The Pros and Cons of Hiring a Remote WordPress Developer
Every business today needs a website. While this could’ve been considered optional a few years ago, it’s not the case today. For many, WordPress is considered the best. It’s open source and allows you to create a multitude of different websites, from simple portfolios and blogs to even full-fledged e-commerce stores. However, building, running, and maintaining a WordPress website is no easy task and often requires a dedicated WordPress developer.
If you’re in the market to hire a WordPress developer and are debating the pros and cons of hiring a freelancer rather than someone on your payroll, this guide will give you all the information you need to make the best hiring decision.
What is the Role of a WordPress Developer?
Simply put, the role of a WordPress developer involves building, maintaining, and solving any problems that come with the prolonged use of a WordPress website. Aside from the WordPress platform, they can also utilize programming languages such as HTML.
These developers can also be front-end or back-end developers and sometimes even full-stack developers. They’re responsible for ensuring that your audiences have a seamless experience on your website, thereby helping you increase traffic and conversions.
The Benefits of Hiring a Remote WordPress Developer
Let’s take a look at the various benefits of hiring a remote WordPress developer.
1. Access to a Global Talent Pool
The very first advantage of considering hiring a remote WordPress developer is that you get access to a global talent pool rather than one limited to your city or state in general. This can be particularly helpful if you need talent with expertise in a specific aspect of the WordPress platform.
For instance, if you have a back-end developer and need to hire a front-end developer, hiring a remote worker can often help fill in those shoes well.
2. Helps Reduce Costs
Another key advantage of hiring a remote WordPress developer, particularly if they’re a freelancer, is that it helps you cut down on various costs. These include the costs of providing them with office space, a laptop or computer, or any other equipment they may need, insurance, pensions, and their total monthly or annual salaries.
It also cuts done on costs related to the hiring process, such as those finding candidates, interviewing, and more.
3. Helps Reduce Work For the Human Resources Department
Not having to go through the entire hiring process for someone on your payroll can also help save time for your organization’s Human Resources department, thereby offering them more time to focus on other aspects of their roles. These could include employee welfare, ensuring compliance with company policies, and so on.
4. Offers Businesses an Opportunity to Ensure Diversity
Diversity often makes for a healthier workplace and offers employees the chance to interact with people from different backgrounds and learn from a new set of perspectives. A diverse team has also proven to be better at making decisions and generating higher revenue. A study shows that a diverse team can help increase revenue by 19%.
The Downsides of Hiring a Remote WordPress Developer
Now, let’s take a look at the downsides of hiring a remote WordPress developer for your business.
1. Inconsistency Due to a Difference in Time Zones
The first downside of hiring a remote WordPress developer is that it could lead to inconsistency in the process of developing a website, especially if they’re in a different time zone. This can often lead to a disconnect in communication and stifle the ability of the developer to collaborate with their team in real time.
This could also potentially become an issue if there’s a problem that requires immediate attention and the developer isn’t available to rectify it due to a difference in their work hours.
2. Limited Knowledge About Your Product and Its Scope
While an organization can explain every aspect of its business model, goals, and requirements to a remote developer, the chances of them fully understanding the necessary nuances can often be a challenge.
Someone who works in-house, on the other hand, sees how the organization and its team function on a daily basis and can thus align themselves based on its needs.
3. The Possibility of Miscommunication
While the digital world has done wonders in terms of connecting people from all across the world, communication online can often take the wrong turn. Without a physical human presence, several details and nuances can often be lost in translation or interpretation, leading to the developer being unable to understand what’s expected of them.
On the flip side, it can also lead to a situation where a team leader or another member is unable to explain a certain requirement to the developer as they would otherwise have been able to do in person.
4. The Challenge of Managing a Remote Team
Last but not least, monitoring a remote team can often be challenging. When employees work in-house, managers typically find it easy to ensure maximum efficiency and productivity, but this ability is limited when dealing with remote employees.
On the employee’s part, the lack of a co-working atmosphere with other colleagues can often lead to a lack of motivation while also leading them to be increasingly distracted.
Solutions to the Challenges of Hiring a Remote WordPress Developer
While the challenges mentioned above might seem like a dealbreaker, it must be noted that each of them has solutions, and your decision to hire a WordPress developer can immensely benefit your business.
Let’s have a look at the following tips to tackle the challenges of remote hiring:
- The challenges caused by a difference in time zones can be eliminated by adopting an Agile methodology, where all events and tasks are planned with the time differences factored in, thereby enduring work progresses efficiently.
- Remote employees can be thoroughly briefed on what your organization specializes in, its product offerings, and its short and long-term goals to help them understand your vision.
- The challenges to clear communication can be resolved using tools like Slack or making use of video conferencing technology via apps like Google Meet or Zoom.
- The difficulty associated with managing a remote team can be alleviated using a cloud-based model. Regular check-ins or stand-ups can also be a great way of ensuring that both the organization and the developer are aligned on their goals for the day or the week.
In Conclusion
As you can see, hiring a remote WordPress developer can have several benefits, including, but not limited to, reduced costs, access to a wider talent pool, ensuring diversity, and more. While there is also a fair share of challenges, the solutions to these are easy to implement with the tools available today.
Hiring the right WordPress developer is crucial to ensuring your brand meets its targets and builds a better reputation for itself in an over-saturated marketplace. We hope this guide helps you make an informed decision.
