7 Steps to Focus While Searching PHP Coders for Hire

In today's digital industry, PHP is unquestionably a powerful language. Despite being around for a long time, it can still govern the web development world for many years. As a result, whether it's a small or large enterprise-level project, PHP is one of the preferred languages for building reliable, scalable, and configurable web applications. Therefore, many companies are searching for PHP coders for hire.

Is it challenging to hire a PHP developer? Certainly not!

A structured recruiting pipeline can simplify the hiring process tremendously. We have compiled this comprehensive guide to find competent PHP coders to scale your business.

Without further ado, let's get right to the most crucial seven steps you must take when hiring PHP coders for your organization.

7-step process to hire the best PHP coders

Understand your project's requirements

The first step to hiring any developer is determining what your project requires. This is where you begin assessing your requirements and seeking answers to questions like - is PHP the right choice for your project? Do you require the services of a core PHP coder? Or, do you need to hire a developer familiar with open-source frameworks such as WordPress or Joomla?

Next, write a clear project description when you've decided to hire PHP developers. Describe the project's objectives precisely and consider any other essential factors.

The more details you can provide on the project, the better. A detailed description will enable PHP coders to quickly determine and comprehend the job role.

Pro-tip - Before you start using PHP, you first need to form a strong opinion about the language on how it can ensure your project will be a success. For instance, look at the benefits of PHP over other programming languages that can immensely help developers build an application that speaks true to its users.

a. Simple to use – PHP is simple to learn and implement. If an update is required, PHP coders can quickly expand functionalities. Furthermore, the language easily supports some of the most well-known content management systems, such as Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress, which all run on the server-side.

b. Open-source (and thus free!) – This also assists developers in getting started with PHP because it can be installed quickly and at no cost. There is also free access to various PHP frameworks, including Laravel and Symfony. This feature is also appealing to businesses because it helps companies control web development costs.

c. Cross-platform compatibility – PHP supports all major operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. PHP-powered websites can be easily integrated on many web servers, including Netscape, Microsoft IIS, Apache, Xitami, Tornado, etc. Hiring PHP coders, well-versed in building cross-platform applications can significantly benefit your business development.

d. Community support – In the community, PHP coders are happy to share their knowledge and expertise with everyone, including business owners.

Begin the hiring process with a detailed job description

PHP developers are highly skilled programmers who design and create custom PHP modules and contribute to all phases of the software development life cycle. They shoulder various responsibilities throughout the project, and these responsibilities should be communicated from the get-go in the form of a job description. A detailed PHP developer job description must include:

About the company - Use this section to highlight your company’s vision and mission statements. It will help attract the right people who are aligned with your vision and can contribute to the organization’s growth.

For e.g., “XYZ is a rapidly growing software service company that is on a mission to help enterprises adapt and thrive in the digital era. We ensure our state-of-art software solution enables our clients to tap into the power of advanced technology leading to exception growth.”

Responsibilities - In this section, briefly describe the developer's responsibilities and why you are searching for a PHP coder.

This will give the applicants an understanding of their role and deliverables. E.g.,

• Collaborate with other developers to create, test and deploy innovative web applications to meet the requirements.
• Test the websites and applications across different devices and browsers.
• Resolve the discrepancies found in the websites or applications.
• Examine the user experience, site performance, and relevant updates.
• Assess and build new features to enhance the applications.
• Update the web application regularly to keep up with the trends.
• Propose recent changes for the website to improve its performance and user experience.
• Choose relevant design tools and programming languages for the applications.
• Keep up-to-date on the current technologies by attending training sessions, workshops, and conferences.

Requirements - Use this section to list down all your essential requirements and the expertise a developer must have to apply for the role. It will help you eliminate unqualified applications for the job role. For e,g.,

• Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Computer Science or any other relevant field
• Minimum 3+ years of experience in PHP development
• Proficiency in Core PHP, OOPS, MySQL, JQuery, Ajax, etc
• Strong foundation in PHP frameworks like Laravel, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, etc.
• Understanding of front-end technologies and code versioning tools
• Working experience with common third-party APIs
• Good communication and collaboration skills

Benefits offered - This section is important to highlight why a PHP coder should apply to your organization. Use this section to mention all the benefits, including add–ons provided to the employees at your firm. For e.g.,

• Career growth
• Health insurance benefits
• Retirement plans
• Paid vacation
• Education assistance

Know where can you hire full-time PHP coders

To find the best PHP development team, go where they spend most of their time. Some popular tech platforms, such as Stackoverflow, Mogul, Meetup, GitHub, etc., allow developers to ask and answer questions.

You can also delegate the task of hiring dedicated PHP developers to Turing, a deep jobs platform. Our AI-powered Intelligent Talent Cloud enables you to remotely source, vet, match, and manage the world's best software developers.

However, when searching on these platforms, don't forget to include the previously mentioned step of clearly stating job responsibilities and requirements.

Look for these top 3 items in the developer's portfolio

With the advent of technology, it has become vital to create reliable and cost-efficient applications. As a result, many businesses rely on PHP to develop fully-featured and advanced applications. Besides its compatibility and scalability, the language can achieve almost anything. Several PHP frameworks are widely available to aid developers in every step of the development phase. Hence, there is a high demand for dedicated PHP developers in the tech industry.

