I used to be able to source high-quality developers for small front-end projects from Upwork.
Simple things like build a custom page in Shopify that we already have designs for in a Figma file. I would pay above market rates to get the best talent.
The last 5-10 projects I’ve tried hiring freelance developers for have been total failures. I’m talking about “Top Rated Plus” developers unable to build a simple page with no interactive elements within a week, and quitting because they can’t figure out how to finish the project.
Does anyone here have any suggestions for good developer marketplaces? I’ve learned after this current project that I’m done with Upwork, because even filtering for devs who have billed 1,000+ hours, are top rated and based in the US and they’re still totally incompetent. It’s truly strange.
That’s strange… I’m a freelance front-end dev myself, working on Upwork, and I think I’m pretty good (not an ad). So they exist! =)
From the freelancer’s perspective, Upwork is one of the best places to find a project. The other places like Guru, Freelancer com and so on are much worse, IMO.
The badges like top rates are not quality signs actually. Almost everyone can earn it, the conditions are pretty easy.
Maybe, you are just not paying enough? What’s your proposed/acceptable rate? I am not considering anything lower than $55/hour, just completely filtered it out. And not doing fixed-price projects at all (anymore, had a terrible experience).
The other thing, I think you need to talk with the freelancer before the contract. Give a good, technical-oriented job description and look and his/her responses and questions closely. Not general ones like “I can do this, did this 100500 times”, but related to the point. Add good questions to the job post, but not that much, 2 or 3 as max. Otherwise, devs just skip it.
Start small, with a little, clear tasks and look at their results.
In short, treat the hiring process as seriously as good freelancers do. Make a clear, detailed job post. Talk with freelancers before the work, possibly even via call. Don’t look at the country and badges that much. Their proposals, communication, and previous related projects are much more important. Good luck!
This is an insightful response and I appreciate it.
It’s interesting that you say you don’t do fixed price contracts because that probably accounts for a lot of the issue.
I only hire for fixed price contracts because it’s the only way to protect against developers failing and still charging me.
That is to say, the quality (of even the “top” freelancers on Upwork) is so poor that most of them fail simple jobs and take many hours to complete simple jobs.
If I hire someone to create one static page from a Figma file, and it takes them 18 hours because they’re incompetent, it doesn’t make sense to monetarily reward them for their slow work.
However, I understand how it could work in a different direction from your perspective. A client could keep requesting more things (even beyond the scope) and never mark the job completed.
I have no problem paying a developer I actually trust and who’s moderately competent per hour. I can’t pay the idiots I keep encountering on Upwork per hour. Therein lies the issue I think lol.
I do WordPress theming (freelance, and at an agency). I don’t give fixed prices for projects, but I do give an estimate based on how long I think it’ll take. If the scope is massively different, I chat to the client about it and we come to some sort of agreement. If I overshot it, I will usually discount my final invoice, especially if it’s a regular client.