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The 24 best sites to hire Web developers in 2023

Updated on September 18, 2023
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Kelly Wilson
Written by Kelly Wilson

Strategist and entrepreneur, with experience in hiring developers across various industries. Kelly has established herself as a trusted expert in identifying and recruiting top tech talent. She shares advanced tips on how to identify the right talent, create hiring strategies, develop your tech teams and much more.

Expertise: IT Recruiting, Tech, Marketing

Building a web project from scratch or revamping an existing one? Our comprehensive hiring guide is your roadmap to success. We delve into the intricacies of hiring web developers, offering expert advice, practical tips, and a curated list of top talent platforms. From frontend wizards to backend gurus, our guide helps you find the right professionals for your unique project requirements. Gain insights into the hiring process, evaluate candidates effectively, and create exceptional web experiences that leave a lasting impact.

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Here are the top 24 sites to hire freelance Web developers:

Based on our research among online hiring platforms

1. Toptal

Initially created with tech talent in mind, Toptal hosts a network of talented, high-quality freelancers for web development and website design. If you want to be sure that a freelance web developer is up to the job, hiring a front-end web developer from Toptal is likely your best option.

Why? Toptal boasts a developer base that understands CSS, PHP, Python, WordPress, and most other programming languages or frameworks you throw their way. Their trademark system for vetting talent allows for only the best to become a part of their community. According to Toptal, only 3% of web developers make it through their battery of technical tests and comprehensive vetting process.

2. Hired

Hired helps employers easily find web developers and front-end developers. On Hired, you can use their pipeline to hire developers to work within your development process. You can create a company profile, and search for candidates to fill out your development team using their search algorithm (which can eliminate gender and racial identifiers for fairer hiring), and request interviews with candidates to review your project requirements.

Why else do we love Hired? It's great for finding expert web programmers who are actively searching for new opportunities, have relevant experience, and might even be in your area.

3. Upwork

If recruiting services and job boards aren't your first choice, you might want to consider a freelance marketplace like Upwork.

Upwork has one of the largest marketplaces of registered website developers. You can hire contractors for a few simple coding tasks or begin a long-term relationship with a series of complex projects. If you like the idea of finding, interviewing, and managing freelance web developers, Upwork's marketplace will likely meet your needs.

4. Gigster

Gigster connects you with a qualified team of front-end developers for a variety of tech projects.

Gigster sets clients up with product managers, who act as liaisons between clients and Gigster web development experts. This makes project management much smoother, especially for inexperienced managers. Gigster should be able to match you with a development team in far less time than a typical recruitment agency.

5. People Per Hour

People Per Hour is a freelance marketplace akin to Upwork. What makes People Per Hour unique is that it holds contests and allows freelancers to post their job postings at hourly rates.

Between millions of registered members, thousands of confirmed hours, and success stories from freelancers and entrepreneurs alike. The ease of posting jobs, contacting freelancers, and paying for hours worked makes People Per Hour a superb choice for employers interested in searching for and vetting freelance candidates for full-time, part-time, or contract web design.

Additionally, with People Per Hour, you can connect with local freelancers, so you aren't necessarily limited to remote talent.

6. Dice

Dice is one of the leading databases for technology professionals, managing millions of profiles in the United States. The platform helps technology professionals manage their careers, and employers connect with highly skilled tech talent from across the country.

Dice will provide you with insights, data, and career opportunities for technology professionals while putting state-of-the-art tools in the hands of recruiters and employers seeking tech talent.

7. Angular Jobs

Angular Jobs is a job board for advertising positions related to the Google-maintained framework AngularJS. AngularJS is an open-source front-end framework based on JavaScript. AngularJS is popular because it simplifies both development and testing for web applications.

If you're looking to hire a front-end web developer or designer, they'll likely have experience with AngularJS. Angular Jobs is a good site to find web engineers if you have the time to vet candidates yourself.

8. Remoteok.com

Founded in 2015, RemoteOK is a leading remote job board home to a pool of professional and experienced developers from across the globe. From CSS developers to Java specialists to front-end programmers to backend builders, finding and hiring web developers is a convenient task with RemoteOK. Microsoft, Starbucks, Stripe, Amazon, among others, all place their trust in RemoteOK.

RemoteOK also offers flexible payment solutions in addition to customized hiring packages and a host of useful add-ons, including featured ads, company branding, and job post highlights, each with individual costs. Whether you are looking to hire web development specialists for your new software or expand your existing team, RemoteOK makes for a great platform to consider.

