Quality App Developers (Freelancers)?

[GetShitDone]

Hey guys,

I'm starting a 2nd company and need a dev(s) to create some tech.

What are your tips on getting quality developers on UpWork/eLance?

I'm looking for a developer to develop a web app and mobile (web) app.

Any experiences and tips on finding quality on these freelancer sites?

 

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[ReubenA]

have a good developer interview candidates for you. It's really the only way.

 

[PatrickWho]

If you have the $$ go for a dev that is eager to learn and has good experience taking an entire project from start to finish.

That dev should be comfortable creating the app and deploying it somewhere, managing a server on a service like DigitialOcean or AWS. You'll also need someone with the wisdom to help you choose solutions that will save you time / money without hurting you later -- someone that can iterate on ideas quickly so you get updates to your users to test and act on feedback. This is consistent with an 'agile' approach to software development.

Will your app require user management / authentication, recurring billing with Stripe or Braintree? There are packages out there that will save you thousands in dev cost - Spark

For Laravel Spark you'll need someone familiar with Laravel and JavaScript. The Laravel dev community is a tight one, so you shouldn't have a problem finding a great dev by posting on LaraJobs or using the #laravel hash on Twitter to ask for recommendations.

If you need something that is more realtime (like a chat app) that won't be a great solution. You'd have to look into using a NodeJS backend.

Are you able to share more info here? I'll offer the best advice I can that can help you vet a developer.

 

[100k]

have a good developer interview candidates for you. It's really the only way.

Great..... now how do you find a good developer to interview candidates for you?

And don't say hire a good coder to help you recruit a good developer to help you hire a good developer to program for you.

 

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[PatrickWho]

Try contacting the organizer for your local JavaScript meetup. They may know someone personally that they can recommend. I think you'd be more comfortable with the process if you're able to speak face to face with someone local. You're more likely to get burned hiring off Upwork / Freelancer.com

If the local JS meetup doesn't yield any fruit, try contacting a local college / university to see how you can recruit a student. Some students are keen to build a portfolio, and if you find one that has experience with what I mentioned in my first reply (AWS, full stack JavaScript), you may work something out.

Don't assume every student will have this experience. I don't think many (any?) post-secondary programs teach that as part of their curriculum. You'll have to find someone that has taken the time to get this experience on their own time.

I hope that helps.

 

[lowtek]

Hire a team with a demonstrable track record. The amount a single coder can accomplish is limited, especially given the rest of the stuff they have going on.

 

[Joaki]

have a good developer interview candidates for you. It's really the only way.

I sort of agree with this.

Every single time I have an encounter with an outsourced freelancer, I wonder how people with no development experience are ever able to get anything of decent quality out of them. If you're looking for the cost effectiveness of a feeelancer and aren't willing to hire a shop with a proven track record, your best bet is to become friends with someone who has development experience and can guide the project (not only interview). Another choice would be to go to a college nearby and try to find students with development experience who are willing to work for equity... although they might not deliver the best work... depending on what you want to build and how advanced of a product you may need before being able to have a more advanced team developing... this could be a good idea.

If you do end up going with freelancers from one of the places you mentioned... make sure you leave very little decision making up to them. Outline exactly what you need and be strict about it.

If you're looking for more specific guidance in terms of your project... pm me if you'd like. I run a mobile app and custom software development firm.

Best of luck!

 

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[TheSilverSpoon]

have a good developer interview candidates for you. It's really the only way.

This. I have hired and managed a LOT of dev work - from overseas agencies, to one-man-bands, to US based agencies. That really is the best way to interview candidates.

Higher ratings and higher job completion numbers can give you a real rough estimate, but you are playing roulette if that is your only metric. One of the best devs I have ever hired had zero reviews, zero job history, and billed out at half the rate of the next cheapest agency.

On the other side of the coin, one of the highest rated and most experienced agencies I worked with needed the most hand holding. Anything that wasn't spelled out in a paint by numbers fashion caused them to fall on their face. We're talking big, critical infrastructure issues that would ultimately have caused the project to not work as intended or not scale at the rate required.

Will your app require user management / authentication, recurring billing with Stripe or Braintree? There are packages out there that will save you thousands in dev cost - Spark

For Laravel Spark you'll need someone familiar with Laravel and JavaScript. The Laravel dev community is a tight one, so you shouldn't have a problem finding a great dev by posting on LaraJobs or using the #laravel hash on Twitter to ask for recommendations.

If you need something that is more realtime (like a chat app) that won't be a great solution. You'd have to look into using a NodeJS backend.

Are you able to share more info here? I'll offer the best advice I can that can help you vet a developer.

This guy knows what he is talking about. For a vast majority of SaaS products, Laravel (and Spark especially) will save you a TON of time and money. The talent pool isn't the largest for Laravel, but it is still far from small.

Great..... now how do you find a good developer to interview candidates for you?

And don't say hire a good coder to help you recruit a good developer to help you hire a good developer to program for you.

Reach out to your network. You should have a friend or a friend of a friend who is worth their salt as a developer. Pay them whatever they need to help you vet a few people.

Hire a team with a demonstrable track record. The amount a single coder can accomplish is limited, especially given the rest of the stuff they have going on.

I've personally had better luck with individual freelancers. With every agency / team we have hired (both US and overseas) we have had trouble with them keeping the same devs on the project. Over the long haul, this means that a boatload of time and money gets spent bringing new devs up to speed on the code base after they have been subbed in.

A single strong dev working 40 hours a week on a new project will be able to accomplish a LOT.