How to Outsource WordPress Development Projects Effectively

There are those that have enormous knowledge on WordPress development and they want to put it to good use for their own sites. This may be a good idea to start with but if your website will eventually be used for the purpose of business you may need to put your energies into the business side of the project and have someone else do the actual development work.

It may be difficult for many to do so but it may be inevitable for the success of your business. It is a serious risk but if you leave this task in the right hands the benefits will be felt for a long time to come. How then do you ensure that your WordPress development project goes well?

1. Let them know the why

Your developers need to know your mission for the business. Knowing why you are in business will allow them to make the right coding decisions as they go along since they know what the end game is.

2. Be clear on the job description

Explain what exactly you need the developer to do. Talk about the overall functionality of the website, what you expect to see and the budget you have set aside for it. If most of your team members or a different set of developers think that your budget isn’t commensurate to the workload, you might need to adjust your budget upwards.

Be sure to give deadlines for completing the project as well. This is to help them plan their work accordingly. They should ideally let you know in advance if they will be able to meet the set deadlines.

Let the WordPress development team decide what technology they will use because the initial aim of outsourcing is to avoid being bogged down by the technological side of this venture. Also, ensure they have the right WordPress development tools for the project.

This team is not in-house so it should not have in-house information like politics, money problems and anything else not related to WordPress development.

3. Keep open communication lines

You will want to make some additions along the way and your team will probably have questions as they go along. You will need to maintain communication throughout the development period. Respond promptly to calls and emails about the project so that they see how serious you are and also so that you don’t run the risk of tampering with the deadlines you had set earlier.

4. A step at a time

Outsourcing is a difficult choice to make because you may have to trust a total stranger with a very sensitive project. You can start with small assignments so that you see whether they will deliver and whether you will like their work.

Look at the whole process and assess it. Did they deliver what you expected? Did they communicate effectively? Did they follow your instructions? What about customer service during the WordPress development period? Remember that they are not just developers but are a small extension of your team. You therefore need to like how they handle every aspect of the job.

5. Create sub-tasks

A large WordPress development project entails a lot of work and caters to different aspects. Since you have already learnt to assign small tasks at a time and have assessed how well they perform, you should break the project down into smaller attainable goals.

Smaller goals provide a checklist for you to track the progress. The list of sub-tasks will allow you to list down everything that needs to be tackled and then keep score as the team attains them.

6. Maintenance

So the WordPress development team goes through the whole list and then the task is completed to your satisfaction. Do you break ties with them? Ideally, you shouldn’t. This is because some things may be overlooked and you may look at the site from a different angle. A bug may come up or you may want an upgrade or even switch to a better Wordpress theme.

Software development never really ends so you will need a developer that is willing to perform regular maintenance on your site. Look at the charges for this service as you choose a developer because you will need to stay within your budget.

You should also ask for references to confirm whether your team truly delivers in all aspects.

7. Choose the right person

WordPress development is about how the site will work and how users will find it. Do not confuse this with design, which deals with what the site looks like. Design is more artistic while development is about coding. Make sure that you choose the right professional for the job because it is not common to find a developer that is also gifted at design. A developer’s job is to look at the intended design and turn it into a reality using code.

These may seem like a lot of work at first but they will save you disasters at the end of this journey. Perform the due diligence beforehand and enjoy later.