Let’s imagine this. You’re working on a new project, you’ve got tons of urgent tasks in the pipeline, a limited budget, and tight deadlines. At some point, you realize you need to hire a WordPress developer to get this off the ground. What will be your first question? Something like, “Why can’t I just chill in Thailand with muted notifications, while all the work gets done by itself?”, seems obvious to ask. When you get over this brief existential crisis, the next question to pop up might be “Okay, how much will it cost to hire a good developer?”. Whether you are working for a big company or running a small startup, you will want to hire reliable WordPress developers without throwing a wrench into your budget.
One of the most effective ways to save money while hiring a WordPress developer is by partnering with remote talents or outsourcing companies. Remote WordPress development services are packaged with trusted partnerships and affordable solutions. You can actually “have your cake and eat it too”. This allows you to decrease hiring costs and secure the success of your project-based services into experienced hands. But, before you get too excited, let us share the hard truth. Although we all want to receive more while paying less, that’s not how great websites are built. If you need decent software development, you’ll have to invest. But, luckily, there are tips that will spare you from living on bread and water, while your new hires are working on the project.
Choose a strategic location
One key tip in employing affordable WordPress developers, while saving money, is choosing the right location. The thing is, a WordPress developers’ salary can vary significantly from country to country. Quite expectedly, hiring a great developer in California would require much more money than partnering with a top-notch talent somewhere in Eastern Europe. Luckily, you don’t have to dive into deep internet research to find out. We’ve done the research for you! Here, you can see WordPress developers’ salary overview.
Speaking of hiring developers, Eastern Europe is becoming quite popular for this. Countries in Eastern Europe are unique in that they offer a pool of talented expertise and brilliant minds while gaining more and more traction every year. For instance, over the past six years, Ukraine has taken a giant leap in providing software development, being ranked as one of the easiest countries to partner with. It also claimed a top 3 spot for housing certified IT professionals and achieved first place in offering the best outsourcing services and software development in Eastern Europe.
Top businesses like Google, Microsoft, and Samsung are recruiting Ukrainian teams as their trusted outsourcing partner. In 2018, alone, $4 Billion in IT services were exported. This is great proof that companies are shifting to remote hires for their WP project needs. Choosing your next dedicated team in Eastern Europe is one way to find the reliable talent you need while keeping your budget intact.
Opt for junior developers
Another excellent tip for hiring WordPress freelancers, while cutting costs, is to consider a junior specialist. WordPress projects have many facets that may seem overwhelming: designing, developing, maintaining, etc. However, junior specialists have a wealth of knowledge in all the needed areas but don’t require a senior specialist rate.
If your project isn’t overloaded with complicated plugins or custom themes, a junior specialist is a way to go. They are just as professional, dedicated, and valuable, yet save your budget from taking a major hit. This not only allows you the advantage of working with a proven developer but eases your concerns of overspending.
Concrete planning and communication
When working with remote specialists, communication and planning are crucial. Not having the opportunity to stop by your developer’s desk for a chat on new features, adds to the need and importance for effective communication tools (chats, kanban boards, email, etc.). These can ensure your tech experts understand exactly what needs to be done. On the flip side, having poor communication or failing to plan the project properly can sufficiently increase the final cost. Think about it: if you can’t outline the project’s milestones or be sure that your team follows your train of thoughts, most likely WP developers will spend excessive time re-doing the same thing over and over. And we all know time is money. So, if you want to reduce costs and avoid unnecessary stress, develop a concrete project plan and explain it in detail to your new hire.
Focus on what’s necessary
There are tons of cool WordPress plugins and themes in the world. If you give them a good hard look, you can probably come up with solid reasons for using all of them in your project. However, if you want to keep the development costs down, you should only focus on the most vital functionalities for your website. Consult with your WordPress developer on which plugins and themes are necessary and skip all the “nice-to-have” stuff.
Finding the right WordPress developer can make or break your next project. In your search for recruiting remotely, it is pivotal to invest in a co-working relationship you can trust, but that also offers the best options for cost-efficient WordPress development. By choosing a strategic location, hiring a professional candidate who can meet your needs, and building a concrete plan, we are confident you will decrease your costs and have much success in your future WordPress endeavors.
