How to Hire a Web Developer

Hiring a web developer in 2026 can be quite tricky due to rise of AI tools and rapidly evolving tech industry. Whether you are a business owner, startup founder, or a company owner, this guide will help you hire the perfect web developer for your use case. We will go over what things to look out for, what questions to ask when hiring a web developer, and best practices to follow.

Project Scope

Start by explaining what type of website you want simple static website, e-commerce, SaaS, etc. to the web developer to get started. To communicate the project idea effectively define rules and requirements for your website like what features it needs, what technologies to use, etc.

Depending on what you need you might need a different type of developer for your project.

Types of developer:

• Frontend Developer
• Backend Developer
• Full Stack Developer

Maybe you need a frontend developer specializing in Next.js or Svelte.

After that start listing out all the features and pages you want in your website. Try to be specific about the features and pages you want in your website. Once you decide the scope and type of developer you need, you can decide how you want to hire the developer. You can either hire a full-time employee, contract developer, or a freelancer.

Essentials Skills

These are the things you want to look out for when hiring a web developer.

Fundamentals

Ensure they have the core web fundamentals down. This includes HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These are the basic technologies used to build websites. Knowing them helps understand how websites function at a lower level.

Modern Technologies

Technologies are always evolving. Ensure they have knowledge of modern technologies like React, Next.js, Node.js, etc. This shows they are up to date with the industry and can build your project faster and efficiently. They must be familiar with popular frameworks and libraries to build optimized and scalable websites.

Some other things you want to look out for are version control (Git), responsive design, experience with AI tools, etc. These things are important to have because they show the developer is up to date with the industry standard. Version control helps keep your code organized and easy to manage. Responsive design ensures your website looks beautiful on all devices. Experience with AI tools shows the developer is leveraging AI tools to build your project faster.

A simple and easy to confirm the web developer's skills is to ask them for their portfolio or their projects. Seeing their work can give you a good idea of their actual talent and experience. Asking for their GitHub profile is also a good idea to see their actual code and projects.

Where to Hire a Web Developer

There are many popular freelance platforms that you can use to hire web developers for you need:

• Upwork
• Fiverr
• Freelancer
• Toptal
• PeoplePerHour

You can also try using some job boards to find web developers for your project.

• LinkedIn
• Indeed
• Glassdoor
• ZipRecruiter

Alternatively, you can also try developer communities:

• GitHub
• Stack Overflow
• Dev.to
• Hacker News
• Twitter/X
• Reddit (r/webdev, r/forhire)

Mistakes to Avoid

Here are some common mistakes to avoid when hiring a web developer.

Not Researching the Developer

Not researching the developer can be a big mistake. Researching the developer can help you confirm their skills and also give you a preview of their work. Ask for their portfolio or projects to see their actual work. Ask for their GitHub profile to see their actual code and projects. Make sure to check their reviews and ratings to see if they are a good fit for your project.

Hiring Purely on Price

Just because a developer is cheap doesn't mean they are a good fit for your project. Many developers are cheap because they are inexperienced or don't have a lot of projects. Sometimes a cheaper developer can be a better fit for your project than an expensive developer.

Ignoring Communication Challenges

Communication is key to a successful project. If the developer is having a hard time communicating, setting up a time to talk, planning the project, then that means they are not a good fit for your project. Usually you want sometime who can take timezones into account and can communicate effectively.

Onboarding

Set clear milestones and expectations. Let the developer know exactly what you want and how you want it. You can use tools like Slack, Notion, Linear ot GitHub to make collaboration easier.