How to Find Great Web App Developers in 2021

Building a web application brings huge benefits for companies, but finding reliable web developers that have the hard and soft skills needed to get the project across to the finish line without a hitch is an enormous undertaking on its own.

In this article, we will cover a step-by-step process to help you find and hire great web app developers - quickly.

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Step 1. Define Your Web App Development Project

Without the right talent, web development can quickly become a costly process, both in terms of financial and time resources.

Knowing that, the first step to finding a perfect match for your unique needs is defining the parameters of your project.

As a starting point, you need to have specific, in-depth answers to the following questions:

The Goal

The objectives you are trying to achieve are the key to understanding what would be the most optimal way to go about developing your web application - and hiring the right people to do that.

Questions to answer:

1. What exactly are you trying to accomplish with your web application? 
2. What problems of your target user base are you trying to solve? 

The need for certain people on your team stems from the role they are going to play in the development process - which, in turn, stems from the goals you’re trying to accomplish with your web application.

Each task has its own set of unique challenges.

For instance, if you are trying to create an analog of a web application that already exists on the market, that would not necessarily require the same level of expertise as opposed to building something conceptually new.

Instead of opting for junior specialists who charge less, it may make sense to increase your initial budget, and potentially alleviate the additional costs of having to re-do subpar work halfway through the project.

The Scope of Work

Having a clear set of expectations is going to help you narrow down your focus, making it easier for you to identify the right people.

Question to answer:

1. What are the core functionalities needed for your app? 

The Budget 

Inevitably, the money question comes up. As far as your budget, you need to have either a certain number or a certain price range in mind. Also, it’s important to always take into account unpredictable expenses that may suddenly pop up during the web development process.

Questions to answer:

1. What is the difficulty of this project? (i.e., what level of expertise would be needed?)
2. What is your ideal budget?
3. What is your absolute maximum budget?

The Timeline 

Finally, when do you want to launch your web application? Write out the dates of the key project milestones to help you coordinate the efforts between the dev team and the rest of the company.

Questions to answer:

1. What are the key milestones of your project?
2. When is the soft launch? (if applicable)
3. When do you plan to hard-launch your application?
4. When is the drop-dead date this project needs to be completed?

And having a clear vision of the role the web developers you want to hire are supposed to play in the development process - and the level of their involvement - is a stepping stone to a successful web application.

The Tech Stack

Even the most gifted developers won’t be compatible with your web development project if their skillset fails to match your technology stack.

A tech stack typically consists of programming languages, frameworks, front-end, and back-end tools, as well as APIs. 

Before the search for your perfect web developer begins, you need to have your tech stack mapped out to properly assess a potential developer's capacity to deliver what you need.

Based on the skillset, web developers are traditionally separated into three categories:

• Front-end developers are responsible for coding everything the end-user sees on their screen and interacts with, from interfaces to the layout of a web application. 

Platforms or languages of a front-end developer typically consist of HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, Node.JS, ASP.NET, React.JS, Angular 8, Vue, and other technologies that help turn the picture provided by web designers into reality.

• Back-end developers specialize in working on the software completely invisible to the end-user that powers a web application - be it improving the database architecture or building the core functionality. 

The tech stack of a back-end developer varies but may include Python, Scala, Go, Ruby, or SQL.

• Full-stack developers combine the expertise of front-end and back-end developers. The advantage of flexibility must be weighed against the lack of deep knowledge that a specialist will possess.

With this information, you need to figure out whether you are looking for front-end, back-end, or full-stack developers to work on your project.

Step 2. Find the Right Partner

In the IT world, there are three common ways you can go about finding the people to work on your web application project: hiring someone in-house, working with freelancers, or relying on a web development agency.

Let’s cover the pros and cons of each of them to help you understand how you should approach getting web app developers on board.

Hiring In-house

Growing and nurturing your own talent may lower the dependency on third parties, but such an approach entails high overhead related to hiring, training, and retaining your employees.

Pros:

• Low to no dependency on contractors and freelancers
• Exclusivity
• Flexibility to work on multiple projects
• Availability during dedicated working hours

Cons:

• High fixed costs
• In-house devs need time to get up to speed with your internal processes
• Turnover, burnout, bad hires, and risk of other competitors poaching them

For these reasons, outsourcing web development has become increasingly common among companies of all sizes, especially small- and mid-sized businesses.

