Your Guide to Hiring the Right Web Developer for Your Business

You’ve found the perfect designer, mapped out your user flow, and know exactly what your website needs to accomplish. But three months into your search, you’re still cycling through developers who either can’t deliver what you envisioned or want more than your entire marketing budget.

Each failed hire means more delays, more budget overruns, and more pressure from stakeholders asking when the site will finally launch. Meanwhile, that perfect launch window keeps slipping away.

This guide covers everything you need to know about hiring website developers who can execute your vision, from the technical skills that matter most to sourcing strategies, plus interview questions that reveal whether a candidate can truly deliver.

What Does a Website Developer Do?

Website developers build and maintain the digital experiences that connect your business with customers online. They transform design mockups and business requirements into functional, user-friendly websites.

Unlike web designers who focus on how sites look, developers handle the technical implementation: writing code, integrating databases, optimizing performance, and ensuring everything works seamlessly across devices and browsers. 

Most website developers specialize in either frontend development (the user-facing parts visitors see and interact with), backend development (server-side logic and databases), or full-stack development (both frontend and backend). They work with content management systems, e-commerce platforms, and custom applications depending on your specific needs.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Website Developer?

In the US, hiring a website developer typically costs between $74,000-$123,200 annually, but hiring in Latin America can reduce those costs by up to 59% while maintaining the same level of technical expertise and professionalism.

US salary expectations can strain budgets, especially when you need senior-level expertise for complex projects. That’s why many companies expand their search outside the US to access the same caliber of talent at more sustainable rates.

In our experience recruiting website developers in Latin America, here’s how the salary ranges compare to US rates:

These cost differences reflect local market conditions and cost of living, not differences in skill level or work quality.

Many Latin American developers have extensive experience working with US companies, understand modern development practices, and deliver the same caliber of work you’d expect from US-based developers. This is one of the reasons why US companies are increasingly turning to LatAm for their development needs.

What Skills Should You Look for When Hiring a Website Developer?

Great website developers need more than just coding skills. They also need strong problem-solving abilities, clear communication, and the initiative to take ownership of projects from concept to completion.

Understanding what to look for in a website developer depends heavily on the seniority level you’re targeting.

A junior developer might excel at implementing basic HTML/CSS layouts and following existing code patterns, but they’ll need guidance on complex performance optimization and architectural decisions.

A mid-level developer should be able to handle most website features independently and contribute to technical discussions about user experience and functionality.

A senior developer should be able to design scalable web architectures, mentor other developers, and make strategic decisions about technology choices.

The key is matching your expectations to the candidate’s experience level. Expecting a junior developer to architect complex e-commerce platforms from scratch will lead to frustration, while hiring a senior developer for simple brochure sites might be overkill for your needs.

Setting realistic expectations for each seniority level helps you evaluate candidates fairly and ensures you’re not dismissing strong candidates who might be perfect for your actual requirements.

Regardless of seniority level, all website developers should demonstrate certain fundamental capabilities. Here are the core skills to evaluate:

Hard skills (the must-haves)

• HTML/CSS proficiency: Every website developer should master these foundational languages. HTML structures content while CSS handles styling and layout. Look for candidates who can write clean, semantic HTML and CSS that creates responsive designs across different screen sizes.
• JavaScript competency: Modern websites require interactive elements, and JavaScript makes that possible. According to the 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, JavaScript remains the most commonly used programming language among professional developers. Strong candidates should understand JavaScript fundamentals, DOM manipulation, and how to integrate with popular libraries and frameworks when needed.
• CMS proficiency: Most website projects involve content management systems, so developers should have experience with popular platforms like WordPress, Drupal, or headless CMS solutions. 
• Responsive design understanding: Developers must build sites that work seamlessly across phones, tablets, and desktops. This involves understanding flexible layouts, media queries, and mobile-first design principles. 
• Version control with Git: Professional development requires tracking changes and collaborating with team members. Developers should be comfortable with basic Git workflows, branching, and platforms like GitHub or GitLab.
• Problem-solving and debugging skills: Website development involves constant troubleshooting across different browsers and devices. Look for developers who can systematically identify issues, research solutions, and implement fixes efficiently.
• Basic performance awareness: Understanding how to optimize images, minimize code, and implement caching strategies helps ensure websites load quickly and provide good user experiences.

