Choosing the Right PHP Developers for your website
PHP has changed the face of internet marketing. This revolutionary open source language has brought about radical changes in the lives of internet marketers, offering ease of operation, flexibility, increased scalability, all at a reduced operational cost. It would be apt to say that PHP is the best thing that happened to online vendors.
With that being said about PHP, it is needless to say that PHP developers are in great demand as more and more companies are switching over to PHP scripts for their websites. Since PHP is easy to learn and is in great demand, a lot of people are choosing it as their career option. Almost all PHP coders work as freelance developers are ready to offer their services at economical rates.
Now, it goes without saying that not all of them might be as bright and knowledgeable as the others. If you want to pick out the best PHP developer from the lot, you need to look at certain criteria. The best PHP coder can breathe new life in to your website, increase it’s speed and improve your conversion rate. It is in the power of a PHP developer to make the website visually attractive, retain the visitor’s interest in the website, make it easy to browse through, and thus bring in more revenues. Therefore you need to be extra careful to choose the right person so as to get the best possible output at reasonable price. Creating a dynamic website is not as easy as you might think, therefore you need to observe the following steps to choose the right PHP developer for your website. Here’s a list:
Ø Has the freelancer developed a dynamic website before? Can he provide reference and reviews of the previous work done?
Ø If the PHP developer has provided website addresses, it is best to validate his claims by speaking to the website owner. If he has previous reviews on online portals, you can check them too, to know what his previous employers opine about his work, his ability to meet the deadlines, his readiness to cooperate and do revisions, should the need arise.
Ø If the programmer is new, but looks promising to you, ask him to demonstrate his skills on a small project. You may give him a sample project to understand his level of expertise. Ideally, your programmer should have at least 3 to 4 years of experience to get the best results.
Ø Ask the PHP coder about his previous experience. Has he designed a website from scratch, is he comfortable to use some of your existing applications and create an interface between two or more applications?
Ø Check if the coder alone had been responsible for the websites he developed or has he always worked as one of the team members
Ø What is the total experience of the programmer
Ø What other languages is he proficient with in addition to PHP. A good programmer should be proficient in more than one languages, such as Oracle, MySql, Ajax, Java scripts etc
Ø Check if the developer has a staging server. A staging server is similar to a test server. The advantage of having a stage server is that you will be able to test check the work completed by the coder and also keep a track on the day to day progress.
Ø Ask the coder about his runtime. With PHP, it is not like the other languages. So, you need to look out for a coder that has the track record of offering code scripts with optimum results within minimal run time.
Ø With more and more people turning to internet for purchases, online crimes are increasing at an alarming rate. If you have an online store and expect financial transactions taking place on your website, you need to ensure that your codes are not hacked. This is not just for the security of your financial transactions, but also to retain the trust of your customers in your website. So, a good coder should certainly be affluent with the good coding practices. He should have mastery in making full use of the security enabled features in his script.
Ø If you are entrusting the work of your website to a web development company, then ask if they would be allocating a dedicated personnel to handle the task. It is always better to have dedicated personnel, as he can be directly held responsible for the progress and the coding of your website.
Ø If you are choosing a freelancer from the online portals, you need to ask the freelancer at the onset if he is going to sub lease the work.
Ø You need to specify the entire requirements of your website at the onset. Try to be as transparent as possible and describe the exact scope of work to the coder. This will help him to quote appropriate price for the project. Of course, you can always have additional requirements as the project progresses, and you can sort it out with the programmer. But, being transparent infuses trust in both the parties and ensures that you enjoy a smooth work relationship. This is very much essential for the success of a project.
Ø Clarify the payment terms with the coder. Would he be charging on hourly rate basis, weekly rate basis, or for the entire project? Ideally, ask them the cost for the entire project, so that you can get quotations from several users, and compare the price offered by several programmers. Remember, most PHP developers would be ready to work for you at lowest price, but the best service may not be available at the cheapest rate. So, go through all of the above mentioned points and then do the cost benefit analysis to hire the best talent. Sometimes, it is prudent to spend a few extra bucks in the long run interest of your business.
The above are just a few guidelines to help you select a good PHP developer. Remember, a good coder can make all the difference to your website and your business.
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