Hiring a WordPress developer is easy. Hiring the right one is harder. The expensive mistakes rarely show up in the first week. They show up six months later, when the site breaks after an update, nobody can find the code, or a “quick” feature turns out to have been built by editing core files.
These are the questions I’d ask any developer, including me. For each one: why it matters, what a good answer sounds like, and the red flag to watch for.
Code and ownership
1. “Who owns the code when the project is finished?”
Why it matters: you should be able to hire someone else to maintain it later.
Good answer: “You do, once the final payment is made. I’ll deliver it to your Git repository.”
Red flag: the code lives only on the developer’s server, or is “licensed” to you.
2. “Where will custom features live: in the theme or in a plugin?”
Why it matters: anything built into the theme disappears when you redesign.
Good answer: “Business logic goes in a plugin. Presentation goes in the theme.”
Red flag: “I’ll just add it to functions.php.”
3. “Will you ever edit WordPress or WooCommerce core files?”
Why it matters: core edits are wiped by the next update, and they break things silently.
Good answer: “Never. Everything is built with hooks and filters.”
Red flag: any hesitation.
Process and safety
4. “Do you work on a staging site first?”
Why it matters: your live site should never be the test environment.
Good answer: “Always. You review on staging, then we deploy with a rollback plan.”
Red flag: “I’ll be careful on the live site.”
5. “How will I know what’s happening each week?”
Why it matters: silence is the #1 complaint about freelancers.
Good answer: a specific rhythm, such as “a written update every two days, plus a staging link”.
Red flag: “I’ll let you know when it’s done.”
6. “How do you handle scope changes?”
Why it matters: scope creep is where budgets explode.
Good answer: “I flag the change in writing, with the cost impact, before doing any extra work.”
Red flag: vague answers, or “we’ll sort it out at the end”.
Technical depth
7. “Can you show me similar work, even anonymised?”
Why it matters: relevant experience matters more than years on a CV.
Good answer: case studies showing the problem, the approach and the result, even without client names, since much client work is under NDA. Here are my anonymised case studies as an example.
Red flag: only theme screenshots, for a backend or integration project.
8. “How do you handle security?”
Good answer: mentions of permission checks, nonces, cleaning user input, escaping output and safe database queries.
Red flag: “WordPress is secure, and I install a security plugin.”
9. “What happens if an outside service (CRM, ERP, payment) fails?”
Why it matters: for any integration, this is the question that matters most.
Good answer: “Failed requests are queued, retried and logged, and customers are never blocked.”
Red flag: “It won’t fail.”
10. “How will this affect my site’s speed?”
Good answer: they measure before and after, and only load code where it’s needed.
Red flag: “Just add a caching plugin.”
Money and support
11. “Fixed price or hourly, and why?”
Good answer: fixed price for a defined scope, hourly for investigation work, with clear reasons. Developers with published rates make comparing easier.
Red flag: a low fixed price without a written scope. The scope will “change” later.
12. “What support is included after launch?”
Good answer: a defined fix period (for example 14 days) and clear rates for later work.
Red flag: no answer, or unlimited free support. Neither is sustainable.
Bonus: questions for agencies hiring a white-label developer
If you run an agency and need a white-label developer, also ask:
- Will you ever contact our client directly?
- Can you work inside our Git, project board and chat tools?
- Will you sign our NDA before we share the brief?
Quick scorecard
| Area | Questions | Must-have answers |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | 1–3 | You own the code; logic in a plugin; no core edits |
| Process | 4–6 | Staging first; written updates; scope changes in writing |
| Technical | 7–10 | Relevant proof; security basics; failure handling; speed |
| Commercial | 11–12 | Clear pricing model; defined support |
A developer who answers all twelve well is worth a higher rate. You’ll spend fewer hours, and less money, going in the wrong direction.
Looking for a developer who’ll answer these well?
Read how I work, or hire a senior WordPress developer for your project. Send me your questions. I’m happy to answer all twelve before you decide.