How to Find a Skilled Wordpress Developer to ensure that your website has Long-Term Success

A WordPress website is more than a digital brochure. It is a living, evolving part of your business. Choosing the right developer is not only about getting your site launched. It is about ensuring it continues to run smoothly, securely, and efficiently for years to come.

If you are trying to decide whether or not that your company should use WordPress at all, here is an article that will help with that.

If you have decided that you want a WordPress website built for your company, but you, yourself, don’t know much about websites and don’t know what to look for in a WordPress developer, you have come to the right place. This article will break down all of the things you should do to find the best WordPress developer for your company’s website.

Look for Proven Troubleshooting Skills

When issues arise, you need a developer who can diagnose and fix them quickly. Ask potential candidates for examples of problems they have solved in the past. The best developers will be able to explain their approach in plain language and outline how they prevent similar issues from happening again.

Make Sure They Have Programming Knowledge

Not every WordPress developer is a true programmer. Some rely solely on prebuilt themes and page builders, which limits flexibility. Your developer should understand CSS, PHP, and JavaScript so they can adapt to any situation. This skill set allows them to customize features, create unique designs, and solve problems that cannot be fixed with a plugin alone.

A knowledgeable developer can work with any theme or build a completely custom one when needed, instead of only purchasing pre-made themes.

Insist on Custom Theme Capability

Many themes purchased from online marketplaces are bloated with unnecessary features that slow down your site. They often include dozens of preloaded elements that you will never use and that can conflict with plugins or break over time. As WordPress evolves, these prebuilt themes may not keep pace with updates, leaving you with outdated or even insecure elements. A developer who can design and build a custom theme from scratch ensures your site includes only what you need. This approach improves performance, security, and long-term maintainability.

Make sure they can work in different builders and frameworks

A versatile developer should not be tied to a single page builder or theme framework. They should be comfortable working in different builders and also know how to create websites that are easy for clients to update on their own. It is okay if your developer has a builder preference (assuming it is a good one), but if they can ONLY work in one specific builder, that is a red flag.

For example, let’s say you want things added to your WordPresss website or you want the “look” and “feel” brought up to date. You find a WordPress developer but they insist that the whole website needs to be rebuilt using an external builder. This is where you need to step back and find out what the reasoning is. If your current website cannot update PHP or plugins are no longer running because your theme is broken, then maybe it does need to be rebuilt. In this case, the developer should have valid reaons and provide evidence.

If the developer just wants to switch to a certain builder because that is where they want to work and they can’t give you a logical explanation, you should probably find a different developer.

Some WordPress “developers” aren’t developers at all. They know how to use certain themes that have builders and they know how to ONLY work within those systems inside WordPress. They are not the “WordPress Developer” you want for a website that requires long-term growth.

Evaluate Their Knowledge of Best Practices

A skilled WordPress developer will follow industry standards for coding, security, SEO and performance. This includes writing clean code, keeping plugins and themes updated, and optimizing your site for speed, search engines and mobile responsiveness. Ask how they handle security measures such as regular backups, malware scans, and safe plugin selection.

Assess Their Communication and Availability

Technical skill alone is not enough. You want a developer who can clearly explain what they are doing and why it matters. Make sure they are easy to reach when needed and that they offer support options for the future. Reliable communication is essential when urgent issues appear.

Check Their Portfolio and References

A portfolio can tell you a lot about a developer’s range and style. Look for a varying sense of style and work in different industries. If you find a developer that is only working for one type of industry, you may want to look further.

Think Beyond the Launch Date

The real test of a WordPress developer begins after the site is live. Make sure the person you hire offers maintenance plans or is available for on-demand support. A site that is built well from the start and maintained properly will save you time, money, and stress in the long run.

Finding the right developer may take a little extra research, but the payoff is worth it. By choosing someone who can troubleshoot effectively, has true programming knowledge, can create custom themes, and builds with best practices, you will set your website up for lasting success.