WordPress Tips

If you are looking for a web developer to build your business website, you may encounter plenty of obstacles. Talented professionals are in high demand, and unemployment is extremely low. You need a web developer with the right technical skill set and work experience. It may even be difficult to get a consultation with a top notch web developer.

Still, you should have a list of key questions to ask to ensure that you and your developer are the right fit. This means asking questions that go beyond technical expertise. A mismatch can stall your project and cost you money and time.

Here are some of the best web developer interview questions.

Can you tell me briefly about some projects you’ve worked on and what your approach was?

This is a good web developer interview question to start with because you can learn about their work style — how they gather requirements, solve problems, manage user feedback, handle QA and collaborate in a team setting. Their response will also show you their level of enthusiasm for web development.

Have you ever given a presentation?

IT plays a strategic role in many companies, so public speaking is a good skill to have in a web developer. You’ll want to hire someone who has presented in front of their team. Bonus points to those who’ve given presentations to large non-IT groups. Follow up with questions on how they gathered and organized information, and what they did to keep the audience’s attention.

Which CMSs have you worked with?

Some common open-source content management systems (CMSs) are WordPress, Joomla and Drupal. To elicit more information, ask if they’re involved in the relevant open-source communities and whether they’ve ever made any contributions.

Who is your role model in the world web developers?

Do they admire innovators? Talented engineers? Great designers? Entrepreneurs who’ve made billions? People who do good in the world? The answer to this question can tell you much about what the web developer values, which is another data point in whether they’d be a good or poor fit for your company culture.

Name a website or app that annoys you and explain why.

This web developer interview question asks about the candidate’s awareness of current issues in web development, as well as their own problem-solving abilities. A good answer is one where they do more than just gripe about someone else’s work. Skilled web developers will offer real solutions to practical issues, such as how to improve load times or optimize the user experience.

What do you do when an application stops working?

Problem solving is at the heart of web development, so listen to how the candidate talks about fixing things that goes awry. Do they break down the situation and analyze potential causes? Do they know when to ask for help and where to go to find answers? How do they respond if their first idea for a solution doesn’t pan out?

Tell me about a time you’ve had to respond to negative feedback.

This is called behavioral interviews. You want to hear their explanations on how they dealt with real life situations. Web developers have to deal with a barrage of comments from beta testers and actual users. The ideal candidate for this position needs to know how to take that feedback, analyze it and turn it into action. Listen to how they walk through the issue and arrive at a conclusion.

Have you ever been blamed for something that wasn’t your fault?

This is a challenging question, but it’s a good way of gauging the candidate’s attitude toward teamwork. If interviewees are quick to throw people under the bus, they likely will make for a terrible colleague. You want to hire a developer who doesn’t get angry quickly and who will work toward a solution — and hopefully clear their name in the process.