In the competitive tech world, it can be hard to find reliable, trustworthy, talented, and transparent teams to handle your project effectively. That is why, in this guide, we give you all the insights you need to hear before hiring the next developers to handle your project in a professional manner. Keep reading for valuable insights.

The different types of websites where you can hire developers

The websites for hiring top developers are divided into three main categories. The variations depend on:

• Costs of web/app development project
• Quality of the final results
• The hiring procedures

Once you understand the different models, you can compare the nature and requirements of your development project and then select the appropriate website to hire developers. The three categories of websites you can hire developers from include:

• Order-based websites

These are online marketplaces dedicated to helping technical and creative freelancers sell their services and make money. They focus mainly on small projects for specific skills. Any freelancer can easily register and join order-based websites and start applying for jobs. With this in mind, you cannot be guaranteed great quality since you aren’t sure of the expert levels of freelancers from order-based websites.

• Bidding Websites

Bidding websites work in a similar manner as applying for jobs traditionally. As a client, you simply post your app or web app development project, stating all the details, requirements, and price tags. Different freelancer, therefore, bid or apply to your job post, describing their capabilities, knowledge, and how they plan to make your project turn out successful. Although you can review the freelancer’s past history on similar projects, you can’t be sure of the final results.

Besides, most expert developers are rarely on bidding platforms because of the competitive space on the bidding websites. The goal of expert developers is to find premium projects that will align with their expertise and knowledge in the field of app/web development.

Since these platforms depend heavily on reviews from past clients, it is not an appropriate way to measure and vet the skills of the developers. Examples of bidding platforms are Guru and Upwork.

• Premium Tech Talent Networks

These are vetted websites where only pro developers are found. Many clients will opt for this model because they will save time and get high-quality results, but it is costly. Besides, many developers prefer this model because they get a chance to grow their network with other pro developers, thus opening doors to more premium projects.

The core value of a premium tech talent network is to enhance the success of the project. Clients save themselves the time to interview or screen other developers with the hope of landing top talents.

When you post your job, the main concern of such platforms is to strategize and plan how to connect you with developers who will meet the requirements of your project.

You can hire developers from a numerous of sites include Aalpha, UpWork, Toptal and many other.

Premium developer websites such as Aalpha, Toptal, and UpWork fall under this head.

Things to consider before selecting the appropriate platform to hire developers

Every platform where you can hire developers has a set of benefits and pitfalls. You only need to ensure you select a platform that will ensure the success of the project within the set timeline.

Therefore, before you select a platform to hire developers from, consider the tips below:

• Quality matters a lot

Budget aside, clients will always prioritize quality. Despite the magnitude of the project, clients will always opt for premium talent websites that will enhance the growth of their business.

• Short & budgeted project

If your project isn’t that huge and complex and you are on a tight budget, there is no need to opt for premium tech talent networks. In such cases, bidding websites like Fiverr, Guru, and Upwork will come in handy.

In such platforms, you are likely to get freelancers who are willing to handle your project within your budget. However, before signing a contract and starting the project, make sure you screen the candidates well to get a perfect match for your project.

• Longer and more affordable projects

When your project is quite complex, but you want to maintain your budget, it might be hard to get top developers from premium websites. Therefore, the only option will be bidding websites as well. You will get beginner developer freelancers intermediate, and expert freelancers in these platforms.

It will be up to you to bargain and explain the project’s dynamics during the interview process to ensure you get a perfect match. However, good quality isn’t guaranteed here because you will only rely on what the freelancer has to say and their past reviews on similar tasks. You might not be able to see a clear picture of what such freelancers can offer until you sign a contract with them.

Nonetheless, if you have adequate time, you can take your time to check portfolios, past projects, and what other clients have to say. You might end up getting a top-notch developer on such platforms.

Still, when your project is longer with a set budget, you can also try premium websites and negotiate your price. You can get a team that will handle your project effectively with flexible payment plans.

Types of Developers: Full Stack, Frontend, Backend

Before we look into the best websites to find top developers for a startup, let’s explore the different types of developers depending on their roles and expertise. Ideally, we have frontend, backend, and full stack developers, all with their unique roles and expertise. Below is a full description of each:

Frontend developers– these are experts who specialize in building the best user interfaces and user experience. Their core focus is on layout, design, and interactivity. In this case, you will need to hire a frontend developer if your project needs an intuitive user interface for a streamlined user experience.

