A Comprehensive Guide to Hiring and Vetting React Developers for Startups

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According to Slashdata, there were 18.9 software developers globally in 2019. That number is expected to rise to 45 million by 2030. With so many developers in the marketplace, it’s more important than ever to make sure the developers you bring onto your team are competent. Especially for early stage startups when funding may not be guaranteed in the long-term, the quality of the software developer can make or break the company.

You know you need a React dev. What next?

If you’re looking for the lowest industry rates, we recommend checking freelance marketplaces such as Upwork and Fiverr. If you go with these platforms, make sure to thoroughly vet your dev as quality can be inconsistent.

If you’d rather have someone else take care of the vetting process or find a more advanced developer, we’d suggest a curated marketplace such as TopTal. (We also provide this service. Reach out to us here if we can help.)

Okay. How do you vet a React developer?

We recommend vetting every software developer by having them complete a mini version of the real project you need completed. Use the same tools and process you’d use working with them long term but scope off a small (i.e. 10 hour) project. (Pro tip: make sure to pay them for it! Experienced developers will expect this– and it’s the right thing to do).

[For a more detailed breakdown of his process, check out our unique vetting process.]

What type of test project should you assign?

Know your work. If your work is

V1 → Prototype it cheaply. Don’t have your devs reinvent the wheel. Instead, have them lean on UI frameworks and backends-as-a-service so you can best differentiate skill level. This will get you the fastest build for the lowest budget.
High iteration (i.e. need to try many features for multiple platforms) → Create wireframes that get developers a clear idea of what to build. If you want pixel perfect implementation, design it beyond wireframes to be dev-ready work in Figma.
Late stage (i.e. extending a 3 year old react app with 50K users to have a few new features or updating its UI) → Look for developers who can implement pixel perfect UIs.

How do you evaluate a React project?

Look for:

Clarity - How do they organize their components? Is the naming clear enough for you to understand? Will you be able to find things later? Using Typescript is one of our green flags because it tells us that the dev prioritizes long-term clarity over short-term ease.
Quality - Is their code up-to-date? Are they using hooks or does their code feel like a timewarp to 2017? Some devs might have a good reason for using dated code, but on the whole, we find that devs who stay sharp produce the best quality work.
Logic - How do they explain their decision-making process? Two competent devs might make two completely different decisions in a test project (one might over-engineer and one might under-engineer) but as long as they justify their choices in a way that makes sense, that means they’re aware of the tradeoffs.

Aligning your product stage and development style with the needs of your developer will maximize chances of a successful long term relationship.