Choosing a Freelance WordPress Developer Vs. Company

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Publish date:

September 27, 2022

Updated on:

March 12, 2024

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Choosing a Freelance WordPress Developer Vs. Company

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If you are planning to hire a WordPress developer, then you might have a lot of questions buzzing in your head. You can’t decide how to approach it: whether to hire full-time or part-time. At the same time, the budget factor is also something you need to consider.

"Should I hire a WordPress freelance web developer or company?" is one of the first questions many clients ask. If you want to build a website but don’t have the skills to handle it yourself, you’ll likely want to hire a WordPress freelance web developer or WordPress development company. Unfortunately, figuring out where to start or how to find quality professionals can be challenging. If you're currently in this boat, it is your lucky day! In this article, we’ll discuss how and where to hire a professional freelance WordPress developer; as well as answer some important questions you might have about hiring a WordPress developer. Let's jump right in!

Black flat screen showing a WordPress dashboard

Why Choose WordPress?

Statistics show that WordPress powers 43.2% of the web in 2022. This means that two out of every five websites use WordPress as a platform. WordPress is also used by 65.2% of all websites using a CMS, which is a massive market share. The second most popular CMS — Shopify — has a market share of just 6.6%. Wix, Squarespace, and Joomla are next, with 2.8%, 2.7%, and 2.6% market shares, respectively.

According to data published by BuiltWith, WordPress powers over 36% of the top 1 million websites, including Bloomberg, Nike, and The New York Times. The “top” sites are ranked based on levels of traffic. Yoast SEO has over five million active installations and 26 thousand five-star ratings in the WordPress plugin directory, making it the most downloaded and well-rated free plugin in the directory.

Pictorial representation of Yoast SEO, which has the most active installations and five-star ratings in the WordPress plugin directory

Without a doubt, WordPress has several advantages that make it one of the most popular and preferred choices for WordPress freelance developers and companies alike. Here are some reasons why it’s a favorite:

It's an open-source platform: The WordPress platform is free of cost and available for customization in any way you like. To develop a website, you will need to hire a freelance WordPress developer who can focus on every element of web development including website themes, design, development support, competitiveness, market trends, and more. However, you will require a domain name and web hosting before WordPress developers can start the development process.

It allows complete customization: Your WordPress freelance web developer can customize the website as per your requirements for sustainable business growth. This is why you must hire a freelance WordPress web developer who can effectively and efficiently harness the platform's capabilities to transform your website into a completely new and unique web platform.

It can be used for all types of projects: WordPress gives you complete control over your project regardless of the kind of website you are building. Freelance WordPress developers can utilize the platform to create a blog, make a business website, start an ecommerce platform, build a membership site, etc.

Why Hire a WordPress Developer?

Although WordPress is very beginner-friendly, there are many reasons why you might want to hire a professional freelance WordPress developer to build your website. For starters, it ensures that you’ll have a site that not only looks great but also matches your branding and functions as it should. However, reasons to hire a WordPress freelance web developer extend beyond design. Freelance developers can also help you secure and maintain your site. For instance, they can help with:

  • Improving your site's search rankings. Since they are versed in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), freelance WordPress developers can implement on-page and off-page optimization techniques for better search engine rankings. For example, they can quickly find out the top sources that are sending web traffic to your competitors, and then apply that knowledge to help your website to rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
  • Hosting and uptime monitoring to manage your monthly bandwidth, storage, and other server-related needs.
  • Securing your website from cyberattacks by ensuring that your code is clean and without any holes that could increase your vulnerability to attacks.
  • Website analytics and metrics to better understand your traffic.
  • Improving user experience by designing and developing engaging WordPress sites that keep users interested.

Many freelance WordPress developers offer ongoing maintenance services. This can help ensure a secure WordPress site for you and your customers.

While it may not always make sense to hire a WordPress developer. Perhaps you’re building a simple portfolio, in which case, you might be able to create the website yourself. If you’re looking for an extensive project or don’t have the time or skills to build your own site, turning to an expert is the way to go. This can save you time and reduce the need to learn the ins and outs of WordPress.