Backend developers – these are experts specialized in building the behind of a system, ensuring the app functions well. They handle application logic, servers, and databases. They are responsible for developing strong systems that are highly scalable and adaptable to digital solutions.

Full stack developers – Now, these are expert developers with both frontend and backend skills and expertise. They can handle both sides, thus building an app from the start until they complete the process. Full-stack developers are the best options for startups with limited budgets and resources.

Top Websites to Hire Developers

Are you ready to hire developers for your project? Try the following top websites to hire developers for your startup.

• Aalpha

Aalpha is the best platform to hire developers, an Indian-based tech company dedicated to offering a wide range of tech services. The company has been working and delivering tech-related products and services for over ten years now. You will get chance to hire a highly experienced developers with years of experience to deliver the mobile app, software, and web development services, among many other tech services. Importantly, you can hire developers starting at $20 per hour for your upcoming projects.

• Upwork

Upwork has been in the limelight for a couple of years. Today, Upwork is among the biggest and most popular freelance marketplaces for bidding platforms. The platform isn’t specifically defined for developers. It offers other job requirements and different niches.

As for the costings, the main focus relies on the volume of the project. As freelancers, they can bid from $8 – $100 per hour. This depends on the nature of the project and the experience level of the developers. It can even be more depending on the location of the freelancers.

• Hubstaff Talent

Hubstaff Talent is dedicated to giving clients a platform to check and verify freelancer profiles so that they can connect to the best matches directly. The processes are straightforward, and freelancers only need to sign up to become members. With Hubstaff Talent, you cannot be able to measure the quality of the work after working with the freelancers. Both clients and freelancers can sign up for free.

• Guru

When Guru was set up in 1998, the main goal was to help freelancers find one-time projects that have a short time frame. However, the platform has now transformed, and it now offers other services such as design, admin, and accounting, among others, unlike before, where it was only for developers.

Today, Guru has a wide range of freelancers from across the world. Just like Upwork, the platform doesn’t have a clear vetting process but offers a review feature to enable clients to evaluate past projects on freelancer profiles. Therefore, when using Guru to get your next developer, take adequate time to ensure you get the right development partner.

The price varies in the case of Guru. You can get low-cost developers who will still deliver quality work.

• Toptal

This is yet another premium freelance platform offering financial consultation, design, product management, and project management services. The platform has a wide pool of expert developers as it has a thorough screening process to ensure only top talents who meet the set criteria join the platform. Therefore, as a client, you can be sure of quality with Toptal.

Toptal is quite pricy because of the high commission rates. It ranges from $80 to $200 per hour.

• Fiverr

Fiverr is the best place to hire developers for small projects and mostly one-time projects. Fiverr offers many services, and as a client, you can get services from app development, voice-overs, logo, and design, among many others.

Under the platform, freelancers are known as sellers, and the selling price can range from $5 – $995, depending on the magnitude of the project.

The platform has a seller-level feature that helps clients evaluate the freelancer’s progress in terms of performance and quality of previously done tasks.

• Dice

Dice is another platform where you can get expert developers, cybersecurity engineers, data engineers, and system engineers, among many other tech specialists.

With millions of members, the platform is a sure space to connect with top developers for your startup project.

The Dice platform boasts a seamless navigation process, allowing you to access the platform, create your unique job post, and engage skilled developers until you get the perfect team that aligns with your job requirements.

After you get a list of your qualified professionals, you can go a step further and evaluate their potential by reviewing their resumes using the platform’s advanced match score feature. The next step after reviewing resumes and selecting your ideal candidates is the interview process, then hiring and onboarding your new developers.

• Stack Overflow

While Stack Overflow is a community-based platform known better for connecting developers, both experienced and beginners, to contribute to project development questions, it also has a section for posting jobs. Upcoming developers get to learn more from this platform, while project owners who are seeking developers can also get experienced and highly skilled experts from this platform.

In your job post, you can give comprehensive details of the type of developer you are searching for, and the platform’s search feature will match the right developer according to your project needs. The platform has advanced search features, making it easy to filter out the search option based on location, tech background, and budget preference.