It is crucial to look for PHP developers for hire who are experienced and thoroughly understand the unique requirements of your business. They should be capable of customizing your website according to your business needs.

Let us get into the top 3 things you should look for in a PHP developer’s portfolio:

a. Expertise in coding with PHP:

Developers with expertise in PHP understand the technology needed to launch a business. Hence, always look for developers who are proficient in creating dynamic and smooth applications that perfectly fit your business needs.

b. Creativity and innovation:

PHP developers, who possess a creative and innovative approach to software development, provide expertise unmatched by other developers. A passionate approach to project creation that incorporates absolute best practices will assist you in creating an application that is appealing to your customers, enabling you to capture more business.

c. Database flexibility:

The ability to use a variety of database servers makes a PHP developer stand out from the crowd. This is also the most advantageous feature of PHP. For instance, the most popular server, MySQL, can be used for free via PHP. Therefore, before you hire a PHP coder, ensure that he is flexible with using a variety of database servers.

Check whether the developer knows PHP's core functions

The use of core PHP functions is one of the language's best features. For those unfamiliar with the term, PHP functions can help you understand the logic. Now, if you're writing a fundamental code (like sorting), there's a good chance you'll come across a predefined PHP function.

Consider having over a thousand different built-in PHP functions ready to use during programming. It's also worth noting that a developer can use these PHP functions multiple times. Therefore, it is advantageous to find PHP coders for hire who are well-versed in PHP functions.

Ask practical interview questions

The PHP coder must be well-versed in programming knowledge of PHP and HTML. Verify a developer's portfolio to learn about their experience and expertise. A developer’s experience with various frameworks, such as CodeIgniter and CakePHP, can serve as a check on multiple parameters. PHP coders must know about working with various databases, plugins, and hosting options.

To handle complex tasks in the software world, any developer must have the right set of complex skills. The following are the necessary skills to look for when hiring a PHP developer:

• Certifications for technical proficiency or previous projects based on PHP
• Fluency in technical and non-technical communication
• Ability to work well within a team environment or independently
• Complete understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Capable of managing multiple projects at once
• What, why, and how of web development, web services, and GIT
• Knowledge of development tools, frameworks, and libraries

To ease out the process for you, we have listed down a few example interview questions you can ask to evaluate the candidate accurately:

a. Ask them about the projects they are currently working on (or have previously worked on) in their spare time.

Technology advances at breakneck speed. When looking for a web developer, hire a PHP coder who invests some of their own time developing their skills and staying current with emerging trends. Candidates should be able to talk about some personal projects they have worked on in the past or present and possibly show you their work.

b. What were their responsibilities at work?

The work responsibilities assigned to a PHP coder will give you a good idea of the candidate's personality traits, such as their multitasking, technical and creative abilities. Knowing all of this, you can determine whether or not that developer is one you can rely on.

c. What kinds of technical challenges have they encountered at work? And how do they handle them?

Ask a question about their most complex technical challenges at work. It gives them a chance to demonstrate their take on the difficulties encountered. A strong candidate shows how well they can handle all of the stones thrown at them. Inquire about how they address difficult challenges. Their response will also demonstrate how they care about their customers' satisfaction.

d. Ask them to spot the error in a given piece of code.

During an interview, it's common practice to ask candidates to write code by hand, which isn't ideal. Another option is to print out a piece of code with strategically placed errors and ask interviewees to debug it. This is a quick way to determine their technical knowledge and attention to detail.

If hiring from an agency, read the company's feedback and testimonials

Testimonials are a reflection of customer content. Positive feedback from previous customers assures you that the agency or company you have chosen provides first-rate service to its clients.

Examine all of the testimonials thoroughly. Even contacting them will give you an impression of the work satisfaction provided by the company to its customers.

Positive reviews and testimonials are always included on a trustworthy company's website. Take the opportunity and thoroughly examine the reviews.

Follow this 7-step process to hire a PHP coder for your company, and we guarantee you will never make a wrong hiring decision.

How can Turing help?

Turing.com is one of the best platforms to use if you want to hire remote coders for your business. It is a deep jobs platform that goes above and beyond to ensure you hire the best professionals for your company. Its unique AI-powered Intelligent Talent Cloud enables you to remotely source, vet, match, and manage the most skilled and eligible PHP developers.

Turing.com evaluates the candidate's experience, skill, knowledge, and performance using a perfect blend of efficiency and thoroughness. Turing allows you to tap into the planetary talent pool with strong technical and communication skills in this remote-first world. You can now find PHP coder

Wrapping up

After going over the abovementioned factors, you must have realized that PHP development is all about evolving. PHP coders must be as efficient as the PHP programming language. You must look forward to hiring PHP coders with extensive experience in relevant technologies and the most advanced PHP frameworks to be part of your development team.

Know that you are not hiring a PHP developer solely to have a timely developed web app; instead, you are choosing someone who will provide you with the best results over a substantial period.