How To Choose The Right WordPress Developer
With thousands of WordPress developers offering their services, how do you choose the right individual or team to trust on a WordPress development project?
Here are three things to consider:
- Experience – If your WordPress needs are basic, you don’t need a developer with a lot of experience to serve you well. WordPress development is well documented and there are excellent resources available for the developer wanting to learn. If your needs are more advanced, though, a wide depth and range of experience is critical. When interviewing, ask a developer to detail the types of WordPress projects they’ve worked on and ask if they’ve worked on projects similar to yours before (“No” is not an automatic disqualifier, just pay attention to how they answer).
- Personality – For a web development project, choosing a developer with the right personality makes a difference. Arrange a video/phone conversation to hear their voice or meet in-person and pay attention to how they interact with you. What you’re looking for is someone you are comfortable with and who you are willing to trust with your business.
- Budget – With the growing popularity of WordPress there is someone willing to work on your project for just about any price. The challenge is that you nearly always get what you pay for. If you’re on a tight budget and you know exactly what you need, look for a technically focused developer that just focuses on completing tasks. If you have specific objectives in mind (e.g. more leads, more registrations, efficiency gains) and achieving results are a high priority, look for a developer with an educative/consultative approach who can take your business objectives with your budget to recommend solutions.
Hiring Me For WordPress Development
Status: Limited Availability – Have a project that you’re looking for help with? I’m happy to offer you guidance and either offer to work with you myself if I have availability or connect you with someone who can do the work. Send me an email to sirjonathan@gmail.com and tell me about your project.
Updated March 15, 2019
Other Places You Can Find Developers
If I can’t help you find a match for your needs, the great news is that there is someone out there who is!
Personal referrals are my favorite way to hire new service providers. If I need someone I start by asking friends who they use. An individual can say whatever they want about themselves. When someone else speaks well of them, though, it carries a lot more weight.
Accordingly, my first suggestion is to reach out to folks you know who’ve had a great experience with a developer. Getting a personal referral is highly valuable, both to you and to the developer, who now has a reputation to maintain. If you don’t know someone who can recommend a developer to meet your needs, here are some suggestions:
- Code Poet Directory – The code poet directory is a list of WordPress service providers curated by the folks at Automattic, the folks behind WordPress.com. This is a great place to find developers, and developer teams, who specialize in WordPress development.
- WordPress Jobs – The WordPress Jobs board is an official job board where you can post a job and receive offers by WordPress providers. Consider the qualifying points I offered above and be sure to ask for experience/references according to the level of priority/importance you’ve placed on the project.
- Fivrr / Upwork – you’re on a tight budget, a service marketplace can be a great place to find a qualified WordPress developer willing to work for less. Search Fivrr or Upwork for WordPress. Pay particular attention to the number of jobs a provider has completed and the ratings they’ve received from clients.
What My Clients Say
Here are some endorsements from a few of the people I’ve had the privilege of working with:
“We have had the great pleasure of working with Jonathan to prepare a large research application. He was very receptive to our wishes and the specific demands of our research objectives. At the same time he was clear about what solutions he would recommend/refrain from. We were under a certain time press, and Jonathan was very flexible and gave 100% in completing the task. He was highly professional and showed great insights both in how to frame the overall system and the details. We hope to work with him again in the future, and can give our strongest recommendations.
Anders Rosengren, Researcher, Lund University Sweden
Jonathan quickly impressed with his ability to understand my company’s website migration needs. He was a pleasure to speak with and helped me understand our whole website migration project. Jonathan is honest, helpful, and put our needs before his own. I have full confidence in Jonathan’s guidance for our future WordPress needs and in his ability to manage and execute on a website project.
Brian Dawson, CityStaff
“We have valued working with Jonathan Wold on enhancements to our customized WordPress environment. Beyond being a strong communicator that keeps projects on task, Jonathan has helped Thomson Reuters architect efficiencies within the WordPress platform that is resulting in a reduction of people effort by more than 50%. Our investment in working with Jonathan will pay for itself within 12-months based on the monetary cost savings of the reduced people effort. If you are looking for a consultant that can help drive efficiencies for your WordPress platform and can effectively manage a project, I would highly recommend speaking with Jonathan Wold.”
Nathan Hein, Web Marketer – FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business
“Jonathan Wold is in a class all to his own when it comes to professionalism, level of expertise, and simple likeability. Having worked with many in his field over the years I can say from direct experience that Jonathan is unlike any other. His respectful, courteous demeanor, unparalleled problem solving skills, vast knowledge of WordPress architecture and web design, and complete reliability is refreshing and scarce in modern times. I could write pages full of examples of the aforementioned accolades, but simply and directly put, if you are considering Jonathan for your next project, do yourself a favor and hire him. It will be one of the best business decisions you’ll ever make. Yes, he’s that good, and it’s been a pleasure to work with him over the years.”
Sonny Catalano, Senior Consultant, Risolva Business Consulting
I’ve been working with Jonathan for over 3 years and have been amazed by his skill and programming knowledge. Unlike many programmers he’s also able to think strategically and this has been a huge factor in our many successful projects together. The only reason I might not refer him to anyone is because I know when word gets out he might become too busy for me!
