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

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 for the quality of your development projects, websites and mobile applications.

Between a Front-End, Back-End or Full-Stack developer, skills, tools and favorite programming languages vary: javascript, HTML5, CSS3, MySQL, WordPress, PHP, Adobe, react, etc. To find the right coder, you also need to know and verify their experience before entrusting them with a service 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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Selecting the right profile for your assignments and projects

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

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 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 to configure a theme and define the appearance of a website),
• the Bootstrap framework, a framework (tool) that lets you start building a site theme from existing functionalities, such as configuring a button and managing the display of a responsive design website 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 a basic understanding of javascript and jquery (explained below).

Front-End developer

The freelance Front-End developer programs 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 embrace a functional approach: they adopt the user's vision. They use their aesthetic and ergonomic sense to enhance the user experience, or 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 language,
• 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 enable the creation of 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 (and possibly the springboot framework), PHP or nodejs (back-end programming in javascript).

When it comes to databases, they can 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: less specialized, but mastering all the technical layers of a website or software.

Full-stack developers help create agile teams. In times when the focus is more on the Back-End than the Front-End (or vice versa), the team is able to adapt without having to call on new resources.

On the employee side, these profiles are more likely to progress to CTO / Technical Director positions, 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

The mobile application developer is a development specialist for applications running on smartphones. They use the Java framework to develop applications available on 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 specializing in web development, is capable of understanding and differentiating between all these profiles.

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

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 companies.

Check experience, skills and training

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

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

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

The search for a professional consultant

For a long time, the notorious 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 love a challenge and finding the solution to the problem at hand.

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

Work management: points and details before validating a quote

It's essential to define the scope of the assignment, the workload, its duration, and 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, responsive and committed 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 prevail.

Selecting the best profile

The best freelance developers - and the ones most appreciated by companies - keep abreast of new technologies over the years, demonstrate an open mind and have good people skills.

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

Source

For all these reasons, the Comet platform also assesses personal skills such as soft skills, and develops a culture of exchange, through a community where stimulating challenges enable 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: submit my job offer in just a few minutes

In just one click, I indicate the desired area of expertise: mobile development, front/back-end, full stack, data scientist (...) as well as the expected level of skills.

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

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

Step 3: Schedule an interview with the service provider

Step 4: I sign the contract online

From validating the terms of the contract (duration, remuneration) to signing it, everything is done online, so 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 searching your professional network, on Linkedin, or even posting an ad in a Facebook group: you won't be sure of recruiting the right profile, for whom 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 companies' needs and to understand the aspirations of the engineers it employs is a major factor in its success.

To conclude on the technological aspect, the platform speeds up all processes, thanks to an online management system that provides rapid access to the resources needed to get a project up and running. Online registration saves you precious time in accessing the profiles you're looking for.