9. Guru

Use Guru’s large network to easily explore the profiles of freelance web developers, propose projects, and pay your hired talent with their secure SafePay system.

Guru’s freelance network hosts different types of professionals, including Android developers. Like with Upwork and People Per Hour, you'll be able to narrow your search yourself. Also, vetting and interviewing will be up to you.

10. Freelancer

Freelancer is a marketplace with a large number of registered users and total posted jobs. Android development is a popular search category on Freelancer, so you will be able to browse through their pool of Android freelancer profiles, vet and interview candidates yourself, and manage payments yourself. If you're looking for an affordable option, Freelancer might be a solution worth exploring.

11. Authentic Jobs

Authentic Jobs is a job board for some of the leading web, design, and creative talent on the web. This site has been steadily rising in popularity since its inception and was even the portal used by The New York Times in part of its acquisition process.

Because front-end web development often involves both creative and technical skills, use Authentic Jobs to begin your search for web and front-end development. A large portion of their job board is populated with listings of web and mobile developer positions, which are likely similar to your own needs.

Authentic Jobs also allows for posting developer positions remote or local, so you are not necessarily limited to remote employees or freelancers.

12. X-Team

X-Team matches you with qualified front-end developers who receive mentorship and educational resources just for being a part of X-Team. Like Toptal and Gun.io, they do the heavy lifting of hiring, so you won't be saddled with rifling through resumes or preparing personalized interview scripts.

13. Envato Studio

Envato is one of the largest marketplaces for web design and WordPress themes with tons of available assets. Most programmers can sell their work through the platform, making it one of the leading digital asset marketplaces on the web.

Envato Studio is Envato's own curated pool of freelancers. You can hire a professional designer, developer, or creative. They  sell their services at variable rates and ranging in price.

14. Hubstaff Talent

If you’re looking to hire a freelance web developer with whom you can work on a more continuous basis, then Hubstaff Talent can be a great choice. The platform helps you find freelance developers from across the globe. So, if you’re based in the US but are comfortable working with someone who is in India, you can find that here.

However, unlike most other freelance platforms, at Hubstaff Talent, the website developers do not bid on projects. You have to review the profiles available on the platform and get in touch with someone who you think fits the bill. You can discuss your project with them and if there’s a good fit, you can hire them.

15. Simply Hired

Simply Hired is one of the largest job boards that posts around millions of job listings everyday from over 700,000 unique employers. The platform operates akin to a search engine in 24 countries and 12 languages.

Simply Hired collects good job listings from across the web by going through multiple job boards, niche job platforms, career pages of various companies, and more. To hire a web developer, you can post a listing on the platform and wait for applications to come in. The platform also boasts of some useful resources such as salary recommendations and a hiring guide to help employers and freelancers.

16. Upstack

Upstack is an employer’s all-in-one remote talent solution. You can find and hire web developers for a specific project or for the long term. The platform offers freelancers that companies can retain and nurture for all their projects. As a platform, Upstack has its unique way of functioning. To hire a freelance web developer, you have to get in touch with one of Upstack’s account managers with whom you discuss your project and your expectations. They then connect you with someone who fits your description so that you can get started risk-free. Upstack allows you a 14-day free trial and if you’re happy with the results, then you can subscribe to their plan.

17. Borderless Mind

If you’re open to hiring web developers overseas, then Borderless Mind can be a good platform. Here, you can find tech professionals that are based primarily in India. The platform has a rigorous screening and vetting process that gives you access to the creme de la creme of web development that boasts knowledge of latest frameworks, technologies, software development languages, experiences, and skills. To hire a freelance web developer on this platform, you have to select the desired skill (in this case, web development), fill out a form, interview the candidates, select the one you like, and kick off your project.

18. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social media platform that also acts as a job board for professionals across different industries. It’s a great online platform to engage with people from your industry, share updates, post a new job, search for appropriate candidates, and stay connected with your colleagues. Most users on LinkedIn build a comprehensive profile highlighting the work they do, what they’re good at, their academics, accolades, and much more.

To hire a web developer, you can either post a new job or do a search and find candidates that fit your criteria. In fact, you can use both these options simultaneously. You can find a freelance web developer from across the globe and reach out directly to them.