Jason Lexell, Business Owner
Jonathan was the perfect consultant for our school district news site project. From the beginning, he brought creative, substantive ideas and executed his tasks efficiently. When we encountered challenges with the developer, Jonathan took care to solve the problem by any means necessary. I would recommend Jonathan to any organization or individual who is interested in true collaboration and accomplishing a project from start to finish.
Janai, School District Public Relations Specialist
“Working with Jonathan has been an absolute pleasure. His knowledge and expertise with WordPress development is incredible, and he consistently completes projects on time – often going above and beyond the call of duty. The level of customer service he delivers is among the best we’ve ever encountered. He truly listens to our needs and works hard to provide custom solutions, while educating and empowering us to better utilize the WordPress platform for our business needs. If you are seeking a highly experienced WordPress expert who operates with the utmost integrity and honesty, look no further than Jonathan Wold.”
Angela White, Administrative Director, White Eagle Aero Space
“I highly recommend Jonathan Wold for website creation and design within the WordPress platform. I have worked with Jonathan on a total of two websites in the past 7 years, and have learned that he is a highly qualified and knowledgeable WordPress developer. Our whole team was very impressed with the creativity and caliber of work Jonathan performed. We found him to be very responsive and attentive to all our needs and also provided a successful and informative training video to our inexperienced team, so that we can manage updates to the website in house.”
Jo Ann Zarick, Vice President of Marketing, SingerTalk.com?
“I hired Jonathan Wold for WordPress training and online consulting for my business Metric Advertising. From minute-one I knew that hiring Jonathan was an excellent investment for my career and my business. Not only is Jonathan tremendously knowledgable, he also has a fantastic coaching demeanor. Quite simply, Jonathan has brought me along at just the right pace to keep me achieving my goals without being overwhelmed.
It has been a super experience to learn from Jonathan, and I strongly encourage you to consider signing up for his coaching and strategy services. In short, Jonathan Wold is a terrific, encouraging teacher whom I give my highest recommendation.”
Jon Parks, Founder, Metric Advertising www.metricadv.com
“Working with Jonathan was fantastic. He was quick to respond and took extra time to look into issues/problems that I might have not have caught during the WordPress implementation. He is quite articulate and patient when discussing highly technical processes and adjustments, and took the extra care to call me personally on the phone to ensure the final touches on the website where exactly what I was looking for. I would highly recommend him for any WordPress or website work!”
Kyle A., Researcher Associate for Harvard Business School
“As a web designer with very little WordPress experience, finding Jonathan was a wonderful thing for me and my client! He completed my project very quickly and every detail was accounted for. He was readily available by phone and email throughout the process. When I needed some additional help afterwards, he was happy to help with that as well. To top it off, his pricing is very fair. I would certainly recommend him to anyone looking to modify their WordPress blog.”
Stacie Malkus, Creative Director, www.leftwave.com
“I was searching for a WordPress expert to develop a website for me that was more search engine friendly, and after finding Jonathan I immediately made contact to see if he could do what I needed. In talking to him, I felt comfortable with him right away. He quickly developed my site, and offered helpful suggestions along the way to make it even better. If you’re looking for honesty, integrity, and WordPress talent all in one place…look no further than Jonathan.”
Travis W. Walker, Retail Consultant & Author, www.retailsalespro.com
“I have had the pleasure of working with Jonathan on a number of different WordPress development projects including partnering with him in a small WordPress consulting business. Jonathan understands the WordPress platform inside out from a coding and design perspective. Using the WordPress skills he has aquired over a number of years, he is able to consult on many different levels including actual WordPress coding and design or even over the phone support. He is definitely someone that you want working on your WordPress project.”
Matt Geri, Web Developer & Entrepreneur, www.mattgeri.com
“Jonathan Wold’s experience with WordPress clearly showed thru in my project. He not only implemented my site much faster than expected, but was intuitive with my need, knowing what I needed without my asking. I will definitely work with Jonathan again in the future.”
Victor Macias, Ecommerce Entrepreneur & Investor, www.victormacias.com
“Thanks Jonathan for implementing a WordPress website that continues to work wonders for our business. Our thermal imaging company has experienced exceptional growth since we implemented your work and ideas… far beyond expectations. The part we are most happy with is the website is pulling in 1000’s of visitors p/month worldwide, so as a result, we have be forced (in a good way) to set up an international website. We are using the exact same template you customized for us… and not changing a thing! Anyone considering using Jonathan’s service can be confident the job will get done correctly. Keep up the great work Jonathan… we will always be using your service and advice into the future (So make sure you stay in the business, please!)”
Dean C., www.findaleak.co.nz
“My very first WordPress project was done in collaboration with Mr. Jonathan Wold. At a time when I was a novice to both WordPress and PHP, his patient attitude and guidance steered me through the mountain of uncertainties. Without Jonathan’s knowledge and support, finding a solution to the esoteric host provider restriction I encountered would have been ludicrous, deadlines would have been mere pipe dreams and I would probably not have continued to implement and enjoy WordPress as much as I do today.”
Haoyan of America, www.haoyanofamerica.com
“Jonathan was both knowledgeable and very enjoyable to work with – a rare combo. I really appreciated his positive, helpful, and responsive demeanor.”
John Follis, Follis Marketing Therapy