Hire a web developer: how to find, test and choose the right one

The marketing lead knows the feeling: the website was built by a freelancer five years ago, every WordPress update breaks something, and the original developer no longer answers emails. Now someone new has to be found, and the question is who. The job ad brings 40 applications that all say "full stack", the freelance platforms are full of five-star profiles, and agency quotes differ by a factor of three. This guide is written for that situation. We build websites and web apps ourselves, so we have an interest here, but the advice holds whoever you end up choosing.

Which kind of web developer do you need?

"Web developer" covers many profiles, and the fastest way to waste time is to look for the wrong one. Start with the task and find the profile from there. If the terms are unfamiliar, we have explained frontend and backend and what a full stack developer does in separate guides.

The last row is often overlooked. Many businesses look for one developer when they really need both a designer and a developer. If that is you, read web designer vs web developer before you write the job ad.

Freelancer, agency or employed web developer?

An employee makes sense when there is enough work for a full position for at least a couple of years, and when you have someone who can lead and assess a developer’s work. Otherwise many end up with a talented person working alone without sparring, spending half their time on maintenance. We go deeper into that trade-off in in-house developer vs agency and freelancer vs agency.

What does a web developer cost per hour in 2026?

The hourly rate alone tells you little. A senior at DKK 1,200 an hour who solves the task in 40 hours is cheaper than a junior at DKK 600 who takes 120 hours and leaves code nobody else can build on. So always ask for an estimate in hours for your specific task, and for what happens if the estimate is exceeded. Read more in the guide to developer hourly rates.

Worked example: a 12-page website for a 15-person company

A consultancy with 15 employees needs a new website: 12 pages, a news archive, a contact form connected to the CRM and a booking feature for meetings. A senior freelancer estimates 60–90 hours at DKK 1,000, that is DKK 60,000–90,000 plus hosting and maintenance billed as you go. An agency on hourly billing often lands in the same range or higher, but includes design and testing. With us the task fits the Medium package at DKK 36,000 plus DKK 900 a month, covering design, development, 2 integrations, hosting and maintenance. Three models, three risk profiles: on hours you carry the risk, on a fixed price the supplier carries it.

Where do you find a good web developer?

• Your network: ask other businesses who built a site you like. It is still the best source.
• LinkedIn: search for technology plus city, such as "Next.js developer Copenhagen", and look at what people have actually built.
• Job boards: Jobindex for employees and The Hub for startup roles and freelancers.
• International platforms: Upwork and Toptal give access to many profiles but need more screening.
• Agency directories such as Clutch, where agencies have reviews and example projects.
• GitHub and tech meetups, where skilled developers show code and share knowledge.
• The site itself: find a website you like and check the footer or the source code to see who made it.

Whatever the source, the same applies: a five-star profile is a starting point for a conversation and no proof on its own. The best developers are often busy and do little self-promotion, so networks and recommendations beat ads.

How do you test a web developer before hiring?

Check the portfolio like a customer

1. Open three of the sites on your phone. Do menus, forms and images work?
2. Run them through PageSpeed Insights. Good speed means LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 ms and CLS under 0.1.
3. Ask exactly what the developer did on each project.
4. Ask whether the site still runs on the original build, and why or why not.
5. Call one former client and ask about collaboration, deadlines and what happened after launch.

Give a small paid test task

The best test is a small, paid task of 2–4 hours that resembles the real work: build a section from a design, fix a known bug on your current site, or describe in writing how they would connect your form to your CRM. Pay for the time. It signals respect, and the best people often decline unpaid tests. Look at whether they ask clarifying questions, whether the code is readable, and whether they deliver on time.

Questions for the interview

• How would you build our site, and why that technology?
• How do you make sure the site is fast and findable on Google?
• How do you handle updates and security after launch?
• Where does the code live, and how do we get access?
• What happens if you fall ill or get busy with another client?
• Tell us about a project that went wrong. What did you learn?
• How and how often will we hear from you during the project?

Which red flags should you look out for?

• A fixed price without any questions about the task.
• The code and hosting are in the developer’s name, with no plan for handover.
• No real projects to show, only templates and mockups.
• One answer to everything: the same technology and plugin regardless of the task.
• No written agreement on maintenance, updates and response times.
• Large unpaid test tasks where the work gets used afterwards.

What should the agreement with the web developer include?

Even small tasks deserve a short written agreement. It protects both sides and makes it easy to change developer later. Paste the list below into your email and ask the developer to confirm each point:

• Scope: which pages and features are included, and what is explicitly out.
• Price and payment: fixed price or hours, estimate, cap and payment schedule.
• Ownership: code, design and content pass to you on payment.
• Access: repository, hosting, domain and CMS in your name from day one.
• Maintenance: who updates, how often, and what it costs per month.
• Response time: how fast the developer reacts if the site is down.
• GDPR: a data processing agreement if the developer gets access to personal data.
• Exit: what is handed over if the collaboration ends, and with what notice.

The access point is the one we most often see missing when businesses come to us after a collaboration has stalled. Creating the account in your own name takes five minutes at the start and can take weeks to untangle afterwards. Read more in the guide to who owns the code.

How to hire a web developer step by step

When does a combined team like Ceptiv make sense?

We are one option among several, and we fit best when you need both design and development, want a fixed price instead of hours, and like having hosting and maintenance in one place. We are a senior team in Copenhagen building in React, Next.js and TypeScript, and you own the code and the data. If you need one person sitting in your team every day for years, an employee or a regular freelancer is a better match. To compare, see our web development, our pricing, or get a written proposal within 24 hours.