How to Hire a WordPress Developer: A 9-Step Checklist (With Red Flags)

Hiring the wrong WordPress developer is expensive — a slow, broken, insecure site can cost you thousands in lost enquiries and rebuild fees. Hiring the right one takes an afternoon of proper vetting. This is the exact 9-step checklist I recommend before anyone hands over a deposit.

1. Define your outcome, not just a website

Write one sentence: what should this website do? Generate quote requests, sell products, book appointments, or present a portfolio. A developer who cannot restate your business goal back to you in plain words will build you a brochure, not a tool.

2. Look at real work, not logos

Ask for three live sites the developer built end-to-end. Visit each one on your phone, run it through Google PageSpeed Insights, and check how fast pages load. A portfolio of fast, clean sites is the best CV. Browse mine on the portfolio page — every case study shows the business outcome, not just screenshots.

3. Check they can maintain what they build

Anyone can install a theme. Ask specifically: how do you handle WordPress updates, backups, security, and breaking plugins? If they only do 'launches', your site has no plan after day 30. See what proper maintenance should include.

4. Ask about SEO and speed upfront

A good developer builds with clean structure, schema markup, and Core Web Vitals in mind. If you hear 'SEO is marketing, not development', keep looking — the two are inseparable on WordPress.

5. Get a fixed scope and fixed price

The quote should name: number of pages, build and revisions included, payment schedule, and delivery date. Hourly quotes with vague scopes are how £2k projects become £8k. On my hire a WordPress developer page, every package is fixed-price before work starts.

6. You own everything

• Domain and hosting accounts are in your name
• WordPress admin and all licences are yours
• Source code and design files transfer on final payment

If a developer resists ownership transfer, that is not a negotiation point — it is a red flag.

7. Test response time

How fast they reply during the sales stage is how fast they will reply when something breaks. For freelance projects, a 24-hour response promise (and evidence of keeping it) matters more than any certification.

8. Verify payment protection

Use milestone payments (for example 50% upfront, 50% at launch) and, where possible, a platform or method with dispute protection for first-time partnerships. Watch for these red flags before paying anything:

• Asks for 100% payment upfront
• Cannot show live sites they built personally
• Quotes suspiciously low, then inflates with 'change orders'
• Uses a personal email with no footprint you can verify

9. Start with a small paid test

Not sure? Commission one page or a speed fix as a paid trial. A small real project reveals more than any interview. A free website audit can also show you exactly what to ask for.

The right WordPress developer answers questions about your business, not just about WordPress.

Ready to hire? Get a fixed quote within 24 hours — clear scope, real timeline, you own everything.