Soft skills (equally important)

• Problem-solving mindset: Website development involves constant troubleshooting. The best developers approach challenges systematically, research solutions independently, and can explain complex technical issues in simple terms.
• Clear communication: Remote development requires excellent written and verbal communication. Developers should provide regular progress updates, ask clarifying questions when requirements are unclear, and explain technical decisions to non-technical stakeholders.
• Project ownership: Strong developers take responsibility for their work from start to finish. They anticipate potential issues, suggest improvements, and ensure their code is maintainable and well-documented for future updates.
• Adaptability to feedback: Website projects involve multiple rounds of revisions based on stakeholder feedback. Look for developers who respond constructively to change requests and can balance technical constraints with business requirements.
• Time management: Successful developers estimate tasks accurately, meet deadlines consistently, and communicate proactively when timelines need adjustment. This is especially crucial for remote work arrangements.

Nice-to-have skills (the differentiators)

• E-commerce platform knowledge: If you’re building online stores, developers with Shopify, WooCommerce, or custom e-commerce experience can navigate the unique challenges of payment processing, inventory management, and order fulfillment.
• Technical SEO implementation: Website developers handle the technical foundation that SEO specialists rely on—implementing proper HTML structure, meta tags, schema markup, site speed optimizations, and mobile responsiveness. While they don’t create SEO strategy, they execute the technical requirements that make websites search-engine friendly.
• UI/UX sensibilities: Developers who appreciate good design principles can bridge the gap between design mockups and final implementation, often improving user experience through thoughtful technical decisions.
• DevOps knowledge (typically for senior roles): Understanding deployment pipelines, server management, and cloud platforms like AWS or Vercel helps developers ship code more efficiently and troubleshoot production issues quickly.

Where Can You Find and Hire Great Website Developers?

You can find strong website developers through job boards, freelance platforms, professional referrals, and recruitment partners. Your sourcing approach will affect both talent quality and cost-effectiveness.

Deciding between local, national, or global talent

When hiring website developers, you have three main sourcing location strategies, each with distinct advantages:

• Local/in-office developers offer face-to-face collaboration and shared time zones, which can simplify communication and project coordination. However, you’re limited to your immediate geographic area’s talent pool and will pay local market-rate salaries that may stretch your budget.
• Remote US-based developers expand your options significantly while maintaining familiar business practices, legal frameworks, and communication styles. You’ll still pay competitive US salaries but gain access to developers across the entire country.
• Offshore/nearshore developers provide the widest talent pool and most significant cost savings. Latin American developers, in particular, offer an excellent balance of technical skills, cultural alignment with US business practices, and time zone compatibility that makes real-time collaboration possible.

Many successful companies combine approaches—perhaps hiring a senior US-based in-office developer as a technical lead while building out the team with skilled Latin American developers who can execute projects efficiently and cost-effectively.

Choosing the right sourcing channel

Picking the right channel is the fastest way to improve pipeline quality, speed up time-to-hire, and control costs. 

Each path attracts a different kind of candidate and demands a different level of effort from your team.

Use the mix that matches your timeline, budget, and the seniority you need. 

Job boards

• Best for: In-house roles where you can process volume and run a structured screen.
• Why it works: Broad reach and candidates who are actively looking.
• Watch-outs: High noise. You’ll need tight filtering, a clear scorecard, and time to screen.
• How to get value: Be specific about stack, responsibilities, scope, location/overlap hours, and salary range. Add 2–3 knockout questions to cut unqualified applies early. 

Freelance platforms

• Best for: Short projects, prototypes, overflow, or testing a developer before a longer engagement.
• Why it works: Fast access and built-in logistics.
• Watch-outs: Variable quality and limited long-term commitment. Hand-offs can be painful.
• How to get value: Start with a paid, time-boxed task. Define code ownership, security, and review standards up front. 

Referrals

• Best for: Senior hires and niche stacks where trust and culture fit matter.
• Why it works: Warm, pre-vetted candidates who already match how your teams work.
• Watch-outs: Small, homogenous pool if you rely only on your immediate network.
• How to get value: Share a one-page brief with your network (scope, must-haves, non-negotiables) and offer a clear referral process so people know exactly who to send. 

Recruitment and staffing partners

• Best for: Full-time hires, senior or specialized stacks, and any cross-border search.
• Why it works: Access to passive candidates, structured screening, market guidance, and faster shortlists.
• Watch-outs: Service fees and the need to align on process and quality bar.
• How to get value: Choose a partner with domain experience, ask for sample scorecards and example profiles, align on timelines, and clarify replacement terms and compliance support for international hires. 

