Web developers have different levels of expertise. While two different web developers may claim five years of experience, one might be more capable and match your needs more closely. In addition to the usual interview questions, try asking these questions to find the right web developer for your next project:
1. What is your keyword strategy?
If you’re practicing search marketing, you need to have a web developer who will work with you to make sure their back-end SEO strategy matches the work you’re putting into optimizing the site’s content. If they don’t have a solid strategy for making your keywords work, you should look at other candidates.
2. Do you have a portfolio?
All web developers should have a portfolio, so not having a professional portfolio put together is a sure sign that you should find someone else. Their portfolio should give you a good idea of their aesthetic and whether or not their coding is up to snuff. Ask them to bring the complete code for one of their recent projects (not just a few snippets). This will give you an idea of how clean their code is.
3. What are your favorite websites? Least favorite?
You can get a good idea on how current the candidate’s knowledge is by asking them about their favorite and least favorite websites. This also helps you learn more about their aesthetic, as well as where they draw their inspiration.
4. Do you follow current web standards?
Any good developer should follow current web standards to ensure that the site works on every OS and across multiple web browsers. This is a great time to find out how well versed they are in HTML – all developers can write HTML, but some can’t work without a reference manual. If they make simple errors or oversights in writing HTML, they may not have the level of detail and knowledge you want in a web developer.
5. Do you typically work on larger websites or smaller ones?
You’ll want to get an idea of the scope they’re used to working in. If they typically create larger websites, and you want a smaller one, they may miss some of the little details. If you’re looking for a large site, and they’re used to smaller ones, they may not be capable of taking on a larger project. You want to make sure your web developer’s experience level matches the project you’re working on.
When choosing a web developer, it’s important to make sure they’ll be a good fit for your company or project. Asking just a few simple questions can help you weed out the worst candidates – and find the best person for the job.