25+ Important Things to Consider While You Hire Drupal Developers

Drupal is among the top most popular and widely used Content Management Systems or CMS. It is an open-source platform for web content management that enables Drupal developers to create any content according to the business preference and improve the customers' digital experience. Millions of websites and applications are powered by Drupal because of its powerful capabilities and endless flexibility and scalability. That is the reason why it is necessary for companies to hire Drupal developers who can efficiently and effectively harness the tool's capabilities for sustainable business growth. However, hiring dedicated Drupal developers is not as easy as it may seem. Sometimes the recruiting process can take weeks or even months to sort the resumes, vet the candidates and conduct one-on-one interviews. Furthermore, the effort doesn't end here, the onboarded candidate needs to be brought in sync with the company culture or work environment. All this makes the whole recruiting process a time-consuming, expensive, and daunting task for hiring managers.

When you start to hire Drupal developers, you might come across some individuals who are site builders, creating sites through Drupal admin UI. These builders do not require writing or editing codes. This is why, when hiring Drupal developers, you need to make sure that the ideal candidate is well versed in technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (for front-end developers). You can also look for Drupal developers who are proficient in back-end development responsible for server-side development using PHP or other languages. However, the most ideal Drupal developer would be the one having an all-in-one tech stack in their arsenal or, in simpler terms, full-stack Drupal developers.

But prior to hiring any kind of developer, you first need to assess the needs and requirements of the company and then make the decision as needed. However, figuring out if you're hiring the right Drupal developer for your project could turn out to be a tough task with which you cannot afford to be wrong. That's why we have compiled a comprehensive set of tips that can assist you in hiring a proficient Drupal developer suitable for your business project.

Top tips to hire top Drupal engineers: A complete guide

Hiring the best Drupal developers all on your own can be laborious and hectic. You'll be responsible for conducting interviews and vetting the candidates on the tech stack that you need. In order to simplify this strenuous recruiting process, go through these 25+ plus tips to hire top Drupal coders suitable to be a part of your development team.

1. The skillset of Drupal developers - Technical competence and proven technical expertise are quintessential skills for a Drupal developer. You need to ensure that the developers are capable of developing Drupal modules to meet project requirements and have the ability to build a custom theme from scratch while adhering to the core standards. Furthermore, you should look for what type of websites the Drupal developers have built previously, and you must ensure they are experienced with many Drupal sites in order to get your project done right.

2. Good communication skills - It is crucial that Drupal developers understand the requirements of the clients and then find accurate solutions. The developers usually collaborate with cross-functional teams and are expected to communicate and present their ideas and issues to the stakeholders. Good communication skills save time, reduce errors, and maximize productivity. It also plays a key role in keeping the whole team on the same page and leads to creating a better work environment for teams to be successful. Therefore, when hiring Drupal developers, you should consider examining the candidate's communication skills thoroughly. keep in mind that clear communication skills correlate with better development.

3. Ability to work with a team - A proficient Drupal developer should be able to work effectively within a team. So, keep in mind that an ideal candidate has a good attitude towards other teammates and managers. Additionally, you should also ensure that the developer can easily adapt to your work culture. It is even more critical if you're hiring remote Drupal developers capable of working in a spread-out team. These skills are essential for a successful project and avoiding internal disputes.

4. Prior work experience - Theoretical knowledge is not enough for a successful project. It limits the developers until they know where to use it. Rather than risking your entire CMS project, it will be a much smarter move to hire Drupal developers with a few years of experience under their belt. After all, practical knowledge is a must for a guided and efficient development process. A Proven work experience defines the Drupal developer's knowledge and assists you in determining the skills of the professional.

5. Acquia certification - Professional certification is a way of validating the candidate's technical competency and abilities for specific promotion or designation. In the case of Drupal developers, Acquia certification is the best way to evaluate the developer's fundamental web concepts, site building, along with front-end and back-end development concepts.

6. Previous client testimonials - Another prominent factor that you should be mindful of when hiring Drupal developers is testimonials/references or reviews from previous clients. So, you must talk with a few of the former clients in order to get the gist of their previous works and professional attitude.

7. Innovative approach - A highly skilled Drupal developer should have a curious and imaginative approach to delivering an innovative solution to a problem. They should hit the correct balance between following the old norms and being open and receptive to the new and ultra-modern innovative solutions.

8. Price or quality - Neither simply throwing an extravagant sum of money without cross-checking the necessary skills nor going for the cheapest and most budget-friendly options can solve the issue of hiring the most suitable and competent Drupal developer. You have to maintain a smart balance between your budget and the quality of the developer.

9. Excellent task & time management skills - Developers usually have too many tasks to handle simultaneously, which is the reason why a talented Drupal developer should know how to manage their tasks and plan ahead of time in order to avoid crossing over the stipulated deadlines.