Many teams don’t pick a single lane. They’ll post on a job board to build a broad funnel, tap referrals for senior roles, and bring in a recruiting partner to surface passive candidates or handle international hiring. Use the mix that fits your timeline and risk tolerance. 

Why working with a recruiting partner makes a difference

A trusted recruitment partner can help ensure you make the right hire, access more qualified candidates faster, and avoid delays.

Many companies hire website developers on their own, and that can work just fine. However, when the stakes are high, the timeline is tight, or you’re hiring outside your usual network, working with a recruiting partner makes a big difference.

Specialized recruiters who focus on sourcing developers understand the nuanced differences between frontend, backend, and full-stack developers. They can quickly identify candidates who match your specific tech stack requirements and project needs.

This becomes especially valuable when hiring internationally. Navigating different resume formats, employment laws, and cultural expectations requires expertise that most companies don’t have in-house.

For companies exploring offshore hiring, working with a partner who has established networks in key regions can dramatically reduce time-to-hire while ensuring quality standards.

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How to Hire the Best Website Developer: Best Practices

Finding and hiring great website developers requires a systematic approach that evaluates both technical capabilities and collaborative fit.

Here’s what successful companies do differently when building their development teams:

Stage 1: Before and during sourcing

Define your technical requirements clearly

Before posting any job descriptions, nail down exactly what type of website developer you need. Are you building a simple marketing site, a complex web application, or an e-commerce platform?

The clearer your technical requirements, the better you can filter candidates. Don’t just say “we need a website developer.” Specify whether you need frontend, backend, or full-stack expertise, which frameworks or CMS platforms are involved, and what integrations are required.

Craft job descriptions that attract problem-solvers

Your job description should emphasize the challenges developers will solve, not just list technical requirements. Great developers are motivated by interesting problems and growth opportunities.

Include specific details about your tech stack, project scope, and team structure. Mention whether this is a greenfield project, a legacy system modernization, or ongoing feature development. Be transparent about your timeline and expectations. 

According to SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), 80% of workers in the US are more likely to apply if a job posting has the salary range listed, so consider being upfront about what you are offering.

For comprehensive guidance on writing effective developer job descriptions, check our guide on how to write a developer job description.

Stage 2: Screening and evaluation

Go beyond portfolios with practical assessments

Portfolios show finished products, but they don’t reveal problem-solving approaches or code quality. Our recruiters always recommend asking candidates to complete “a small, real-world task.” 

This approach helps evaluate not only coding skill but how candidates approach problem-solving and clean code principles.

According to HackerRank’s 2025 Developer Skills Report:

Developers overwhelmingly prefer practical coding challenges over theoretical tests. 66% say they’d rather be evaluated on real-world skills, and 96% believe problem-solving should matter more than memorization.

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The assessment can be done as a live-coding exercise or a take-home project that you review together on a call.

Screen for ownership and communication

Technical skills are just the starting point. According to one of our senior tech recruiters, what separates truly excellent developers from the just “okay” ones is their ability to “write clean, scalable, and testable code, and they’re proactive about understanding the broader purpose of their work (business needs or product goals).” 

Look for developers who can “communicate technical decisions clearly with both devs and non-devs.” 

Stage 3: Making the offer and closing the deal

Research local market rates and benefits expectations

Understanding what constitutes a competitive offer in the local market prevents both overpaying and losing candidates to better offers. Salary expectations vary significantly by region, and what seems generous in one market might be below average in another.

Beyond salary, research local benefits that matter to developers in your target region. This might include floating holidays for local celebrations, professional development budgets, or flexible work arrangements that account for different cultural norms around work-life balance.

Working with a specialist recruitment partner can provide invaluable guidance on competitive compensation packages that attract top talent without unnecessary overspending.

Move quickly with competitive offers

The best website developers often have multiple opportunities. According to our recruiting team, one major mistake companies make is having an evaluation process that’s too long. Candidates don’t want to go through multiple technical assessments or extended interview cycles. 

Streamline your process to 2-3 interviews maximum, make decisions quickly, and present competitive offers that reflect the candidate’s skill level and market conditions.

What Are the Top Interview Questions for Hiring Website Developers?

The most revealing interview questions for website developers focus on problem-solving approach, communication skills, and real-world project experience rather than just technical syntax knowledge.

“Walk me through how you would approach building our specific website project from start to finish.”

This open-ended question reveals their development process, from requirements gathering to deployment. Listen for systematic thinking: Do they ask about user needs, technical constraints, and timeline? Do they mention planning, testing, and maintenance phases?

