A WordPress developer is expected to know multiple languages that can cater to constructing unique features for the website. Programming languages in website development like CSS, HTML, MySQL, PHP and more help improve a website’s interface and performance.
Search Engine Optimisation
- Along with good content, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is important to help make your platform more visible on the internet, by raising your site’s rank on search engines.
Comprehends Web Analytics
- A WordPress developer is able to monitor and analyse your site’s web analytics, comprehending the data gathered and finding solutions to improve its performance. Resulting in higher profits for your company.
Secured Data Confidentiality
- Data is precious and would be a nightmare when lost or falls into someone else’ lap. A trusted WordPress developer will ensure that all your data is highly secured. When you recruit a developer from a company, a dedicated data server will protect and store all your data.
Hiring a skilled and trusted WordPress Developer will help not only during the initial stages of your site but also after its construction, as WordPress developers for hire can maintain the performance of your site. At Cloud Employee, we provide IT offshoring services to tech startups and big businesses. When you outsource WordPress development with us, you will get access to talented software developers at highly competitive rates.
What are some Best Practices in WordPress development?
WordPress developers are advised not to edit existing WordPress Core files and third-party plugins. Once the code is updated in the future, there could be a risk of overwriting your custom code in the future. Although you can always re-edit after every update, there are better efficient alternatives to customise codes on WordPress.
Customise functions via a site-specific plugin
Instead of editing WordPress Core files, plugins or themes you can add custom functions through using site-specific plugins. Custom plugins are commonly used to add specific code snippets to a WordPress site, for specific functions. You could write a custom plugin in order to give you a custom post type that has the attributes needed. Similarly, you could add a plugin for a new type of User Role. An advantage of adding functions as plugins rather than a theme as it allows you to swap your active theme without losing its functionality.
Customise functions via a child theme
WordPress developers often opt for building upon an already pre-existing theme as it allows them the freedom to customise a theme, as well as avoiding the extra workload. This is done by installing the original theme and then creating a child theme version from the original theme. As a result, the custom code remains intact whenever the original theme is updated.
When it comes to writing code on WordPress, there are a number of practices that ensure better results whilst using WordPress. Here are some important factors to keep in mind as you write code:
Clear Readable Coding
When you write code for WordPress it is very important that what you are writing is readable to any developer. It is best to adhere to:
- Normal spacing
- Grouping patterns
- Clarity
- Brief
When it comes to elements and arguments always add extra spacing:
array = [ a, b ];
foo( arg );
foo( ‘string’, object );
foo( options, object[ property ] );
foo ( node, ‘property’, 2 );
Reliable Coding
Your code must adhere to WordPress standards where the code is structured consistently
- A developer should use similar naming conventions for files and functions
- Make sure the way you call classes, functions and hooks are aligned with WordPress core.
Flexible Coding
Ensure that your code has the flexibility to be edited in the future:
- A WordPress developer should use relative URL paths wherever possible
- The coding should be flexible to accommodate for future editing
What skills should you look for when hiring WordPress developers?
Technical Skills
When hiring a WordPress developer it is important for employers and recruiters to make sure that the developer is competent in web application development along with the following:
- HTML
- PHP
- JavaScript
- jQuery
- MySQL
- RESTful APIs
- JSON
- XML
- Git
- SVN
Good Planning
It is highly beneficial for a WordPress developer to plan ahead to avoid any repercussions. A developer must make sure that all priorities in the development are in alignment with upcoming deadlines.
Openness to Learn
Having a fixed mindset will not take you far, a WordPress developer should always be open to expanding their knowledge and practising new skills. WordPress as a platform constantly comes up with new versions, therefore the best WordPress developers are always updated to its newest features.
Tests and Receives Feedback
Thorough testing of the website and all its functions is highly important. A WordPress developer must make sure that the site works in different browsers and operating systems. It is also essential to get your feedback regarding how the theme and plugins are to your liking. The best WordPress developers are the ones who are able to manage things until you are satisfied with the result.
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