19. Topcoder

Topcoder is a global crowdsourcing platform for designers and developers. The platform initially started as a community that’s solely focused on coders who wanted to build algorithms. However, over the years, Topcoder has evolved into a global community that boasts of talented people who build amazing digital solutions. To find and hire a web developer here, you can post your project on the platform and Topcoder will then make it available to all its developers. Soon enough, you’ll start receiving solutions from across the globe on how to best execute your project. If you like someone, you can strike a conversation with them, build a relationship, and get started. You can even find people to work with for the long term here. Topcoder has got some of the top brands on its platform including Microsoft, SpaceNet, Harvard Medical School, and more.

20. Workana

As a platform, Workana specializes in offering freelancers who boast great tech and design skills. Similar to most other freelance portals, you can start by creating a job posting here for a web developer where you can highlight the project details and other specifics such as timelines, expertise, experience, and more. The freelancers on the platform look for the project and bid on it. You can shortlist and interview the ones that you like and hire a web developer that best fits the bill. To get started, you’ll be asked to make the full payment for the project. Workana holds the payment in escrow and processes it once you’re satisfied with the outcome. The freelance professionals on Workana create their profiles highlighting their expertise, experience, rate, skills, and more so that you have a good idea of who you will be working with.

21. Krop

Krop’s has an intuitive search mechanism that allows you to find tech professionals for freelance, full-time, or part-time. Krop offers a portfolio building tool that creatives and developers use to build their profiles highlighting their skills, work, experience, projects, and more. Some of the world's most respectable brands and professionals are a part of Krop. To hire a web developer, you can start by posting a job on the platform detailing all the specifics such as timelines and skills needed. Krop will then give you access to its large database of over 100,000 resumes and portfolios that you can browse through and find the right candidate. The platform also promotes the unique talents of individual professionals to organizations that are looking for a more permanent team member.

22. Flexjobs

Flexjobs offers freelancers for almost all sorts of projects under the sun. The candidates, as well as the organizations, on the platform are thoroughly screened giving both parties peace of mind about their legitimacy. The freelance web developers on the website participate in various skill tests that adds to their overall credibility and validates their knowledge and expertise on the subject. To hire a freelance web developer on Flexjobs, you can start by posting a job and interview freelancers. Select the ones you like and start working with them.

23. Nexxt

Nexxt boasts of over 85 million members and more than 27 million resumes making it easy for you to find great freelance web developers, an all in one, easy-to-use platform. Nexxt has a suite of customizable solutions ranging from enterprise to small/medium sized businesses and agencies. The company has worked with some of the world’s leading brands including FedEx, The Home Depot, Merck, Target and more. The platform offers an interactive desktop platform and Search API that allows you to discover the right talent in the company’s vast and diverse database.

24. Fiverr

Fiverr is an online freelance marketplace that we believe is best suited for small business owners or solo entrepreneurs. Freelancers offer incredibly affordable rates, so if you're willing to wade through offers and freelancer profiles (and trust your vetting skills), then Fiverr could be a serviceable option.

Note: Fiverr offers a premium service called Fiverr Pro. Fiverr Pro allows you to search through pre-vetted profiles.

Based on facts publicly available as of 01.01.2023

Guide to hiring great freelance Web developers

In this day and age, web developers are not only desirable; they’ve almost become necessary. It's nearly impossible to have a brand or an identity without a strong online presence. As a result, web developers must be adept at creating incredible user experiences. Assessing this alone can be tough. Your web developer should have knowledge of PHP, HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Java. Thankfully, there are sites out there that can help you make sense of the hiring process.

What Is Web Development?

Web development is the programming and coding work required in developing a website for the Internet or an intranet. Web development also includes a host of development services from building a simple single static page of plain text to complex web applications, eCommerce stores, electronic businesses, and social network services.

In essence, Web Development has only become stronger as a career prospect for developers. Furthermore, companies all over the world have some type of web presence and this simple fact is a testament to the fact that web development will only be even more crucial in 2021. With the advent of new web development languages like React, Vue, Angular, and more, Web development is evolving and getting better and more efficient with time.

The other important aspect contributing to the consistent growth of web development is the advent of virtual assistants, Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Voice Search, and other such smart web development that is required to build smart solutions.

Some of the best sites to hire developers include Toptal, Arc, Gun.io, Fiverr, Upwork, and more.

Web development is an essential component of marketing as well as technology. One of the main reasons behind the popularity of Web Development is because it is a robust and rewarding career prospect for individuals. Similarly, Web Development is a critical business function for companies.

What Is a Web Developer?

