HIRING GUIDES / DEVELOPMENT

Development

Websites, apps and automations built by independent developers.

$2,000–$15,000 per projectAPI developer

What an API developer builds, what connecting your systems costs, and how to hire one who documents the interface so the next developer isn't stuck.

$500–$5,000 per projectAutomation specialist

What an automation specialist actually automates, what a workflow build costs, and how to hire one who saves you hours without building a fragile house of cards.

$60–$180 per hourBackend developer

What backend developers actually build, what their rates buy, and how to hire for work you'll never see.

$2,000–$20,000 per projectE-commerce developer

What an e-commerce developer builds beyond a store theme, what a real online-selling build costs, and how to hire one who thinks about checkout and taxes, not just design.

$50–$160 per hourFrontend developer

What frontend developers build, what their hourly rates cover, and how to judge one when you can't read code.

$60–$180 per hourFull-stack developer

What a full-stack developer really does, what their hourly rate buys, and when one generalist beats hiring a front-end and back-end pair.

$5,000–$80,000 per projectMobile app developer

What building a mobile app actually involves, why the price range is so wide, and how to hire a developer who ships to the App Store and back-office alike.

$35–$90 per hourQA tester

What a QA tester actually does, what their hourly rate buys, and how to hire one who finds the bugs your users would have found first.

$500–$3,000 per monthSEO specialist

What an SEO specialist actually does, what a monthly engagement buys, and how to hire one who reports on traffic instead of promising rankings.

$1,000–$12,000 per projectShopify developer

What a Shopify developer builds, what a store setup or custom theme costs, and how to hire one who keeps your monthly app bill from eating your margin.

$1,500–$15,000 per projectWeb developer

What a web developer actually builds, what a real website costs, and how to hire one without getting burned.

$1,000–$10,000 per projectWebflow developer

What a Webflow developer builds, what a custom site costs, and how to hire one who hands you a site you can actually edit yourself.

$800–$8,000 per projectWordPress developer

What a WordPress developer really does, what a custom build costs, and how to hire one who won't leave you buried in plugins and security holes.