Hiring a web developer is one of the highest-stakes decisions a small business or founder makes — most of you will only do it once or twice, and the cost of getting it wrong is months of wasted budget and a half-finished project nobody else wants to inherit. I've been on both sides: as the developer being hired, and as someone who's helped clients clean up after a previous developer disappeared.

Here's what to actually evaluate before signing.

1. Look at shipped work, not portfolio screenshots

Anyone can put a Figma mockup on a portfolio site and call it work. Ask for three live URLs of projects in production. Click around them. Submit the contact forms. Notice how fast they load. Test them on your phone.

If they can't show you three live sites, they're not ready to ship yours.

2. Watch for the "agency in disguise" pattern

Some "freelancers" are actually agencies that subcontract every project. You meet a charming salesperson, then never speak to the actual developer. The developer is offshore, on three other projects, and gets paid a fraction of what you're paying. The work shows it.

Ask: "Will I be working directly with you, or with someone you assign?" Get the answer in writing.

3. Make sure you own the code

Some developers — especially template-based ones — keep your project on their proprietary platform. You can't move it. You can't even see the source code. If they raise prices or disappear, you start from scratch.

Always require:

• Source code in a Git repo you own (your GitHub/GitLab account, not theirs).
• Domain registered in your name, with you as the admin contact.
• Hosting account in your name, with the developer added as a collaborator.
• Documentation handover covering deploy steps, environment variables, and how to update content.

4. Beware of the cheapest quote

If three developers quote $4,000 and one quotes $800, the $800 quote is not a deal — it's a different scope. They've either misunderstood the brief, plan to use a low-quality template, or will disappear once they realize the work involved.

Pick the middle. Trust the people who quote within $500 of each other.

5. Beware of the most expensive quote, too

Conversely, the $20,000 quote for a 5-page business site is also a red flag. Either the agency has high overhead it's passing to you, or they're padding because they think you don't know better. Either way, you're paying for someone else's office rent, not your project.

6. Communication style matters more than skill

I've worked with brilliant developers I'd never recommend because they go silent for days. Skill without communication is worse than mid-skill with daily updates. During the first call, notice:

• Did they reply to your email within 24 hours?
• Did they ask clarifying questions, or just say "yes" to everything?
• Did they push back on a bad idea, or were they purely transactional?
• Did they explain their process clearly?

The first interaction predicts the next 12 weeks.

The 12 questions to ask before signing

1. "Can I see three projects you've shipped that look similar to what I need?"
2. "Who is going to write the actual code — you or someone else?"
3. "What stack do you typically use, and why?"
4. "What's your process for handling change requests mid-project?"
5. "How often will I see progress, and on what URL?"
6. "What happens if you go on vacation or get sick mid-project?"
7. "Who owns the code, the domain, and the hosting after launch?"
8. "What's included in post-launch support? For how long?"
9. "Will I get the source code in a repo I own?"
10. "What's NOT in scope for this quote?" (Most clarifying answer of all.)
11. "How do you handle billing — fixed fee, hourly, or milestones?"
12. "Can I talk to one of your past clients?" (If yes, do it. If no, walk away.)

Red flags to walk away from

• Demands 100% upfront before any work starts.
• Won't sign a contract or scope document.
• "Can't show you references because of NDAs" (mostly bullshit; references are fine to share).
• Hosts your project on their own platform with no export option.
• Replies only via WhatsApp/Telegram with no formal email trail.
• Refuses to give you the GitHub repo until "final payment is cleared" (fine, but the milestone payments before that should already cover their work).
• Quotes "as low as $X" without ever giving you a final fixed number.

Green flags to look for

• Live URLs of past work loading instantly on your phone.
• A clear written scope document before any payment.
• Milestone-based payments (typically 30/40/30 or 25/25/25/25).
• A staging URL you can review weekly.
• Comfortable saying "no, that won't work because..."
• Real, named clients you can contact directly.

One last tip

Before you sign anything, send the developer a tiny paid task — maybe $200 for a one-page mockup or a small fix to your existing site. Watch how they handle it. If a $200 task is delivered late, the $4,000 project will be too.

If you're hiring me

Everything above is how I run my own projects. Source code in your repo, domain in your name, weekly demos on a staging URL, fixed-fee quotes, 30 days of free post-launch support. Email me at m2hgamerz.prince@gmail.com with what you're building and I'll send a same-day estimate.