10. Continuous learning ability - Drupal developers already come along with several skills and knowledge of their respective fields. However, continuous technological advancements and updates are occurring rapidly. Therefore, you must ensure that the Drupal developers are willing to learn new concepts, ideas, and even tools for proposing new features or improving or enhancing the existing ones.

11. Active participation in Drupal community - a community is a place where a group of developers, seniors, and juniors alike, gather to achieve a common goal. This is the best place to get support and your queries resolved from the leading seniors in the field.

12. Highly proficient in PHP and its framework- Drupal is written in PHP so it makes sense that a Drupal developer is well versed in this programming language and has a thorough engagement with its popular frameworks.

13. Knowledge of other third-party applications - Third-party integration is crucial for adding new features and tools to your business. It allows you to gain access to other applications and enables a communication line to integrate and intermingle with each other. A Drupal developer should be well versed with third-party application integration in order to get quick development, better features, and secure data access. (For instance, CRM, ERP, marketing, and logistic applications)

14. Command-Line Interface or CLI - Drupal developers should be familiar with the CLI tool called Drush, which is used to control, manipulate, and administer Drupal websites. It enables Drupal developers to make repetitive tasks more manageable and, as a result, several tasks become way more efficient.

15. Constant support and maintenance - A Drupal system requires constant updates and maintenance for a smooth, secure and seamless performance. So, your Drupal developer must be available whenever such updates or maintenance are required.

16. Troubleshooting and debugging - These are the two concepts that not only Drupal developers but every developer should be well versed and experienced in. Troubleshooting is a process to identify errors and their source. On the other hand, debugging is a procedure to resolve such errors or bugs for a quality product. Developers usually spend more time debugging than troubleshooting. A Drupal developer skilled in the art of troubleshooting and debugging can cleanse away a lot of frustration.

17. Proficient with Drupal theming - Themes are a crucial part of Drupal. It is a layer that the site visitors view in their browser. Drupal developers are expected to create custom themes from scratch or improve the existing ones. Therefore, your Drupal developer should understand what Drupal themes are and how they work.

18. Aware of Drupal security best practices - Security has always been a major if not the topmost priority for most organizations. Drupal developers must be aware of the dos and don'ts of the Drupal security practices in order to avoid threats and vulnerabilities. They should also contribute mitigation strategies as required in order to keep optimal website health.

19. SEO support - SEO is an organic process to get more traffic and a better ranking on search engines. companies must establish strong SEO practices to optimize online visibility and get more opportunities to convert prospective visitors. A Drupal developer must possess SEO skills in order to do so.

20. Cross-browser compatibility - There are various large or small popular browsers that are preferred by different individuals this eliminates the chance of users using the same browsers to access your website. If you don't want to miss out on these prospective customers, you should hire a Drupal developer capable of ensuring cross-browser compatibility to your website.

21. Website optimization - There are several factors to website optimization, such as loading speed, performance, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and conversion. These factors are the key elements to improving user experience and ultimately converting them into loyal customers. That's why you must hire Drupal developers with a strong ability to detect any flaws and loopholes that might be hurting your website performance.

22. Proven experience with version control systems - A proficient Drupal developer should be well versed with leveraging tools like Git, SVN, or Mercurial. These tools allow developers to keep track of all the changes being made in the codebase. In case of any errors, developers can simply revert to the stable version of the codebase.

23. Template engine - Twing is a template engine supported by Drupal, and a competent Drupal developer should be capable of implementing the engine for accelerated development.

24. Understand the design process - It is necessary to understand the Drupal developer's design process or strategies to handle the entire Drupal project development. They should be able to harness the tool's capabilities for managing the development process from start to end like a pro.

25. Ask their expectation from you - Unclear expectations can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction. This is why before hiring Drupal developers; you must get a list of their expectations from your organizations. This way, you will have enough time to provide them with the necessary details or information, and when onboarded, they can get started without any hassle.

Final thoughts

As a growing company, you cannot make decisions without first confronting all the necessary and factual facets of the market. If you are planning to hire Drupal developers, the first thing you should do is make a list of your requirements and necessities. Understand that the right Drupal developer will not only accelerate and enhance your development process and project management but will also assist you in making the most out of your available resources.

However, hiring Drupal developers with adequate talent and experience is not as easy as it may seem. This is where Turing.com comes into the picture. Turing company offers companies a planetary pool of talented remote Drupal developers. Its AI-based Intelligent Talent Cloud is designed and developed to source, vet, match, and manage the Drupal developers. Get in touch to hire full-time, timezone-friendly, and Silicon Valley-standard Drupal developers for your team and join hundreds of organizations that rely on Turing for top remote engineering talents from across the globe.