Building a strong WordPress site will be a critical factor in boosting your efforts if you are launching a start-up or would like to digitize or improve existing digital businesses.
Yet, hiring a highly skilled WordPress developer may be daunting, especially if you are a novice in the field.
This article will share tips and advice to help you find a WordPress developer for your project. Here’s what you’ll learn:
- Hiring a WordPress developer: 4 options to choose
- Benefits of hiring developers as a WordPress staff augmentation agency
- How to choose a WordPress developer wisely: A step-by-step guide
- Common pitfalls of hiring staff augmentation companies
4 Options to Hire a WordPress Developer
There are the following options for hiring a software developer:
- Hiring WordPress developers in-house: you will need a team to build a strong website
- Hiring a local WordPress development agency
- Involving the help of the freelancer
- Website development outsourcing with a WordPress staff augmentation agency
Every option has advantages and downsides, so it is best suited to specific business conditions.
Let’s review each case in detail:
An in-house WordPress developer
Hiring in-house WordPress developers is best when you have a developed IT department or plan to build one. For that, you need a solid budget, a tried-and-proven software development lifecycle, and legal and HR support.
It is most suitable for companies of any size, with secure budgets and a well-developed plan for further scaling.
Also, it is not always possible to find a WordPress developer quickly, not to mention building a team. You must go through all the stages of building a project up, from headhunting to employment, insurance management, and other perks.
Pros | Cons |
Simple communication | Hard to find the right fit for your company |
Complete control over the project | Extra costs on recruiting and hiring new specialists |
Better knowledge of the company’s processes | Employee integration is more difficult |
Ability to switch the person for other projects | Extra expenses on perks, bonuses, and equipment |
Table: Pros and Cons of Building an In-House Team
Hiring a local agency to complete the project
Hiring an agency specializing in WordPress development saves a lot of time spent on organizational issues.
This option is perfect for small or mid-sized businesses that don’t yet have a budget to develop and sustain a standalone development team.
Yet, this variant is not the most cost-effective. For example, the salary of a WordPress web developer in the United States ranges from $93,588/yr to $118,546/yr, according to Glassdoor. In the closest outsourcing destination to the United States, such as Costa Rica, you may find a WordPress developer with more budget-friendly rates: from $16,500/yr to $25/yr. When translated into the agency costs, WordPress development in the United States will cost $100-$150 per hour, and in Costa Rica, about $30 per hour.
Interested in web development outsourcing to Costa Rica?
Contact 5e for a short discussion and advice. Our team specializes in staff augmentation services in web development and design. Given the complexity of the website you want, we’ll examine your business case and provide you with a detailed estimate of the project costs and timelines. Book a call now!
Pros | Cons |
Less time to start a project | Local vendors require higher costs |
Easier to scale as you can hire a team of any size | Finding experts with the required skills may be difficult within a limited area |
Cultural compatibility with and no language barriers |
Table: Pros and Cons of Hiring a Local Web Development Company
Working with a freelancer
It is the most cost-effective option for finding a WordPress developer. It is best suited for short-term or simple tasks or when you have a limited budget.
To find a WordPress developer working freelance, visit resources like Freelancer, Fiverr, Upwork, Guru, etc.
These platforms simplify the candidate screening process, as there are ratings, reviews, and testing options.
Remember that this option is connected with a risk of poor communication and quality issues. Yet the biggest risk is ghost developers: sometimes, the people you hire simply disappear without an explanation.
Pros | Cons |
The cheapest option | No or limited visibility into the project |
You don’t have to pay for vacation, medical leave, taxes, etc. | Communication issues and language barriers |
The better possibility to find niche experts for specific short-term tasks | Possible disclosure of sensitive information |
You can pick up from the large pool of specialists | Freelancers may not keep track of project’s deadlines |
Table: Pros and Cons of Hiring a Freelancer
Hiring a WordPress staff augmentation agency
The next option to find a WordPress developer or developers to complete your project is to look for an experienced IT staff augmentation company like 5e. This variant provides you with full-scale web development services from website concept development to launch and further maintenance and support.
While benefiting from high standards of software development, you may hope for reasonable prices and due diligence in maintaining requirements and deadlines.
At the same time, WordPress staff augmentation agency can offer a very good correlation of price and quality in some regions. For example, Costa Rica, also known as a Switzerland of Latin America and the main outsourcing destination for the United States offers a large pool of skilled software and web developers and quite profitable prices starting from (the lowest price of a typical project).
Moreover, those teams usually have a long-lasting history and value reputation. World-famous brands often resort to the help of staff augmentation companies for numerous reasons. For example, 5e, the Costa Rican WordPress staff augmentation agency, has projects that are mutually linked with [highlight your partnerships].
Pros | Cons |
Perfect price-to-quality ratio | Costs are higher compared to freelancers |
Access to top talent | Cultural incompatibility in some cases |
No extra costs, like leaves, equipment, bonuses, etc. | Communication issues |
Legal requirements are kept, so low risk of leaks | |
Good communication | |
A project is easily scalable at your demand |
Table: Pros and cons of hiring a WordPress staff augmentation agency
Since hiring a WordPress staff augmentation agency looks like the most favorable option to find a WordPress developer, let’s look closely at the matter.