Hiring Freelancers

Working with a freelancer brings a promise of lower costs, but they may lack the infrastructure to execute complex projects and bring a risk of missing deadlines, disappearing when they’re needed the most (unfortunately, a not-so-common scenario), or simply not being up to the task at hand. 

Pros:

• Low costs
• No long-term commitment
• Quick turnaround time

Cons:

• Low reliability and accessibility
• Unpredictable output
• Project collaboration issues if you decide to hire multiple freelancers

This option is perfect for small, simple tasks with no need for ongoing maintenance. So, if you decide to work with freelancers, below, we list out the best places for you to source talent:

• Upwork - Upwork is one of the world’s most popular, well-established platforms that connects freelancers with businesses. The website offers useful features like time tracking and contract milestones.
• Fiverr - Fiverr is an online marketplace for freelance services. If you’re operating on a low budget, this might be the place for you to find affordable web app developers, but there are also a lot of highly qualified freelancers that can help you get certain parts of your project done.
• Freelancer.com - Freelancer.com is a marketplace where you can find freelance web app developers within a few hours. With 50+ million active users, Freelancer makes it possible for you to access the global talent pool.

Hiring a Web Development Agency

Even though paying to a web development company may involve higher costs at the start of the development process, agencies give you access to a pool of brilliant talent with great work ethic and the infrastructure in place to complete projects of any size or difficulty while removing all the guesswork from the hiring process.

Pros:

• Access to top-notch talent and specialized knowledge with a full-time team
• Access to the team and infrastructure needed to execute projects of any difficulty or size
• Multifaceted approach as a result of working with clients across all industries
• Reliably high-quality output

Cons:

• Higher outsourcing costs in comparison to freelancers and sole contractors
• Less control over control over the agency’s talent as opposed to in-house employees

All of the world’s greatest projects are developed by teams, not individuals. Going the agency route makes it possible for you to create something great - not just another app.

Instead of taking chances that can cost you tens of thousands of dollars, you can remove the guesswork and go for a well-established web development company.

Thinklogic has been around for more than two decades with an impressive track record of helping some of the world’s largest companies turn their ideas into reality.

Get in touch with us today and schedule a free consultation to get your web app project done.

To sum it all up, most of the time, businesses decide to partner up with web development agencies to avoid having to shell out massive resources to have a full-time in-house team in place while gaining access to high-caliber talent with no risks involved.

Step 3. Vet Your Potential Web Development Partner

In web development, mistakes are costly. Especially if you hire the wrong developers. For that reason, you need to come up with a screening process to vet your potential web developers before you bring them on board.

Here are some things you should take into consideration during your search for a great web app developer.

• Closely examine resumes, reviews, client testimonials, and referrals: A track record is the first thing you should pay attention to. Everyone goes out of their way to portray themselves in a positive light, but the background of your technical partner speaks louder than words. Additionally, reach out to the former clients and employers of your potential candidate to get raw first-hand feedback to help you make the right decision.
• Offer test assignments: To make sure the skillset of your potential web developers matches job demands, test the waters with a given candidate on a small project - or pre-employment tests, if applicable. Anyone can put together a professional-looking portfolio or resume, but only the top talent can get the work done when the rubber meets the road.
• Establish great communication: From the moment you first meet with a potential app development partner, there should be a clear, transparent line of communication. Anything other than that is a signal that you may encounter some difficulty when it comes to frictionless communication with other team members.
• Make sure they are a culture fit: Without a great cultural fit in place, you should pass on even the best web developer. A misalignment in cultural values tends to destabilize the process and dramatically lower the output of every team member.

Meet Your Web Development Partner

As you can see, with so many risks involved, hiring the right developers is not an easy task.

Armed with this information, you have a higher chance of finding the right fit for your web development needs in the shortest possible time.

Thinklogic has the team, experience, and infrastructure to get any web application development project done - no matter how complex or large - for you to focus on growing your business, not looking for developers.

Reach out to us today and schedule your free consultation.