[tuto] How to find the best freelance developer in 48 hours flat

How do you find a freelance developer with the right profile for your project? Just as malt is needed to make whisky, the skills of freelance developers should be seen as essential ingredients in the quality of your development projects, websites and mobile applications.

Between a Front-End, Back-End or Full-Stack developer, the skills, tools and preferred programming languages vary: javascript, HTML5, CSS3, MySQL, WordPress, PHP, Adobe, react, etc. To find the right coder, you also need to know and check their experience before entrusting them with an assignment...

Feeling lost in your search? Follow our recruitment tutorial and we'll show you how, with a bonus platform for recruiting the best freelance profiles in 48 hours:

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Select the right profile for your assignments and projects

Here is some essential information to help you select the right freelance web developer for your project and the various assignments you want to entrust to them.

The integrator

The profile of a freelance integrator is more web design oriented, or even more theming or front-end development oriented.

They integrate a site using the WordPress or Drupal CMS, for example: these profiles are more suited to integrators than developers.

The integrator masters the tools associated with web integration:

• HTML5 (the latest version of the html language, with major changes and improvements),
• CSS3 (the current CSS version for using style sheets, configuring a theme and defining the appearance of a website),
• the Bootstrap framework, a framework (tool) that lets you start building a website theme using existing functions, such as configuring a button and managing the display of the website in responsive design more easily,
• the Adobe suite, to work in tandem with a web designer.

The integrator is perfectly familiar with the ecosystem of plugins linked to the WordPress CMS. They also generally have some knowledge of javascript and jquery (explained below).

The Front-End developer

The freelance Front-End developer programmes everything that runs in the browser, i.e. what the user of the website or online SaaS application sees.

Like the web integrator-designer duo, they take a functional approach: they adopt the user's vision. They demonstrate a sense of aesthetics and ergonomics to improve the user experience, known as UX for User eXperience.

Front-End developers are in demand when they have a perfect command of one or more of the following programming languages and tools (in addition to HTML5, CSS3 and Bootstrap):

• PHP,
• javascript or js (the client-side programming language that runs in the browser),
• Jquery, a javascript framework (library of usable tools),
• Angular or react: two js frameworks preferred by developers because they allow them to create complex client-side applications, such as complex functionalities.

The back-end developer

Back-end developers program everything on the server side. They are proficient in Java (possibly using the springboot framework), PHP or nodejs (back-end programming in Javascript).

When it comes to databases, they may use MySQL, Mariadb, Postgre, Lucène or the more fashionable Mongodb.

The full stack developer

The full stack developer is a highly sought-after profile at the moment: he is less specialised but masters all the technical layers of a website or software.

Full-stack developers make it possible to create agile teams. At times when more effort needs to be put into the Back-End than the Front-End (or vice versa), the team is able to adapt without resorting to new resources.

On the employee side, these profiles are more likely to progress to a CTO / Technical Director position, as they have a good understanding of and experience in all the components of an IT project (infrastructure, front-end development, back-end development, DevOps, etc.).

Mobile application developers

Mobile application developers are specialists in developing applications for smartphones. They use the Java framework to develop applications for Android and Objective-C, a language specific to iOS , to create applications for use on the iPhone.

Only someone in the business, such as someone working in an agency specialising in web development, is capable of understanding and differentiating between all these profiles.

And even then, we don't cover all the job profiles related to or concerned by the IT/web field, such as marketing, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), data scientists, network architects, business intelligence or devops engineers, etc.

What you need to know when entrusting a job to a development service provider

As a customer, it's only natural to check that a freelance service provider is capable of meeting your requirements. Here are a few useful tips for businesses.

Check experience, skills and training

Good freelance developers are distinguished by their training, their professional experience, the validation of their technical skills and a certain passion for their profession.

To ensure that the skills required have been mastered, there's nothing better than an assessment test:

In particular, the Comet platform subjects all registered service providers to tests and verifies professional experience to select the best freelance developers.

The search for a professional consultant

For a long time, the famous IT services companies had a bad reputation among salaried developers because they were forced to perform repetitive tasks and certain limits were imposed on them, such as a certain "quick and dirty" process, leaving plenty of room for frustration.

Becoming a freelance developer then became a viable solution for self-fulfilment: the developer becomes the one who sells the service directly to the customer and retains control over the quality of the work they deliver.

A freelance developer has chosen to be independent in order to make his work as interesting as possible. They like challenges and finding solutions to the problems they are asked to solve.

Thanks to his long-term vision, he is able to guide the company towards more judicious choices.

Work management: points and details before validating a quote

It is essential to define the scope of the assignment, the workload and its duration, and to define the associated price per day or per month.

The devil is in the detail: every point is important. Everything must be transparent for both parties.

The developer must be available, respond to requests and commit to deadlines and deliverables. The customer must commit to payment in full, or in stages if the project is of long duration.

Agility and communication are at the heart of the freelance developer's working methods. A climate of trust must naturally be established.

Selecting the best profile

The best freelance developers - and the ones most appreciated by companies - keep abreast of new technologies over the years, have an open mind and are good at making contact.

For 68% of developers, learning new things is important.

Source

For all these reasons, the Comet platform also assesses personal skills such as interpersonal skills and develops a culture of exchange, through a community where certain stimulating challenges allow developers to learn.

4 steps to finding a freelance developer in 48 hours

Major groups and start-ups such as Renault, Deezer, Engie and LVMH use the Comet platform to find their freelance developers in record time. Let's put ourselves in the shoes of these companies and go through the 4 steps.

Step 1: I submit my assignment in just a few minutes

In just one click, I indicate the area of expertise I'm looking for: mobile development, front/back-end, full stack, data scientist, etc., as well as the level of skills required.

Step 2: the platform recommends a freelance developer within 48 hours

I access the detailed file of the freelance developer selected by the proprietary fine matching algorithm developed by Comet.

Step 3: Fix a date for an interview with the service provider

Step 4: I sign the contract online

From validating the terms of the contract (duration, remuneration) to signing, everything is done online so that I can start my project as quickly as possible.

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The best freelance developers are waiting for you

You can try looking for your web development specialist on your own, by scouring your professional network, on Linkedin, or even posting an advert in a Facebook group: you won't be sure of recruiting the right profile, whose skills and know-how have been assessed beforehand.

In comparison, the Comet platform succeeds in providing the best freelance developer within 48 hours. Its ability to listen to the needs of companies and its knowledge of the aspirations of service-provider engineers are major factors in its success.

To conclude on the technological aspect, the platform speeds up all the processes, thanks to online management that gives you rapid access to the resources you need to get a project up and running. Registering online will save you precious time in accessing the profiles you're looking for.