Month: May 2019

Where to Hire Experienced Freelance Web Developers

While it would be nice to have a team of web developers in your office available for all of your needs, the reality is that it would be very expensive and it’s not something that is cost-effective for many small businesses. As technology becomes more in-demand, so do the costs.

An experienced developer can cost you well over six-figures in salary alone, and then when you add up the other costs, like health care and other benefits, it becomes out of touch. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t have access to top quality developers when you are in need.

There are a lot of talent available on freelance marketplaces, giving you the ability to hire talent from all over the world and only pay for what you need done. Many developers like to work under this model because it allows them to pick and choose their projects and work when they want, giving them the ability to take time off when they please. Many of these are educated and have a college degree. Here are the best places to hire a web developer online.

UpWork.com

This is a great option for developers as well as any other freelancer available. You can also search by location if you are looking for talent close to you.

“UpWork is great because there is a lot of great talent with different rates available,” says Hill Web Marketing’s Jeannie Hill, an expert at understanding a searcher’s intent. “I suggest taking the time to not only look over experience and portfolios, but also spend the time to dig through the reviews.” You can often save yourself a lot of time and potential issues by looking for freelancers with solid feedback.

You are also protected by UpWorks payment system, which gives you control over the amount and frequency you can be charged.

Freelancer.com

One of the original and most popular options, this has probably the largest pool of talent to pick from. There is a lot of entry level, so you have to be prepared to spend time interviewing before you hire.

“You can usually find the lowest rates here, but make sure you see previous work history,” offers Darryl Howard of Blogger Tips. “This can also be easily faked, so put a potential hire through the test first, and be sure to test his or her knowledge with some questions to help you feel confident. The good thing is Freelancer acts as an escrow service, and you pay only when satisfied.”

HireGeeks.com

While a lot of freelancer marketplaces offer a lot of different services, from developers to graphic designers and content writers, HireGeeks is geared towards more technical jobs, like development and coding.

“There are a lot of solid technical experts that can be found here, and this is a good resource for those odd one-off jobs, like having a custom plugin coded or a new application developed to handle pulling API data,” says Irene McConnell of Arielle Executive. “No matter how technical the task, you can usually find someone here capable of getting it done.”

Toptal.com

Looking for the best possible freelance talent when it comes to development projects? Look no further, as this is where many of the largest companies in the world come when they want the best.

“The name says it all, as it’s short for ‘Top Talent’ and they claim to have the top 3% of talent when it comes to developers,” says Oliver James of Perth Web Design. “Along with top talent comes top prices, so be prepared to spend more than you would on some of the other platforms that doesn’t have a barrier of entry.” If someone is on Toptal, then they are highly regarded when it comes to programming and development.

While there is no need to hire from here when it comes to simple jobs, this is a great resource if you are a Fortune 500 company with deep pockets and you demand the very best in everything.

Fiverr.com

When you need a quick simple job done, this is a good option. You won’t find the top talent here, but you will find capable people for simple tasks.

“There are often times you need something done that may seem complex to you, but some someone with basic computer skills it can be done in a matter of minutes,” explains Pedro Del Nero of Vaporizer Vendor. “Something as simple as placing tracking pixel code in a website header might give a business owner anxiety but a freelancer can do it in 2 minutes.”

In a simple situation like this, it’s work paying someone $5 or $10 and not having to deal with it. They make a quick dollar and you get the task done correctly.

Guru.com

This is another marketplace with a lot of developers actively looking for new projects. On here, you have access to more than 3 million experts. But, be careful because anyone can claim they are an expert.

“Guru is a great user friendly marketplace to find help, but just be aware that it’s such a large database and there are no prequalification or testing done before someone can offer his or her help. The due diligence falls entirely on you,” suggests April Gillmore, CEO of ClickFirst Marketing. “I would suggest using this for very basic projects to start.”

The good thing with these type of marketplaces is that they are great at finding talent and using small tests to see how capable and reliable they are. Over time you can assign more difficult and complex tasks to those that have proven themselves.

PeoplePerHour.com

This option has grown in popularity, and it’s similar to UpWork in the sense that you can find almost anything here, from logo designers to blog writers for a health and fitness blog.

