You seem to simplify the process quite a lot, I've spent at least $40.000 in 2018 on Upwork for different coding projects, be it backend, frontend, design & features/fixes from a few different developers.
I don't know if OP cares to elaborate more on his experiences, but then I will to at least provide some value in this thread.
A bit info to get a perspective, my company has done €790K in revenue and around €300.000 in profits in 2018. (Any admin please PM me for proof of Stripe account.)
When I first started to outsource for my project in this time 2017 I hadn't hired anyone on Upwork before for anything bigger than getting a logo done.
I have a little experience in coding websites, so I tried to pull on that.
You will get a lot of people applying for your jobs if its for website creation of any kind or other PHP, HTML, CSS projects.
You will experience very different ratings and even those with really good ratings are not always that good at their job and will do a quick job but have quite some flaws that they will not really care to fix that fast if you insist on getting it fixed.
When you hire for backend projects, like PHP parts of your website (login functionality, payment processing functionality etc.) what I always do is ask if they are familiar with working API's and which kind of API's they have worked with.
As an API is very basic part of coding a website with some kind of functionality e.g. payment processor or Google maps on the bottom of your website, you will quickly be able to read from their answers how much experience they have. They will most likely all say yes but some will say e.g. 'worked with Google maps & Stripe' and some will put a whole list of different softwares, some being very advanced, whereas you can get a good picture of their experience level, even if you are not familiar with coding. (Look up the software/websites that they say they have worked with the API's from.)
Another question I generally ask is HOW they document their code (not IF they do it). This way you will also get rid of those doing very quick and messy code, as those who answer in a way you feel fit will be able to document the code.
Even as a non-coder, you want to be able to navigate your own backend just a little bit to fix simple text etc. and not have a completely messed up folder structure. Think of a website like your desktop on your computer, as it is basically just files in folders - you want to be able to navigate somewhat.
Ask/see what websites they have made/worked on. Go to the websites and find a phone number. Honestly just don't give a shit and call the owner/company of the website and ask who developed it. If they say 'we can't say', then ask if its that guy who claims to have, and they might say 'yes'. You will naturally feel if the upwork freelancer is bullshitting you or really made some great websites.
Keep in mind I would do this just with a few freelancers after you sort through the questions you ask them.
I usually add 1-2 more questions depending on the project, but it depends.
I hope some of you can benefit from the insight.
Not trying to hijack the thread, but the answer was very vague and it would be a waste of thread not to have some kind of value in here.
Feel free to ask any questions, but no PM questions - ask them in the thread so everyone can benefit.
I don't know if OP cares to elaborate more on his experiences, but then I will to at least provide some value in this thread.
A bit info to get a perspective, my company has done €790K in revenue and around €300.000 in profits in 2018. (Any admin please PM me for proof of Stripe account.)
When I first started to outsource for my project in this time 2017 I hadn't hired anyone on Upwork before for anything bigger than getting a logo done.
I have a little experience in coding websites, so I tried to pull on that.
You will get a lot of people applying for your jobs if its for website creation of any kind or other PHP, HTML, CSS projects.
You will experience very different ratings and even those with really good ratings are not always that good at their job and will do a quick job but have quite some flaws that they will not really care to fix that fast if you insist on getting it fixed.
When you hire for backend projects, like PHP parts of your website (login functionality, payment processing functionality etc.) what I always do is ask if they are familiar with working API's and which kind of API's they have worked with.
As an API is very basic part of coding a website with some kind of functionality e.g. payment processor or Google maps on the bottom of your website, you will quickly be able to read from their answers how much experience they have. They will most likely all say yes but some will say e.g. 'worked with Google maps & Stripe' and some will put a whole list of different softwares, some being very advanced, whereas you can get a good picture of their experience level, even if you are not familiar with coding. (Look up the software/websites that they say they have worked with the API's from.)
Another question I generally ask is HOW they document their code (not IF they do it). This way you will also get rid of those doing very quick and messy code, as those who answer in a way you feel fit will be able to document the code.
Even as a non-coder, you want to be able to navigate your own backend just a little bit to fix simple text etc. and not have a completely messed up folder structure. Think of a website like your desktop on your computer, as it is basically just files in folders - you want to be able to navigate somewhat.
Ask/see what websites they have made/worked on. Go to the websites and find a phone number. Honestly just don't give a shit and call the owner/company of the website and ask who developed it. If they say 'we can't say', then ask if its that guy who claims to have, and they might say 'yes'. You will naturally feel if the upwork freelancer is bullshitting you or really made some great websites.
Keep in mind I would do this just with a few freelancers after you sort through the questions you ask them.
I usually add 1-2 more questions depending on the project, but it depends.
I hope some of you can benefit from the insight.
Not trying to hijack the thread, but the answer was very vague and it would be a waste of thread not to have some kind of value in here.
Feel free to ask any questions, but no PM questions - ask them in the thread so everyone can benefit.