Not a techie yourself? Get this right: you can’t handle your WordPress website alone. Unless you want to spend your time watching WordPress tutorials and not doing the core tasks of your job.
The need for having WordPress experts around is obvious; you need help to develop and maintain your site up. Now let’s check out what options you have when it comes to hiring a WordPress developer.
3 ways to find WordPress experts
Sign up a WordPress development company
A WordPress development company will have an entire team of experts who can work on your website. From designers to developers and database engineers you can get the benefits of specialization with a company.
However, it is likely to cost much more than hiring individuals. Also, there is a chance of communication gaps, excess overheads, and idea leaks.
Suitable for: Only when you have too much cash and a website that requires an army to build.
Contact a freelance WordPress developer
You can hire freelancers at extremely competitive rates from portals like Upwork and Fiverr. With freelancers, you can get your website developed without overheads. (Consider health insurance and employee benefits that you won’t have to pay.)
But remember that you’d have to pay extra for any post-development edits and updates. And there is no way you can depend on the same freelancer to continue extending long-term support.
There are also chances of freelancers ditching you at the last moment. Or not honoring contracts. Or simply not delivering desired results.
Suitable for: Only when you are extremely cash-strapped and don’t mind frequently hiring freelance developers to create a patchwork website.
Hire in-house WordPress expert
By hiring an in-house WordPress developer you get the mental peace that they will stay with you for the long term. No need to pay extra for edits. Long-term maintenance is covered. And there are no privacy concerns.
Plus, because you have the developer on the payroll you can also get them to do other tasks for you if the need be. For example, getting a subdomain site setup, constant backups, and regular theme, plugin, and WordPress version updates.
Suitable for: Anyone looking for top-notch services without any risks or inconveniences.
Now, that makes it very clear that WordPress developers are best hired in-house. If you are still not 100% convinced, here are 5 reasons to help you solidify the choice.
5 reasons in-house WordPress experts are your best bet
Want edits? No issues, no extra charges
Unlike agencies or freelancers, your in-house WordPress developer won’t send across lofty bills every time you want a new page added or a widget shifted to another location.
A dedicated WordPress developer will not just do edits for you while developing the website, but also after launch. This gives you the option to keep your website updated at all times. With changing best practices, ongoing offers, and trends, your website can change too.
No overheads
When you hire a WordPress development agency you don’t just pay for a WordPress developer. You also pay for a designer, a project coordinator, and a team leader. With your in-house developer, you don’t have those overheads.
You just pay for the one man/woman who is doing the job for you. No paperwork costs and contract costs either.
Similarly, you are also safe from the commissions that you have to pay to certain freelance finding portals.
(Yes, the platforms advertise that hiring is free for the employers and you don’t pay them anything directly. But think about it. If charges are levied on freelancers who do you think gets to ultimately bear that burden through higher hourly rates?)
100% safety and security
WordPress agencies and freelancers work with multiple clients at once. And even if you have signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with them, you cannot be 100% sure of secrecy.
Your valuable business information and ideas can reach your competitor’s ear. Also, once your contract with the agency/freelancer is over, who do you hold responsible for security issues?
What if your end-user’s data is not safe on your site?
What if your business data is exposed to attack?
What if your site has hidden vulnerabilities?
You won’t have to worry about any of that with an in-house developer. The employee is bound by your rules of conduct and can be liable for any security issues.
Long term maintenance needs are sorted
Not to sound harsh, but freelancers won’t stick around with you forever. As soon as they find someone willing to pay more than you, they’ll leave.
So once your site goes live, who will keep it maintained? Who’ll take care of backups and updates? What if some bugs are found later? Who will add new pages and content as and when required?
Of course, you can get WordPress website maintenance packages from agencies. But wouldn’t that be an extra charge on your pocket?
With an in-house developer, your long-term site maintenance needs are taken care of. Without you having to pay for expensive maintenance packages.
-
No communication gaps
With third-party contractors, communication gaps are always possible. A lot gets lost in translation and it gets tough to fix accountability. With in-house employees (even those working remotely) that’s not the case.
And if there are no communication gaps and understanding goof-ups, you can stay rest assured about your website’s safety, functionality, and form.
Are we missing something? Why even choose WordPress anyways?
WordPress is the most popular Content Management System (CMS) we have today. And what makes it popular is its ease of use.
- It has a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) editor.
- You get the liberty to drag and drop the elements you want, wherever you want.
- It has a wide variety of generic and niche-based themes.
- You can enhance the out-of-the-box functionalities. How? With plugins for which you have 50,000+ free and paid options.
- WordPress is inherently SEO-friendly. Plus, there are plugins and tools available to further help with it.
- It has eCommerce integration options, like WooCommerce too.
There is no feature or functionality that you cannot add to your WordPress website.
All this makes most businessmen try to go DIY with WordPress. However, here are a few lesser-known facts about WordPress website development:
- WordPress websites are the most prone to hack attacks. 90% of these vulnerabilities arise from plugins and themes.
- If you use a theme, you cannot edit the homepage of your website like the other pages. There’s a different editing process for that.
- When you choose to have a static home page for better load speed, you’d have to directly edit the code to update it.
- WordPress is an open-source solution. Thus, you have to get your own hosting, domain name, SSL certificate, and backup options.
The simple, no-fuss way to hire in-house WordPress professionals
Hiring a WordPress developer on your payroll is the best option for your business and business website. And that doesn’t have to be hectic, time-consuming, or costly.
Instead of carrying out multiple interviews and background checks and burdening your HR department with one more task, use talent connect platforms.
These platforms are run by expert tech recruiters who source the cream talent from across the country. And you get to hire a WordPress expert from that premium talent pool.
The benefits include:
- Quick turnaround time (You just have to select a candidate from the talent pool)
- Cost-saving (You get a remote employee, which means no overheads)
- Hassle-free (You don’t have to invite applications, screen them, or take interviews)
- Security (Extensive background checks are done before onboarding)
- Guarantee of a cultural fit (If you are not satisfied with the developer, you get the option of changing the candidate)
So, what are you waiting for? Ensure you get the perfect WordPress website and it remains in top shape by hiring in-house developers from talent connect platforms.
