How to Choose Between a WordPress Consultant and a Freelancer

It’s no secret that hiring a WordPress expert can drastically improve your website. With the right help, you can leverage years of experience, a proven track record, and unmatched knowledge to take your site to the next level.

A skilled WordPress professional can help make changes to improve your site’s look, functionality, speed, security, and much more.

It seems easy, right? Just hire an expert! But, how do you know who to hire? Should you hire a WordPress consultant or a WordPress freelancer, and what’s the difference?

Here what you need to know and how to choose the right expert for your needs.

WordPress Consultant vs. WordPress Freelancer

The two roles have many similarities between them, but they also have a couple of distinct differences.

Ideally, both types of pros will come with past projects that you can review to see if they meet your needs and expectations. Depending on which individual you hire, you’ll have a WordPress expert that can design, develop, maintain and support your site. Some types of WordPress consultants and freelancers offer SEO services, marketing advice and a slew of other services. Other have very narrow specializations, such as design or support for tech problems.

Furthermore, it’s important to keep in mind that both types act as contractors. And depending on the specific consultant or freelancer, they may require different payment methods, terms and service agreements. Some may want to charge an hourly rate, whereas others will charge you by project completed. You can hire a consultant or freelancer for a single project or for a specific amount of time.

One thing you can be sure of, when you hire a freelancer, you get just that—one freelancer who will work on your project. On the other hand, a consultant can sometimes be a member of a larger consultancy or agency comprised of multiple experts. You may feel you want a team at the ready to help rather than just one person who may be working on other projects at the same time as they work on yours.  

As both roles have many similarities, you have to thoroughly check each expert individually. Only then can you get an idea of what is best for your site, needs and goals.

What to Look for

Since there is an abundance of freelancers and consultants out there, you’ll want to make sure you find the best fit for you. For example, some may offer development services, but not maintenance. While you search for either a WordPress consultant or a freelancer, here are a few things to keep in mind.

The Services Offered

We can’t stress this enough …

As you begin your search, you have to make sure you know exactly what each expert offers. Often, when you hire a freelancer, they provide a niche service. If you want only design or development services (and nothing else), a freelancer can be a decent option.

However, if you need more guidance, strategy, advice, as well as someone that can handle design, development, content updates, plugin support, SEO assistance, digital marketing knowledge and more, then you’ll want to consider WordPress consultant who is well-versed in all of these aspects.

Additionally, a full-service WordPress consultant agency, like WP Tangerine, will allow you to leverage a full team offering a suite of services and knowledge. We cover emergency support, site uptime monitoring, SEO, WordPress web design, development, graphic design, WordPress advice and much more.

Background

Another important thing to check is the background of your WordPress contractor.

• Do they have a background in WordPress design, web development, SEO services or something else?
• What kind of other industry knowledge can they bring to your project?
• How much experience do they have?
• How long have they been providing WordPress services?

As you pour through your consultant and freelancer options, selecting candidates based on their background can help ensure that you have the right person for the job.

For instance, WP Tangerine provides a team of experts representing a diverse range of web backgrounds. Every client receives a dedicated designer, WordPress developer, support technician, project manager and QA specialist. This ensures that you’ll always get the guidance and support you need, no matter what the issue or goal.

Past Projects and Testimonials

To help get a better idea of the quality of service you’ll receive, be sure to review the past projects and testimonials that your prospective consultant or freelancer has.

• If they don’t have any testimonials or successful projects to show you, this can be a sign that they don’t have the necessary experience.
• When the candidates do have past web projects, you’ll want to look over them and also confirm exactly what role they played. For example, did they design the entire site? Or, did they help with backend development or miscellaneous maintenance?
• Look for past projects that have core similarities to what you need for your site. This can be a good sign that you’ll be in good hands.

At WP Tangerine, we encourage every prospective customer to review our clients’ testimonials and ask questions about our work. To date, we’ve helped over 3,000 websites. Within just the last month alone, we completed more than 6,400 WordPress tasks and projects.

As a team, we can provide far more services and faster work than what a single freelancer can provide. And, our extensive experience gives you confidence that your site is in the hands of professionals.

Prices

Of course, as you consider different WordPress freelancers and consultants, you’ll want to check the prices and payment terms.

Does the contractor charge per month, per day, per hour or per project? Some freelancers end up charging you an arm and a leg for something that shouldn’t take more than a day’s work. Similarly, some consultants may charge you per month, but they may disappear for days at a time without any communication.

Ultimately, your decision will need to be based on your budget and preferences. Just be sure to confirm all terms before moving forward and make sure you’ll be getting the most value for the money.

At WP Tangerine, we offer several affordable packages of unlimited WordPress consulting, design and support for a flat monthly fee. So you can be sure your dollar goes furthest with us.

Choose WP Tangerine for All Your WordPress Needs

WP Tangerine is the safest and most efficient solution to any of your WordPress needs. We can handle site designs, redesigns, development, SEO services, site maintenance, emergency support and much more. With a full team of experts at the ready, you can be confident you have the best resources for all WordPress goals, from everyday tasks to big-picture projects.

Request a free expert website analysis to see how we can help you.