Additionally, you might hire a freelance WordPress theme developer if you have a specific design in mind. You could also hire a freelance WordPress plugin developer to add more functionality to your website. Seasoned freelance WordPress developers will tailor your site to your needs and add custom features. This way, you won’t have to rely on a standard, cookie-cutter template that’s been used on several other sites.

Moreover, if anything goes wrong with your site, you’ll have someone to reach out to for support. For instance, your web developer will likely be able to help you debug WordPress, perform updates, troubleshoot issues, and more.

Finally, one of the best benefits of hiring a freelance WordPress developer is that they save you more time and energy. There are over 9,000 themes in the WordPress theme repository alone. This doesn’t even include all of the other themes hosted outside of WordPress, for example on Theme Forest or Creative Market.

With so many WordPress themes, you could easily get overwhelmed. However, when working with a developer with a strong resume, you can explain exactly what you want and let them build it. They may work from a pre-existing template and build onto it, or create completely from scratch. Giving them the task to produce your vision will free you up. With a developer, there’s no need to spend endless hours demo-ing different themes.

Freelance Developer vs. WordPress Development Company

When you want to hire a WordPress developer, you’ll have two main options – freelance and WordPress development company. In most cases, if you’re seeking a temporary hire, it makes more sense to go with a freelancer. Freelance WordPress developers are often the best option when you have a smaller budget and know exactly what you’re looking for.

For example, if you know you want a custom theme, you can hire a freelance WordPress theme developer on a short-term basis. However, the downside to hiring a freelance developer is that they likely have multiple other clients, and their packed calendars can make them less likely to fit into your schedule and time frame. You might consider hiring a WordPress development company if it's within your budget. Of course, this will be a more expensive option.

A WordPress development company can be a wise investment if you run a medium or large-sized business, and your website is (or will be) the primary source of your revenue. When you hire a WordPress development company, you’ll have a reliable professional to turn to for all your web design and management needs.

FAQs:

Q1. How do I find a freelance WordPress developer?

A quick Google search would produce plenty of sites on which to search for freelance WordPress developers, including freelance platforms like Upwork, Guru, Fiverr, etc. You can connect with good developers who are knowledgeable about WordPress. When you’re looking to hire freelance WordPress developers, it can be tough to know where to start. After all, finding the right WordPress freelance web developer can help you complete your work faster and more efficiently, and even tackle projects that you couldn’t handle on your own. Fortunately,whether you want to hire freelance WordPress developers near you or remotely, Pangea.ai has a retinue of highly-vetted companies that can handle your WordPress development projects for you.

Q2.Do companies hire WordPress developers?

Yes, companies often hire WordPress developers. Determining what can be achieved through a professional developer will show you if you indeed need to look for their services. The first thing you should do before hiring a WordPress developer is assess whether that is the best direction for your project to follow. Additionally, it’s important to have an overview of your needs so you can better search for the proper assistance. This doesn’t need to be a complete and thorough brief, though, since a seasoned professional will be able to assist you in better understanding your needs and steering the project in the right direction. Finally, it’s important to look for an experienced WordPress freelance web developer with great portfolios, who can integrate seamlessly with your teams, understand your business objectives, and who offer advantages such as time-zone alignment and proficiency in the language of your choice.

Q3.How much does it cost to hire a WordPress developer?

Like most professionals, freelance WordPress developers charge by the project and by the hour. Typically, they will offer packages, starting at around $250 for the most basic pages up to $500 or $1,000 for something slightly more advanced. When it comes to customization, you can expect to be charged around $30 to $50 per hour for custom work that may be needed on top of the basic package cost.

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Wuraola Ademola-Shanu

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I get it: Writing is hard. My teenage dream was to be a romance author. Don't blame me: I grew up devouring Harlequin romance novels and spending hours traveling (virtually) to Ireland, thanks to Nora Roberts.

But, as I grew older, I realized writing fiction was way harder than I thought (that kinda changed when I ghostwrote a children's book some years ago).

As a content writer, copywriter, and content editor for SaaS, B2B & B2C brands, I enjoy writing content that:

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