With hundreds of thousands of visitors per month, the platform has an active community contributing every day to software and app development questions, emerging technologies, and software development practices, making it easy for you to get that expert developer for your project.

• Gun.io

Gun.io is another platform that helps business owners find the best developers either on augmented hiring, freelance hiring, or full-time hiring. The platform has a strict vetting process, ensuring only expert and skilled developers join the platform for quality service delivery.

When vetting those joining the platform, Gun.io gives a set of coding tasks and also collects developer details from previous employers. With over 20,000 professional developers, opting for Gun.io will help you connect with the best professionals, thus streamlining your hiring process.

When using the platform, you get a chance to post your job for free. However, when you hire full-time developers from the platform, you pay a 15% fee of the hired developer’s annual salary.

• Digitalogy

Digitalogy is a platform that connects businesses with experts in the software development field. With thorough vetting and screening processes, the platform only accommodates developers who can deliver the best services. Although using the platform attracts premium pricing, you are guaranteed to access skilled experts in the game who will take your project to the next level.

• Hired

Hired is a platform that will match a suitable candidate according to your business requirements using data-driven algorithms. Hired is an ideal platform for startups searching for long term developers, especially since it prioritizes proper matching techniques by offering personalized recommendations and transparency salary details.

However, the platform has some limitations since it only focuses on full-time jobs and is limited to specific regions.

• GitHub Jobs

GitHub boasts a large and active community of developers, making it easy to connect startups with the required tech experts. While it is a developer-focused platform, you must be proactive when searching for professional developers from the platform.

Some top benefits of using GitHub include a solid and reliable developer community, access to expert developers, and access to a wider tech-savvy community.

The main challenge you will face when using GitHub is the lack of advanced search features, making it acomplex process to get the needed developer for a project.

• AngelList

Another perfect platform to get developers for startups is AngelList. Through the platform, you can easily connect with developers who have a better understanding of startup challenges, solutions, and opportunities to accelerate business growth.

Some of the top benefits of AngelList are access to reliable developers and its focus on startups. However, the challenges or limitations of using the platform are stiff competition to get top talents and the fact that it is limited to the startup ecosystem only.

Step-by-step hiring the best developers

Once you verify you need expert developers for your project, the next phase is to initiate the search process. However, without proper planning, you may end up getting developers who might fail to deliver as you anticipate. Below is a process to follow to ensure you get that qualified developer who will meet your project needs:

• Define your business requirements

Different startups have different needs; hence, they might require different developers. In this case, do a careful analysis of your project dynamics to get everything clear. In fact, you can work with an expert who understands the software and app development field to help you in the planning process.

Think of why you need an expert developer in the first place. Is it to develop a new app or an MVP? Do you need Android or iOS developers? What is the nature of the website you need? What roles will developers play in actualizing your project?

These are among the many questions you should ask before you proceed to search for professional developers for your startup.

This is because you might have the required tech expertise in your team; however, the team might lack some needed skills and understanding of specific technologies that play a vital role in completing your project.

Once you draft a comprehensive list of your project requirements, go to the next step.

• Choose an ideal employment model

With the business requirements highlighted, figure out the employment model. This depends on your development project type, which can be a small project or a complex idea. Below are common employment models you can consider in this case:

• Project-based model – ideal when handling a small project, where you let the outsourced team handle the project from the start to the end. In this case, you pay the development team a fixed price once they complete the project. Again, use this model if your project has well-defined job requirements that won’t change overtime.
• Dedicated team model – ideal for projects with well-defined requirements, hence hiring a team that will focus exclusively on your project until completion, hence the name dedicated team. The development team will handle the project on predefined timelines. This model allows flexibility where you can communicate your views and concepts to the development teams as you collect valuable feedback for proper project implementation.
• Staff augmentation/extended team – this model works when you have an in-house team but have some gaps in tech expertise. In this case, you will need to hire the missing expertise to make your in-house team complete. The in-house team takes charge of the project processes, while the augmented team works s an extension of your in-house team.

