Everything you need to know before you hire dedicated WordPress developer

What can a custom WordPress development company do for my business?

Entering a partnership with a WordPress agency can help you elevate your digital presence and make the website a lucrative business asset.

By engineering bespoke themes and custom-coded plugins, a WordPress expert can make sure your website possesses the functionality required to outperform the competition.

WordPress developers have access to enterprise-grade security protocols which can effectively shield your site from vulnerabilities.

Beyond mere aesthetics, they also implement advanced SEO architectures and schema markups that can improve your visibility across search engine results pages.

Your operations will also become more streamlined as your WordPress website gets connected with practical business tools, such as CRM systems and automated marketing tools via APIs.

As part of the service, WordPress development companies provide around-the-clock monitoring, thus liberating your internal team to allocate more time on core commercial activities.

Do I need to buy hosting separately?

Yes, hosting comes as a separate offering. You can either get hosting via your dedicated WordPress developer or through an external provider. There are pros and cons to both options:

1. Agency-managed hosting
   Many high-end agencies include hosting as part of a care plan or maintenance retainer. The main advantage of this option is that if the site goes down, the agency handles the problem. The caveat is that you may pay a premium for the service, and should you choose to leave the agency, migrating the site will require a transition of ownership.
2. Direct-to-provider option
   Purchasing your own hosting will give you absolute ownership of your digital assets. If you decide to go with this option, it’s recommended to go for a managed WordPress hosting, rather than shared. When looking into providers, look for companies that offer server-level caching, daily automated backups, a staging environment for testing updates, and a free SSL certificate.

How do I choose the best WordPress developer for my project?

To choose the best WordPress agency for your site, follow some of these steps:

1. Clarify your needs
   Have a clear understanding of whether you need a completely new website, a redesign, or specific functionalities enriched into the site.
2. Review past work for relevant experience
   Check WordPress developers’ portfolio and review their previous projects for diversity, style, capabilities, and any relevant experience in your industry.
3. Check online reviews
   Read reviews and testimonials on third-party sites like Google and DesignRush to get informed about the agency's deadline adherence, professionalism, work ethic, and development quality.
4. Ask about their communication
   During the interview, ask WordPress agencies about their preferred communication channels and frequency of updates to learn how often will you receive status updates.
5. Discuss post-launch expectations
   Ask if the agency offers post-launch support, be it for maintenance, technical issues, content updates, or security patches.
6. Ask about the pricing structure
   Evaluate their pricing, understand what is included in the price, and inquire about potential add-on costs.

How can I find the best specialist on DesignRush that fits my budget?

We compiled a list of WordPress development companies across different price points to help you find a vendor that’s within your spending expectations:

What questions should I ask WordPress developers before hiring one?

Before you hire WordPress developer, consider asking some of the following questions:

Relevant Background

1. How long have you been working with WordPress?
2. What kinds of projects and industries do you specialize in?
3. Do you have recent projects or case studies that are relevant to my industry or needs?

Services and Processes

1. How experienced are you with custom theme or plugin development?
2. How do you approach hosting and setting up a WordPress site?
3. Do you follow the coding standards for WordPress?
4. What post-launch support and maintenance packages do you offer?
5. How do you handle updates, security patches, and potential website issues?

Related to Your Project

1. Will I have the full rights to my site?
2. Will my website be optimized for SEO?
3. Will my WordPress site have a backup and restore functionality?
4. How can you make my website more accessible?

Sources

DesignRush sustains a directory of over 40,000 agencies categorized by service category, location, expertise, and reviews. We build our database in two ways:

• Our dedicated team of agency experts actively searches the web for top-performing companies. We then pull information from their websites, online presence, and client testimonials to verify their status and qualifications prior to listing.
• The agencies listed get notified of their profiles on the website and they can choose to claim it or not, which suggests their availability for more collaborations.

Agencies can also reach out to DesignRush and must go through the verification process prior to being listed.