Hiring a freelance web developer can help you launch faster, fix critical issues, and improve your site without building an in-house team.
But there is a common mistake that costs businesses real money: focusing only on design and price, while ignoring security, performance, and maintainability. Those three areas decide whether your website stays stable, loads fast, and protects customer data.
TechiesGuardian covers practical tech guidance across cybersecurity, software, and modern web trends. This article gives you a clear checklist you can use to hire confidently, even if you are not technical.
Quick checklist (read this first)
Before you sign anything, confirm the developer can clearly explain:
- How do they prevent common web app risks (OWASP Top 10 is a baseline).
- How they measure and improve Core Web Vitals (real user experience metrics).
- How they handle backups, updates, access control, and incident response for small businesses.
- What you will own at the end (logins, source files, documentation).
- How change requests work (so scope does not explode).
If they cannot answer these in plain language, keep looking.
Table of Contents
Step 1: Define the real job (not just “build me a site”)
Most hiring problems start with a vague scope. Instead, choose the category that matches your need:
- A) New build or redesign
Typical goals: lead generation, credibility, bookings, and ecommerce
- B) Performance and conversion upgrade
Typical work: speed, mobile fixes, layout consistency, technical SEO cleanup
- C) Security hardening and maintenance
Typical work: updates, backups, monitoring, access control, vulnerability fixes
- D) Custom features and integrations
Typical work: CRMs, analytics events, forms, booking systems, payments, dashboards
Write down your top outcome in one sentence, such as:
- “Increase qualified leads from the website by improving speed and homepage clarity.”
- “Launch a Shopify store with reliable checkout, tracking, and email capture.”
This keeps you focused and prevents feature overload.
Step 2: Ask for proof that they follow secure development basics
You do not need a security team to hire safely. You just need a proof-based process.
The baseline standard: OWASP Top 10 awareness
The OWASP Top 10 is widely used as a starting point for the most critical web application security risks.
Ask the developer:
- Which OWASP risks are most relevant to this project?
- What do you do to reduce those risks in practice?
- How do you validate fixes before launch?
You are not looking for perfection. You are looking for maturity and a repeatable process.
Security items your developer should include by default
- HTTPS is enforced and configured correctly
- Strong admin and hosting access controls (least privilege)
- Secure form handling and input validation
- Dependency and plugin update strategy
- Backups with restore testing
- Logging for critical events (logins, form submits, errors)
- A plan for security patches after launch
If they treat security as an “add-on,” that is a red flag.
Step 3: Make performance measurable with Core Web Vitals
A site that looks good but loads slowly will lose visitors and conversions.
Core Web Vitals are metrics Google uses to measure real-world user experience.
Ask the developer:
- How will you measure Core Web Vitals before and after?
- What tools will you use (Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, real user data)?
- What changes typically move the needle on this platform?
What a practical plan sounds like
- Compress and properly size images.
- Reduce heavy scripts and unused code.
- Improve caching and server response.
- Fix layout shift issues.
- Optimize fonts and third-party tags.
If they only promise “it will be fast” without measurement, you have no control.
Step 4: Use a simple paid test task (the fastest way to reduce risk)
A small paid test task reveals more than a sales call.
Choose a task that matches the real work:
- Fix a mobile layout problem on a staging page.
- Speed up a slow page and document what changed.
- Build one landing page section based on a reference.
A good freelancer will:
- Ask clarifying questions
- Communicate what is in scope.
- Deliver clean, testable work.
- Explain tradeoffs in plain English.
Step 5: Interview questions that predict a smooth project
These questions are designed to expose process and accountability.
- What assumptions are you making about content, approvals, and third-party tools?
- What will the project look like by the milestone, and what will you deliver each time?
- What is your QA checklist before launch?
- How do you handle change requests and additional features?
- What is your approach to security and risk reduction for small businesses?
- How do you measure performance and Core Web Vitals improvement?
- What will I own at the end (accounts, admin access, code, documentation)?
- What support do you provide after launch?
Strong candidates answer clearly, without dodging.
Step 6: Use milestone payments tied to deliverables
Avoid paying for time. Pay for outcomes you can verify.
Here is a clean milestone model:
- Scope confirmationFinal brief, sitemap, feature list, exclusions2. Staging buildCore pages working on staging3. FunctionalityForms, integrations, key features working4. QA and performanceBugs fixed, speed improvements documented, tracking verified5. Launch and handoffLive deployment, access handoff, basic documentation6. Post-launch window14 to 30 days of fixes and support
This structure prevents “almost done” projects that never finish.
Step 7: The handoff checklist that protects you long term
Before the final payment, confirm you receive:
- Admin access to your CMS and hosting
- Domain and DNS access (or documented changes)
- Plugin and theme list (with licenses explained)
- Backup and restore instructions
- Documentation for key changes
- Tracking setup documentation (what events are tracked and where)
- A list of recurring costs (hosting, plugins, tools)
This reduces long-term dependency and makes future work cheaper.
Teams like Osdire typically focus on disciplined scope control, measurable performance improvements, and a secure launch process, which is exactly what most small businesses need.”
Final take
Hiring a freelance web developer is easier when you evaluate the work the same way you would evaluate any technical system.
Security should have a baseline (OWASP awareness).
Performance should be measurable (Core Web Vitals).
And the project should be controlled with milestones and documentation (a common NIST-aligned small business approach is to make risk management practical and repeatable).
