Hiring someone to build your website, app, or tool is a real leap of trust, especially if you're not technical yourself. You can't always judge the code, but you can judge how someone works. Here's what to look for.
Look for someone who asks questions
The best early sign is curiosity about your actual goal. A developer who jumps straight to a price without understanding what you're trying to do is guessing. The one who asks what success looks like is the one who'll build the right thing.
Questions worth asking
- How do you scope and price a project?
- What happens after launch, and are you around for it?
- Can I see work you've done that's similar to mine?
- Who owns the code and the accounts when we're done?
- How, and how often, will I hear from you while you build?
Red flags
- Vague pricing you can't get a straight answer on
- No curiosity about your business or your customers
- Won't show past work, or it's all templates
- Goes quiet between messages
- Builds it so only they can ever touch it
Green flags
- Honest about tradeoffs, including when something isn't worth doing
- Clear, steady communication so you always know where things stand
- Sticks around after launch for the tweaks and the next thing
- Comfortable owning it end to end, and comfortable handing it back
None of this requires you to understand code. It's really about whether someone is honest, communicative, and genuinely trying to help. That's most of the job.