Where are all the good WordPress devs?
As our product grows, it makes sense to outsource specialised and isolated dev tasks. However I'm finding it particularly hard to outsource one thing specifically: our WordPress plugin. My UpWork job is flooded with low-quality applications and code samples that give me nightmares.
I appreciate it's a bit specific, but does anyone have any advice on how to find a good WordPress contractor? Bonus points if you are one ;)
The problem is that most good developers don't want to work on WP...
My suggestion would be to checkout roots.io
It makes Wordpress a little less Wordpressy for developers :)
how does roots.io compare to https://pods.io ?
It is a bit of a mess.
The WordPress ecosystem is by nature flooded with extremely inexperienced developers. You can create an invite-only job listing on Upwork and search for contractors manually. It requires a bit more work from you upfront but I think you will be much happier with the results. Source: I'm a developer who has done WordPress work in the past and has been on Upwork for 7+ years.
Steve, it sounds like you're one of the few experienced ones! Going to drop you an email.
Thanks for the tip on invite-only jobs. I'll give that a go. I've tried inviting people to my public job in the past, but toggling that option would certainly cut down on a lot of noise.
The easiest way to find a good plugin developer is to talk to your friends who run WordPress plugins and see how they built them / who built it for them.
Not all plugin owners built their plugins. Many had a team help do it! you can ask and get a referral.
WordPress community FTW!
Good point. Looks like I need to make some plugin friends.
I'm a bit late to the game on this thread, but I have stayed focused on WordPress in large part because I thought there was a niche that needed to be filled for more complex sites. I work on big sites with lots of traffic, large datasets, and complicated backends. I'd love to chat more.
https://www.hweaver.com | hello@hweaver.com
Hey Heather, dropping you an email now.
I think Codeable.io, like someone else suggested, is a good option.
My idea might not work for everyone but one approach is to find plugins with similar functionality to what you want that are already available on the WordPress.org plugin directory. Then you can try reaching out to those developers directly and see if they'd be willing to help you build something new. You can quickly and easily view their code right on the Dot Org site before contacting them which might save you some time.
I ended up posting on Codeable.io - have had some OK responses so far. Thanks for the plugin directory tip.
These guys have a pretty good reputation for vetted WordPress devs. I don't have massive experience with them, but I've used them once and it was pretty good.
https://codeable.io/
That looks really promising. Cheers Rob.
No worries. If you go with them, I'd be interested to know what your experience is like.
I would recommend looking at the WordPress meetups near you. There's a large ecosystem around WordPress, and if you google "Meetup WordPress [location]" I'm sure you'd be able to meet some good devs. That's how I got involved in the WordPress ecosystem and found a few good developers to talk to and swap war stories.
Thanks, I actually just bought tickets to WordCamp Vancouver. Hopefully it works out.
@jonathanbull You should say hi to Jeremy Felt while you're there. He's a good guy: https://jeremyfelt.com/2018/10/02/headed-to-wordcamp-vancouver-and-highedweb-2018/
To the OP or anyone reading this. I'm an experienced dev looking to add wordpress to my skillset. If you'd like to chat lmk https://harrymoreno.com/about.html
Hi Harry, I'll be in touch.
Hey @jonathanbull , I've come across a few companies here on IndieHackers who provide WP service for a monthly and one time fees. You might find them in the products section. Or rather than choosing Upwork, why not approach dev agencies?
I've always preferred dealing directly with freelancers over an agency, but maybe I'm being short sighted there. I've emailed a few agencies so we'll see. Thanks.
After you've identified a group of people, ask them for recent reference projects and actually contact the references. Keyword being Recent...ask them specifically for their last projects. There are a lot of good Wordpress people now. Sometimes they work as sub-contractors under a different agency, but it doesn't matter. If they make things difficult, I would move on the someone who makes things simple and easy.
couldn't you look on linkedin?
I wasn't finding many good candidates on LinkedIn, but I'll check out the community you linked below. Thanks.
How would you determine if they are good or not?
Here's a group specifically for wordpress plugin devs
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3973588/