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5 Giveaway Signs That It’s Time To Fire Your WordPress Developer

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Sometimes, the time comes for a change – especially in the forever changing world of the internet. Working with someone who is supposed to be developing your website, but not seeing much development?

Then it might be time to consider packing their bags for them!

Sometimes, a web developer can just “lose it” – they might not suit your website style, or they might just come across as the wrong kind of person for your project.

Instead of waiting until they put your profit margins in the ground, though, look out for the following:

Not Knowing What WordPress Can Do

When your website developer turns to you and seems a bit…hesitant about WordPress, alarms bells should start ringing.

If they show a blank expression or ask “is it not just a blogging platform?” “what’s Gutenberg?” or “Kinsta WordPress hosting, what’s that?” you might want to get that cardboard box with their things ready.

WordPress is one of the most powerful content management suites on the web, and is the backbone of many websites with immense power and presence.

Latest data shows that WordPress powers 31.8% of all websites on the Internet (source).

The idea that your developer does not know this should be an immediate sign that they should be replaced – it’s common knowledge!

Lack of Facts

Ever find your WordPress developer buying for time when you ask for analytics and progress reports?

Then it might be time to get worried. Any web developer worth their salt can give you an analytics page with a few clicks, or sent over in an email very quickly.

It’s not like they are working offline and need to go and create the analysis themselves. If they are any good at what they do, your site should be collecting this information already.

If it’s not, and the analytics don’t seem to be forthcoming, find someone who can actually show you proof of the ongoing development.

Lack of Contact

Web developers tend to be people who stay out of your face and aren’t going to contact you every day with tidbits and annoying information.

While that’s a good thing, a stay-away web developer could be a web developer who isn’t actually doing anything.

Make sure that they can give you an update at a pre-arranged timeline. Once a week, bi-weekly, once a month, whatever you feel comfortable with.

Just make sure there is a regular level of contact – and ensure that each meeting has something constructive within!

Lack of Passion

You shouldn’t expect your developer to have the same level of passion as you about your website and business. But be on the lookout for the passionless web developer.

That is someone who is passionless, yet fully willing to accept your hard earned money is dangerous combination.

It’s true that some people do it for the money; some do it because they love it. The sweet spot to look out for should be somewhere in middle.

No Competitive Knowledge

The web developer who isn’t name-dropping your competition with fluidity is the web developer worth avoiding.

They should be talking to you about your competition and what they are doing; they should know more than you do about the opposition.

Again, if your web developer seems to lack the facts when it comes to how to compete in your market, it’s time to get a little frustrated.

If they aren’t producing strategies to win the day against your competitors, then why are you even paying them?

Get that organized and you can soon find that life becomes far more pleasant and comfortable from a marketing perspective.

Web development isn’t something you should just put off or leave them to do alone – get involved and find out if they are really worth the payments you make!

Where to hire a new web developer?

Okay so maybe you made the tough decision to axe your developer, but where do you find a new WordPress developer to work with?

The best and most cost effective route to take is to look for freelancers and contact the ones you think would be best for your project.

Sites like Upwork, Guru and Freelancer are good marketplaces to find freelancers to work with.

The pros of using freelancers are cost and convenience. You can usually search for freelancers that fit your price range for a wide variety of tasks and manage them in one place. You can also post job listings on many of these networks for free.

The cons of using freelancers are quality and there’s too much choice. Freelancer sites usually have hundreds of thousands of freelancers for you to filter through. And you will likely find that you get what you pay for. If you hire based on getting the lowest price you find, then you will probably get that level of quality.

Are you seeing the red flags? Then now it’s the time to break up with your web developer.

About the author

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Matt Ahlgren

Matt is the co-founder of WebsiteHostingRating.com and an expert web developer who writes Hostgator review and web host comparisons. When not at work, he enjoys spending time with his family and taking his pug for a walk.