Hiring a WordPress Theme Developer: Top 8 Tips

WordPress has taken the internet by storm in recent years. These days, almost all big brands rely on WordPress for developing SEO friendly websites. The internet is dominated by hundreds of content management systems – Drupal, Joomla, and Magento, to name just a few. Going by the figures, WordPress alone is responsible for shaping a steady 27% of the total internet content. Adept in such an enormous market reach, the demands for custom WordPress development services are here to stay. Today, the number of WordPress theme developers is rapidly growing, and we can see why.
But don’t casually hire any applicant to design your website. This article will walk you through the prime tips to hire a WordPress developer for your website:

1.Experience

If you are familiar with WordPress, then you know that it is founded on PHP. However, you should not consider hiring a PHP coder to design your website based on their PHP experience alone. Though WordPress is powered by PHP, it is much more than PHP alone. You will need to look for a developer who has extensive knowledge of MySQL, HTML/XHTML, CSS and other such programs. You should seek to hire a developer who has acquired some experience in the field.

2.Portfolio

A good agency should have a great website for their company, one that is well updated, highlighting the type of work they do and their area of expertize. You can read through reviews and case studies to develop a firm assessment of the company. Case studies offer a glimpse of how an agency performed when developing a website. If you wish to go a step further, you can research their client feedback.

3.Website

No matter how far-fetched this may sound, a dedicated WordPress developer must have an impressive website that showcases their previous work. If a company’s website appears sloppy and clumsy, you should move on to other profiles. A company that presents its core competencies via a well-designed website is more likely to handle your project effortlessly.
Research other websites the company has designed in the past and take some time to examine those sites. In addition, you should verify whether or not the website is loading quickly.

4.Is Your Company SEO-friendly?

Why do you think WordPress hosts a large portion of internet content? Discernibly, WordPress technology comes with SEO-friendly characteristics. Everyone wants to see his/her website rank in the landing page for effective keywords. To ensure this, WordPress is your best bet. Hire a WordPress theme development company with sufficient insight into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) technology.

5.Budget

Always define your budget before you consider hiring an agency for your WordPress website development. When you have the exact figures before you, you can negotiate with your agency better.

6.Communication

Good communication is essential to manage all the work efficiently. A great WordPress developer must be responsive, and efficient at anticipating your challenges. You don’t want to hire a mediocre agency that is unresponsive to your emails and calls.

7.Mobile Phone Optimization

A considerable amount of people use mobile devices to access relevant websites. It goes without saying that a site that operates well on mobile devices has a competitive edge over others. Almost all themes are responsive to smartphones these days, so it is highly advantageous to build a company website that is responsive to mobile phones.

8.Gather Sufficient Insights

Before you proceed with your hiring process, it is crucial to gather all the information you can. If you are equipped with all the essential concepts and terminologies, you will be in a better position to communicate with your developer. WordPress comes with a wide range of Plugin options and they are all fairly easy to install, requiring no fees. To begin with, you can search for Email Collection Software, SEO Plugin, etc.

Beyond all doubt, an experienced WordPress theme developer can be an invaluable asset for your company, assisting you to reach out to a wider audience. Many companies have faced a lot of difficulties while picking the right developer for their WordPress development. You can consider the above-mentioned tips for hiring an agency to help you insure that you’re taking care of all your company’s website requirements successfully. Regardless of whom you hire, a full-time developer or a freelancer, these tips will help you hire the right professional.