When you’re looking for a capable Laravel developer, it can be hard to know where to look. If you are a non-technical person and you’re needing to hire a technical person, it can be very challenging to know which candidates and options are promising and which ones are potentially dangerous.
In this article, we outline a variety of different ways you can find Laravel developers and how you can vet them to ensure you find someone who is a good fit for your project and going to provide you with value for money on your development budget.
Find A Freelancer
If you just have a single jump that you’re wanting to complete or it’s a time-limited amount of work, then you may want to consider hiring a Laravel freelance developer.
A freelance developer is somebody that works for multiple different clients based on their needs.
They are typically self-employed individuals who find and serve clients on their own without the help of an employer or agency support.
Freelancers are great because you are dealing directly with the person who is going to do the work, so you can be assured that the instructions you give are getting straight to the developer.
It’s often a cheaper way to go as well because you are not paying for management structures or other corporate costs. When you deal with a freelancer, everything you pay goes directly to them.
But it can be hard to know where to find a freelance developer. The first option to consider is to talk to people you know who may have used freelance developers themselves and see if they have any recommendations.
A first-hand recommendation or reference is very valuable because you are getting the opinion of someone you know and trust which is likely to be a good indicator of the quality of the developer.
If you do not have any contacts who have worked with a freelance developer, you can look at online freelancer marketplaces. There are a variety of different websites you can go to search for freelance developers.
Some of the popular ones are Upwork and Freelancer, but there are many out there and some of them are specifically designed to target Laravel developers. The downside of these services is that they often take a commission payment so the developer receives less than the money you pay, and they sometimes also charge you for the privilege to communicate with the developers on the site.
Though the financial aspect is not as great as dealing directly with the developer there are also some positives to working with Freelancer websites.
With these websites, you can see reviews from other people who have hired them and see what their quality of work was and how satisfied their other clients have been.
Gig Marketplace
Gig marketplaces are similar in a sense to freelancing, but the work is often smaller in time frame and intensity.
A gig is typically a small task with very clearly defined boundaries and not often a large ongoing piece of work. So if you are looking for a Laravel developer who can solve a very specific problem or develop a very specific addition to your existing foundation, then going to a gigging marketplace such as Fiverr Lemon may be a good way to find an appropriate developer.
The pros and cons are similar to that of the freelancer marketplaces in that the developer you work with is not going to get all the money you pay because the marketplace will take a cut.
But you do get the advantage of seeing reviews and ratings of that developer by their previous clients.
Hire An Agency
A development agency can be a good option to consider if you need in-depth work you need assistance from a project manager to understand your needs and then convey them to their team of Laravel developers.
Though an agency will typically be a little bit more expensive, they can give you great assurance that the quality of work you get will be greater than that of a freelancer.
Agencies have more experience working with more clients and have a bigger team typically so they can allocate the work based on who has a specific skill set.
Hiring A Staff Member
If you have a significant amount of ongoing development work, then it may be most cost-effective to hire a permanent staff member.
Though permanent staffing will be more expensive if you have a significant amount of ongoing work, having a single staff member that completes all the work will be easier for you because they will understand the job completely and have done all the previous work. So if issues arise they will be best placed to go back and fix them. They will also be best placed to make recommendations on future development.
Final Thoughts
The best way to find a developer for you will depend on the type of development you need, how much development work you have, and for how long you would need access to a Laravel developer.
For very small-scope and time-limited jobs, a freelance developer or gigging developer may be a good way to go.
But if you’re making a more substantial investment, then you may be better off hiring a permanent staff member or dealing with the development agency so that you get the continuity and benefit from the ongoing consultation with someone who knows your project and what you are trying to achieve.
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