A web developer is a professional programmer who specializes in the development of software and applications on the Internet using a client-server model. Web development essentially is creating websites. A web programmer's primary role is ensuring that the site looks good and is easy to use, but they're also responsible for making sure the site performs well and has enough resources available. Web developers can specialize in a suite of different programming languages. They are usually categorized as front-end developers or back-end developers or full-stack developers depending on their specialty or skills.

Here is what you need to keep in mind when hiring a Web developer:

  • Identify the purpose of hiring a web developer: Are you looking to make minor updates to your web page? Do you need to build an entirely new site? A new mobile app? Is something wrong with your analytics? Do you need a new tool created?
  • Use reliable platforms and tools: Hire web developers using the leading platforms like Toptal, LinkedIn, Arc, Upwork, and more.
  • Interview the candidate: Discuss, explain, communicate, and give full context and all the details about the project. Ask relevant questions to gauge the expertise and compatibility of the developer with your team.
Web development for businesses
What is web development used for?Creating, designing, and maintaining websites and web applications.
Advantages:Wide reach and accessibility, Platform independence, Continuous availability and updates
Disadvantages:Compatibility challenges, Performance limitations, Security vulnerabilities
Related programming languages:HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Java
Freelancers average hourly rate:$15 to $100 per hour, depending on factors such as skill lever, experience, location and complexity of the project.
Where to hire?Freelance marketplaces, job boards, online communities and forums related to web development, professional networking sites, and industry-specific job portals that cater to the tech industry.

How To Hire a Web Developer

Essentially, there are three different options for hiring: full-time, part-time or freelance basis. If you are looking to build a full-fledged web development team, then hiring full-time Web Developers makes sense. The biggest advantage of hiring full-time developers is the ability to monitor and control the pace of your project and the ability to ensure quality, However, hiring full-time Web developers has its cons such as having to give paid leaves and incur employee insurance expenses. Hiring part-time is lucrative when you’re looking for a simple project to be completed. Hiring freelance Web developers is wise as this enables you to save on cost involved and time spent on hiring and training.

How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Freelance Web Developer

A Web Developer’s expertise lies in taking care of server-side and front-end logic. Typically speaking, they are well-versed in HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and JQuery for front-end work, and are generally familiar with Perl, Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, ASP, and/or ASP.net for server-side frameworks.

Having said that, there are certain factors that determine the cost of hiring a freelance Web developer:

  • Complexity and scope of the project
  • The geographic location of the freelance developer and the employer
  • Expertise and experience level of the developer
  • Past work experience and brands they’ve worked with

The average web developer hourly rate is $61-80, but rates vary depending on what technologies the developer is familiar with, their experience, and more. Usually, full-stack developers charge more as compared to basic or intermediate programmers.

What Skills To Look For Before Hiring a Freelance Web Developer

Look for the following qualities in your freelance Web developer candidates.

  • Strong technical proficiency
  • Experience with various Web frameworks
  • Great communication skills
  • Ability to work independently
  • Strongly motivated and reliable
  • Depth in past work
  • Keen problem solving and coding
  • Excellent reviews and feedbacks

How To Find a Freelance Web Developer

Finding top web developer talent doesn't have to be difficult. If you use talent matching services like Toptal, there’s absolutely zero work that has to be done on your end. Companies like Toptal vet and interview programmers for you and match you with the best freelancers based on your needs.If quality is a priority, then sites like Toptal, Scalable Path, and Gigster can be of great use. If you’re concerned with saving money, then you may want to explore affordable freelance marketplaces. Upwork, PeoplePerHour, and Freelancer have communities composed of millions of freelancers.

You’re bound to find the right fit if you’re willing to put in the time and energy of prospecting potential web developer hires yourself. Companies should also think about supplementing their efforts by perusing popular online developer communities like Stack Overflow and GitHub or outsourcing software development.

Dedicated freelance website developers spend a lot of their time on sites like these to hone their skills so their job boards can be of great use to your company.

Job boards, marketplaces, and matching services all have their uses. Which site will best serve you will depend on your specific situation.

Ultimately, which sites you employ to find them depends on a multitude of factors, such as:

  • How quickly do you need to hire a web developer (i.e., your timeline)
  • How much experience do you have hiring high-quality developers
  • Whether or not you’re equipped to test technical skills and programming languages
  • How many programmers do you need to bring onto your development team
  • The years of experience those front-end developers need
  • Whether or not you’re open to remote workers, local freelancers, or using a web development agency
  • What your budget constraints are
  • Your project management process and your capacity to manage front-end, back-end, and full-stack developers

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