How to Hire a Web Developer Without Getting Burned

Hiring someone to build your website, app, or software is one of those decisions where the downside is brutal and the upside is invisible until it's done. Get it right and you barely think about it again. Get it wrong and you lose the money, the months, and sometimes the momentum of the whole business.

Most people who've been burned weren't careless. They just didn't know which questions separate a builder who ships from one who disappears. Here's the checklist we'd use ourselves.

1. Talk to the person who will actually write the code

The single biggest predictor of a good outcome is whether you can speak directly to the builder. Agencies that route you through an account manager add a layer of telephone between what you need and what gets made — and that's where scope gets lost.

Ask plainly: "Who is doing the work, and will I talk to them directly?" If the answer is vague, or everything goes through a salesperson, expect miscommunication.

2. Ask for work they've actually shipped — live

Portfolios full of concept designs mean nothing. Ask for links to real, live products they built, ideally ones still running. A builder who has shipped their own products (not just client work) is an even stronger signal — it means they've taken something all the way from idea to production and maintained it.

If they can't show you anything live, that's your answer.

3. Get the timeline and the price in writing, before you pay

"It depends" is fine during a first conversation. It is not fine once you've committed. Before any money changes hands you should have, in writing:

• What exactly is being delivered
• The timeline, with milestones
• The total price, and what would change it

Surprise invoices are the number-one complaint about developers, and they're almost always a symptom of a vague scope agreed verbally. A clear written scope protects both sides.

4. Confirm you own everything at the end

You'd be surprised how often a business finishes a project and discovers they don't actually own their own website. The code sits in the developer's account. The domain is registered under the agency. The design files never get handed over.

Ask directly: "When we're done, do I own the source code, the accounts, the domain, and the design files — with no lock-in?" The answer should be an unqualified yes. If leaving would mean losing your own product, you don't own it; you're renting it.

5. Ask what happens after launch

Launch is not the finish line. Things break. Small changes come up. A builder who vanishes the moment the invoice clears leaves you stranded exactly when real users start hitting the product.

Ask what post-launch support is included. A short window of free support after launch is a sign the builder expects to stand behind their work.

6. Watch how they handle "I don't know"

This one is subtle. During your conversations, notice how they respond when they hit something they're unsure about. Someone who says "I'm not certain, let me check" is far more trustworthy than someone who has a confident answer for everything. Overconfidence is how you end up with software that looks fine in a demo and falls apart in real use.

The uncomfortable truth about cheap

The race-to-the-bottom freelance marketplaces are cheap for a reason. Reliability, communication, accountability, and ownership all cost something. That doesn't mean you should overpay a big agency for junior-quality work either — the sweet spot is a builder who does professional work, talks to you directly, and charges a fair, honest price.

The goal isn't the cheapest quote. It's the one where, six months from now, you still have a working product, you own it outright, and you'd hire them again.

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This is exactly how we work at LOTS Tech Services — you talk to the builder, get an upfront quote, own everything we make, and get 30 days of free support after launch. If you're weighing up who to trust with your next build, tell us what you need and we'll give you a straight answer within 24 hours.