Strong answers demonstrate project management skills and show they understand development as more than just writing code. Red flags include jumping straight to technical implementation without understanding business goals.

“Describe a challenging technical problem you faced recently and how you solved it.”

This question tests both technical depth and problem-solving approach. Look for candidates who can explain complex issues clearly, show they researched multiple solutions, and learned from the experience.

Our recruiter notes that candidates who “avoid talking about mistakes or challenges they faced” often indicate “a lack of experience or self-awareness.” The best developers embrace challenges as learning opportunities.

“How do you typically handle feedback, both positive and negative, from peers or managers?”

This question reveals emotional intelligence and collaboration skills crucial for website projects involving multiple stakeholders. According to our recruiting experience, asking about “feedback they have received” can be “pretty telling” about a candidate’s professionalism and growth mindset.

Strong answers show they value feedback as a growth opportunity and can incorporate suggestions while explaining their technical reasoning when appropriate.

“If you had to debug a website that was loading slowly, what would be your approach?”

Performance optimization is crucial for modern websites. This question tests their systematic debugging approach and knowledge of common performance bottlenecks.

Listen for mentions of tools like browser dev tools, performance monitoring, and specific optimizations like image compression, code minification, or database query optimization. The best candidates will ask clarifying questions about the specific symptoms and user complaints.

“How do you stay current with web development trends and new technologies?”

Web development evolves rapidly, and great developers maintain continuous learning habits. Look for specific resources they use: blogs, courses, conferences, or side projects.

Strong candidates will mention balancing new technology adoption with project stability. They’re curious about innovation but practical about implementation timing.

What Are the Common Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring Website Developers?

The most costly hiring mistakes include prioritizing technical skills over problem-solving ability, underestimating communication requirements, skipping practical assessments, and failing to clarify long-term expectations.

Here are the most frequent pitfalls and how to avoid them:

1. Focusing solely on technical skills while ignoring problem-solving ability

Many companies create extensive technical checklists but forget to evaluate how candidates think through challenges. A developer who knows every JavaScript framework but can’t troubleshoot systematically will struggle with real-world projects.

Instead of just testing syntax knowledge, present actual problems your website faces and see how candidates approach solutions. The best developers combine technical knowledge with logical thinking and resourcefulness.

2. Underestimating the importance of communication skills

Website development involves constant collaboration with designers, stakeholders, and other team members. Developers who can’t explain technical concepts clearly or provide regular progress updates will create project friction.

Pay attention to how candidates communicate during interviews: Do they ask clarifying questions? Can they explain technical decisions in business terms? Are their written responses clear and professional?

3. Skipping or rushing the technical assessment process

It’s tempting to skip practical coding tests when you’re under deadline pressure, but portfolios alone don’t reveal code quality, problem-solving approach, or ability to work with existing systems.

SHRM research reveals that 54% of companies use technical assessments as part of their hiring process, and 78% those that do report an improvement in hire quality.

Always include some form of technical assessment, whether it’s a take-home project or live coding session. This small time investment prevents much larger problems down the road.

5. Not clarifying long-term expectations

Many website projects evolve from simple builds to ongoing development and maintenance. Hiring someone for a “quick project” who isn’t interested in long-term collaboration creates continuity problems.

Be upfront about whether you’re looking for project-based work or ongoing partnership. The best developers often prefer longer-term relationships where they can see projects evolve and grow.

Final Thoughts

You now have a roadmap for finding and hiring website developers who can execute your vision. Whether you choose job boards, freelance platforms, referrals, or recruitment partners, the key is systematic evaluation that goes beyond technical skills to assess problem-solving ability and collaborative fit.

But if your timeline is tight and you need to start interviewing qualified candidates quickly, there’s a faster path forward.

Rather than spending weeks sourcing and screening candidates, you could be interviewing pre-vetted Latin American website developers within days of an initial discussion. These aren’t just any developers. They’re professionals who’ve already been evaluated for technical expertise, communication skills, and experience working with US companies.

The process is straightforward: after a brief conversation about your requirements, you’ll have a kick-off call with one of our recruiters. Then you can interview matched candidates for free. No commitment required. No payment until you make a hire. 

You can run this alongside whatever other sourcing methods you’re considering, giving you a broader view of available talent while potentially finding your ideal developer much faster.

Many companies discover that Latin American developers offer the perfect combination of technical skill, cultural alignment, and cost-effectiveness they didn’t know was possible. 

Book a free consultation call today, and you could be conducting interviews by the end of the week.