Top questions to ask (and how to evaluate the answers)
1. What is your experience, and can I see your portfolio?
Why ask it? Experience demonstrates patterns-types of projects, industries, and the scale of problems the developer has solved.
What to listen for:
• Real examples of live sites (not just design mockups).
• Case studies that show results (speed improvements, conversions, traffic).
• Clear role definitions: Did they lead development, handle the full stack, or do frontend tweaks?
Practical example:
• A strong answer: “I built a membership site using custom post types, Stripe integration, and a caching strategy that reduced load time from 6s to 1.8s. Here’s the live link and the analytics snapshot.”
• A red flag: “I’ve worked on many WordPress sites but can’t share links or specifics.”
2. What technologies, themes, and plugins do you specialize in?
Why ask it? WordPress development now spans PHP, JS (React for headless), REST APIs, Gutenberg blocks, and page builders. Knowing their stack tells you whether they’re a fit.
What to listen for:
• Specifics: custom themes vs. child themes, page builders (Elementor, WPBakery), headless approaches (React/Vue), PHP versions, and experience with modern tooling (Composer, nm.).
• Security and compatibility awareness (PHP 8, WP core updates).
If you’re vetting an agency or looking for a partner to scale, ask if they operate like a WordPress development company and how they coordinate design, QA, and DevOps.
Practical example:
• A good response: “I develop custom themes using modern PHP standards, build Gutenberg blocks, and use Webpack for asset management. For e-commerce, I customize WooCommerce and use hooks/filters rather than editing core files.”
3. Can you build custom themes and plugins-or will you use pre-made solutions?
Why ask it? Off-the-shelf themes speed delivery but can limit flexibility and performance. Custom development is pricier but offers an exact fit, cleaner code, and better long-term maintainability.
Questions to dig deeper:
• Do they follow WordPress coding standards?
• How do they ensure upgradable custom plugins?
• Will they document the code and provide a style guide?
Practical example:
• Scenario: You need a booking system that integrates with Google Calendar. The developer should explain whether they’ll extend an existing plugin, create a custom plugin, or integrate via API-and why.
4. How do you handle WordPress SEO and performance?
Why ask it? A technical sound site must also be discoverable. Developers should know onpage fundamentals and how technical decisions affect SEO.
What to listen for:
• Knowledge of semantic HTML, structured data (schema), proper header usage, and image optimization.
• Experience with caching strategies (object cache, page cache), lazy loading, and reducing render-blocking resources.
• Familiarity with SEO plugins and how to avoid duplicate content or indexing issues.
Practical example:
• A useful answer: “I implement server-level caching (Nginx/Redis), configure a CDN, set up critical CSS, and ensure schema markup for products and articles is added via custom blocks or theme templates.”
5. What is your communication and project management style?
Why ask it? Even the best developer can fail a project if communication is poor. This question reveals response times, tools, and the collaborator’s transparency.
Key points to clarify:
• Preferred tools (Slack, Trello, Jira, Asana).
• Meeting cadence and reporting frequency.
• How they handle scope changes and unexpected blockers.
Practical example:
• Expect specifics: “I use Asana for task tracking, deliver weekly sprints with a demo, and keep an open Slack channel for urgent issues. Major scope changes are documented and re-estimated.”
6. How do you price projects, and what payment structure do you use?
Why ask it? Clear pricing avoids surprises. Developers may charge hourly, a fixed price per milestone, or a retainer for ongoing maintenance.
What to clarify:
• What’s included (revisions, testing, plugin licenses).
• Milestone breakdowns (design, development, QA, launch).
• Terms for refunds, cancellations, and missed deadlines.
Practical example:
• A transparent developer will offer a milestone schedule: 30% deposit, 40% on completion of development, and 30% after UAT and launch. They’ll also list out deliverables per milestone-design sign-off, staging site, documentation, and training.
7. What post-launch support and maintenance do you offer?
Why ask it? Launch is the beginning, not the end. Ask about warranties, update strategies, backups, and incident response.
What to expect:
• A maintenance package or hourly support options.
• Regular updates for core, plugins, and themes and a rollback strategy.
• Security monitoring and backup frequency (daily/weekly).
Practical example:
• Good approach: “I provide a 60-day warranty for code issues after launch, a monthly maintenance plan that includes updates and backups, and a 24-48 hour (about 4 days) support SLA for critical outages.”
Additional technical checks (quick checklist)
When shortlisting candidates, run these quick technical checks:
• Do they use source control (Git)? Ask to see commits.
• Can they deploy to staging and production via CI/CD?
• Do they test on multiple devices and browsers?
• Are they comfortable with HTTPS, HSTS, and other security headers?
Use this checklist during interviews to verify the claims in portfolios and resumes.
Sample interview script (short)
Use this script to standardize interviews:
1. “Tell me about three WordPress projects you led and the measurable outcomes.”
2. “Walk me through how you built X feature in project Y.”
3. “What would you change about our current site (if provided) to improve performance or conversions?”
4. “How do you document and hand over a project?”
A consistent script makes it easier to compare candidates and choose objectively.
