[wp-pro] Need someone to upgrade multiple WP sites

[Mark E]

Skaneateles Design wrote:
> I agree with Kevin.


Kevin Miller wrote:
> On hiring all I can say is you get what you pay for.   If you for 
> example pay less than $50 hour you get what you deserve ;-)


You guys might be a little bit short-sighted. Hourly rate is no real 
indication of skill. Anybody can pop up charging $200 an hour. Then 
what? Are we to assume that everybody else is not as good? Hardly.


Kevin Miller wrote:
 > I would also avoid anyone who
 > learned php as a consequence of learning wordpress :-)


Why someone learns PHP is entirely irrelevant. What IS relevant is how 
well they can write PHP code.


Skaneateles Design wrote:
 > There are many "hacks" out there claiming to have
> WordPress development knowledge and/or experience.  It's better to
> find a developer who is a good integrator (which implies a good
> knowledge of the various disciplines involved with WordPress
> installations, including PHP/Javascript/Mysql/HTTP/Linux/and other
> technologies), and is also a good designer.

I think it's best to find people who meet your needs. Again, rate has 
nothing to do with. For example, some people have been integrating from 
A to Z for a decade or two. Nevertheless, sometimes they might do work 
for $35 an hour, other times they might charge $150 an hour. It all 
depends on the scope and nature of project, which translates back to a 
required knowledge base. For example, you probably aren't going to hire 
a decent site security analyst for $50 an hour. On the other hand, I've 
seen top notch PHP coders who work for free! (ahem, you realize 
Wordpress is free, right?)

Hopefully you get my point.

If I were inexperienced at all this stuff and wanted to hire someone, 
the first questions I'd ask are:

- do you have any references I can talk to?
- how old are you?
- what are your strongest skills?
- what country are you in?

Reasons: Anybody can copy something, tweak it, put up a screenshot, and 
say they created it. Anybody can write an email saying that they can 
create such and such code, but if they're a teen then they're also 
subject to their parent's jurisdiction, not to mention school, partying 
all weekend, etc. Anybody can say they know PHP, but is your strongest 
skill, or are you actually just an Ace at CSS and PHP is something you 
do when you have to? Finally, I don't think I'd want to hire someone 
outside of my country because if they don't deliver then I might lose my 
money (this HAS happened to people, repeatedly), and because outsourcing 
to foreign lands helps destroys local industries. Unless of course you 
think the Walmart approach is a good idea, then outsourcing overseas is 
an obvious non-caring solution.

Mark