The Benefits of Hiring a WordPress Staff Augmentation Agency for Your Project
Staff augmentation is an incredibly flexible feature, allowing you to hire the needed number of developers with different specializations, levels of expertise, and rates.
You can hire an IT staff augmentation team to build your project from start to end or close an open position fast if you need to find a WordPress developer in a hurry.
Hiring a WordPress staff augmentation agency is similar to web development outsourcing, yet there are differences in the manner of project management and the level of your control and involvement.
What can you learn more about the differences between outsourcing and staff augmentation?
Check our article “Outsourcing vs. Outstaffing: Which Model to Choose?”
Whatever the size of the staff augmentation company is, you benefit from the following aspects:
- Legal: a reputable WordPress staff augmentation agency usually has all the papers needed to start a collaboration
- Project management: you get complete visibility over the project and it gives you more options when it comes to managing risks and project timeline, integrating the team into your project development lifecycle, and organizing post-launch support and maintenance
- Estimates: with a team providing staff augmentation services, you receive a fair and clear estimate of your cost and deadlines before you start a project
- Human resources: you will not have to care about headhunting. If the team needs reinforcement, they’ll find a WordPress developer with the needed expertise, which will spare you the cost of HR efforts. Also, you stay clear of all the additional expenses like perks, bonuses, taxes, etc.
- Scalability: As you need to expand the project, the staff augmentation company will most likely help you by providing the right people to fit new roles.
As you can see, working with a WordPress staff augmentation agency is highly beneficial if you choose the vendor wisely.
How to Select a WordPress Development Agency Wisely: A Step-by-Step Guide
The key aspects to consider when hiring a WordPress staff augmentation agency are general information about the company, information about the team, customers, previous projects, the software development process, fees, and agreements. These aspects make the key steps of choosing your vendor:
- Step 1. Collect information about the staff augmentation company: You can check general data on a development agency in question on platforms like Crunchbase. It will be useful to visit their page on LinkedIn, too.
Useful tip: check company profiles on Clutch, Creditsafe, Glassdoor, Namescan, and Owler. You can see the reviews, ratings, and references on the companies and often their rates, too. Some services, like Owler, give the ability to check on the competitors and open more details, like their finance and growth stats, shares, etc.
- Step 2. Review the tech skills of the team
A respectable IT staff augmentation company highlights the achievements of their employees online, either on their website or LinkedIn. The latter is the best place to find information on skills, years of experience, comments from customers on previous projects, awards, and other achievements. So, you can make an impression of the team’s general level of skills, seniority, and relations with previous customers, as well as their dedication to innovation and sticking to high standards of development.
- Step 3. Check the testimonials
Usually, a WordPress staff augmentation agency posts testimonials on social media, yet you may ask for additional information. While checking testimonials, pay attention to whether the company had clients from your area if they’ve completed a technically similar project, and if they have repeat orders.
- Step 4. Check their communication procedures
A professional WordPress staff augmentation agency usually has management staff fluent in English. Still, it is also important to check the language proficiency of the technical team so that you know that you can communicate the concept of your product directly when needed. Then, you must check how the communication is organized (tools, procedures, schedules).
- Step 5. Review their Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)
Before you order staff augmentation services, it is important to learn what tools the staff augmentation team uses and how they are compatible with project management methods within your company. Also, checking how communication and feedback processes are usually organized is important. Then, if you want a scalable product, check with the team about their availability for ongoing maintenance and support.
Step 6. Study their fees and agreements
A WordPress staff augmentation agency like 5e has a full set of legal docs, like NDAs and other papers required for accountability. Yet, it’s great to check their payment schedules. They often work on a Time and Material model, but other options are possible.
Common pitfalls of hiring a dedicated team and how to avoid them
Unluckily, some projects following the staff augmentation model fail because of completely avoidable and very simple reasons. Here’s what to beware of when starting a new project with a WordPress staff augmentation agency:
- Choosing a body shop agency: some agencies try to find a WordPress developer who starts a career path and agrees to low rates. Such developers have little experience, and the project can have unnecessary bottlenecks.
- Considering the highest price tag a quality mark, the highest price doesn’t always equal the quality. With a feasible cost difference, a boutique onshore agency can do the same quality as the offshore staff augmentation team.
- A lack of understanding of your business may bring a loss of focus on the primary features that drive your audience. Therefore, hiring a team with a similar project in a portfolio is better.
- Skipping the discovery stage: when developers do not provide a complete analysis of your needs and audience, much code can be wasted.
- No clear budget and timeline: Good faith estimates require time to make, but they are needed to start a project. A professional WordPress staff augmentation company will usually provide you with a detailed plan of deliverables and payments.
- Not taking into consideration the post-launch phase: when the product needs scaling, it’s best to work with the team that created it. If you don’t discuss with the team their ability to step in for updates in the future, you may lose the opportunity to grow big.
Summing up
Starting with a WordPress development may be a daunting undertaking. A good WordPress staff augmentation agency will be like a reliable hand on your shoulder to secure your success. Proper preparation, research, and setting clear expectations and communication practices from the start will be your main success factors.
Interested in finding the right WordPress staff augmentation agency?
5e has extensive experience in WordPress staff augmentation projects boasting clients from the Fortune 500 list. Contact 5e to help you implement the next business idea with a considerable success guarantee! Book a call now!