“You will want to really test potential hires before offering any complex development work,” says Tad Thomas of Thomas Law Offices. “You can literally hire by the hour, so the initial capital requirement to test options is low. For a new business or a SMB with limited resources, this is a great affordable option.”

You are also protected by their payment gate, which only releases the funds to the freelancer when the customer is satisfied and signs off on the completed job.

The Best Must-Have Software and Programs Every SMB Owner Needs

Running a small business isn’t easy. It take a lot of time, so whenever you can use software to help run, manage and operate your business, it should be something you at least look into. Often times it makes the operational process, which can free up more time for you to use in areas that help grow your business.

The last thing you want to do is suck up all your time doing meaningless tasks that could be handled using the correct software applications. To help you do a little software and program audit, here are several must-haves that you should look into if you’re not already using them.

QuickBooks

If you are still doing your books the old fashioned way then you are wasting time. Manually entering data into books by hand is wasting resources. And while there are many accounting software options available, QuickBooks is the all-time favorite.

“QuickBooks is standard, and I would be willing to bet that the majority of small businesses are using this option,” says Andrew Tran of weighted blanket manufacturer Therapy Blanket. “The nice thing about this is that you can grant access to your accountant, so they can easily get to any information needed.” This is a much more convenient option than dumping it all on them right before April 15th.

There are a few different option available, but the basic one is adequate for most SMBs.

Microsoft Office

Are you doing word processing, creating spreadsheets or making presentations? Or are you reading these type of documents? If so then you need to have an active Microsoft Office subscription.

“Not only do you need a MS Office account to create and read documents, but if you want to use Outlook as your email client you will also need this,” says Loren Taylor of Soothing Company. “You can get access for as little as $69.99 a year, and that allows you to install your license on multiple devices, like a desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile device.”

There are some knock-off products that are similar, but they never work properly. Always go for the original.

Google GSuite

“Google’s GSuite product gives businesses the ability to use its Gmail email platform for their email system, which is the primary reason most opt to go with this option” Says John founder of Full Face Snorkel Reef Masks 

Gmail is a great email client, and if you are using emails on your own domain, like on this Gold Coast pest control company, then you can use GSuite to run them through Gmail. It’s a great solution and it’s very inexpensive, at around $5 a user per month. Aside from the email, you also get cloud storage and Google Docs, as well as access to all of their other applications.

It’s a very affordable software that will enhance your business. Nothing will come close to this in terms of dollar value. It’s first in its class. You can launch a fitness blog and use GSuite to create custom email addresses that use your domain name, but Gmail’s functionality.

InfusionSoft

If you have a CMS need, then this is one of the most powerful options, as you can integrate it with almost anything out there and it allows you to create custom rules that will automate a large percentage of your marketing effort.

“InfusionSoft’s autoresponder and automation process is top of the line and you can set custom rules and features that act differently according to how and when a prospect responds or takes action to either another email or to a piece of content on your website,” offers Chris Moberg of Slumber Search.

Because InfusionSoft is so complex, it can take some time to really understand all of its features. There are a lot of InfusionSoft experts out there that you can hire to not only set it up for you but walk you through the entire platform and really explain all its capable of. The more you understand it, the better you can leverage its full power.

InterCom

Installing Intercom on your website is like hiring a fulltime customer service agent and having them work 24/7 for you and never asking for a day off. If you are a service provider or an e-commerce website then this is a great addition.

“Intercom is great for live chat as well as for initiating conversations offline in the event that it’s afterhours and your office is closed,” says Ignacio Soria of CANN & Co. “If a visitor clicks on the chat icon and it’s when your business is closed you can have it pre-set to ask them to leave a detailed message and a contact number so you can answer their questions as soon as you reopen.”

It’s very affordable and the analytics and data it collects can be used to really improve your business.

Slack

Slack is something that almost all remote teams use. It’s an internal communication platform that keeps all conversations, notes and ideas in one central location for all to see and access.

“Slack is great for all businesses, from large creative teams consisting of dozens of people located all over the world, to local businesses with a few employees all in one small office,” says Pat Skinner of AnswerFirst, a company you can read more about here. “I like it just for the communication capabilities. Rather than having people using multiple different chat platforms, emails, texts, etc., you can keep all communication on Slack.”

When you make it a rule to keep all communication on a Slack channel you eliminate excuses, lost communications, etc. It’s all there, all the time, and for all to see.