• Decide the region you want to hire from

When hiring developers for your startup, you need to hire from the right region, ensuring everything flows seamlessly. While some countries are cheaper, you need to factor in elements such as time zone differences and language barriers. Of course, communication is key in ensuring the project moves in the right direction. In this case, perform a quick search, do comparisons, and select the ideal region you want to source your developers from.

• Start the search process

At this point, you already have your project requirements defined, you have decided on the engagement model, and you have decided on the region or country you need to source developers from. Next, is to initiate the search process. As a startup, you need to ensure the process is less costly but more valuable in the end.

As a startup, you can consider handling the process on your own and start searching from the platforms highlighted in this guide. Consider Aalpha Information Systems for expert services, timely delivery, and high-quality services in the end.

• Shortlist your selected developer experts

Now, start checking the experts based on your job requirements and the region you need to source developers from. This step is simply to verify the teams you select have the potential to handle your project.

In this case, check reviews from previous clients and review projects such developers have handled before, do a comparison, and shortlist the qualified candidates. Go a notch higher and review the candidate’s social media platforms. It will give you some overview of the type of candidate you want to engage with.

Apart from tech expertise, check on soft skills such as are ease to work with others, flexibility, good communications, and adaptability, among many others. Communication should be smooth, plus there should be a common communication channel connecting you all for a streamlined workflow.

• Conduct interviews

With your shortlisted list, do in depth interviews to ensure the candidate you pick is right for the position. You can only verify the tech expertise and soft skills capabilities through comprehensive interviews. At this stage, you will drop other candidates, ensuring you remain with the most qualified one in relation to your job requirements.

Make sure you have a set of valuable questions related to your job needs and long-term goals. With the interviews completed, you will now remain with one final candidate. You can now proceed to the next step.

• Sign contract

At this point, you have all the project requirements in alignment and you have already selected your qualified candidate. However, before you begin the collaboration, make sure you sign a contract that will safeguard your project details in all aspects.

• Start the job

With the candidate selection over and the signing of contracts, you can now give the new candidate the job and start working together. Make sure everything is in place, including communication measures, project requirements, and any other aspect touching on your project at large.

Factors to consider when hiring expert developers

Hiring an expert developer who will deliver according to your project needs. With many developers available on different platforms offering competitive services, you can get challenged along the process. However, the factors shared below will help you choose and settle with a qualified developer who will deliver according to your business objectives:

• Good communication skills – communication between the project owner and the developer is vital. The developer needs to understand the dynamics of the project, including the technical terms used in such cases. Besides, a good developer should be able to respond to questions promptly, ensuring they get the whole concept in a clear manner.
• Cultural fit – choose a developer who will blend with your company’s culture seamlessly. This will foster a productive and motivating working environment.
• Technical skills – apart from good communication skills and cultural fitness, you need to evaluate the technical skills of your developer. How well does the developer understand the technologies used in software and app development? Is the developer flexible enough to use different technical approaches to achieve a specific target? You can prove this by reviewing the developer’s past projects and previous client’s reviews.
• Problem-solving skills – this is another soft skill you should look into when searching for a developer for your startup. In case of an unexpected scenario, how will the developer resolve the issue and save the situation to ensure project completion? Make sure you hire a developer who can troubleshoot any technical issues that may arise when the project is on.
• Availability – factor in the availability of the developer, especially the time zones. You need to hire someone you can easily access when you need updates or when you need to make some requirements clear. Besides, you need a developer who can meet the set deadlines, and this means active communication between the parties involved.
• Budget – when hiring a developer for your startup, there are costs involved. In this case, you need to hire a developer who matches your budget without affecting the quality of services needed. Do some industry research and compare the prizes, both hourly and fixed price rates, to ensure you settle with a professional who will deliver quality work without exploiting you financially.
• Legal & Contract requirements – Before you onboard and start your engagement, make sure you sign legal documents such as the NDA. This document discloses payment terms, confidentiality agreements, and any other relevant agreement that will bind the two parties involved.

Conclusion

Finding the developers can be a hard task, especially if your project is quite urgent. However, there are best website to hire developers where you can seek help and land your next team of developers. Have you tried any of the above suggestions? Reach out to Aalpha Information Systems, India, for all of your web or app development projects.

Want to hire dedicated developers for your project? Feel free to connect with us today!