Toptal is a marketplace for top WordPress developers, engineers, programmers, coders, architects, and consultants. Top companies and start-ups choose Toptal WordPress freelancers for their mission-critical software projects.
United StatesToptal Member Since September 18, 2019
Brett has nine years of web development experience with the past six years spent honing his skills with WordPress plugins and themes. He's an expert in WooCommerce and is the author of the Simple Sales Tax plugin, a popular sales tax compliance solution for WooCommerce. Brett understands the importance of excellent communication, prides himself on producing high-quality code, and is comfortable working solo or as part of a team.
Trevor is a hybrid, a full LAMP stack, and a front-end developer with 10+ years of experience creating custom WordPress themes and plugins and tailoring WordPress admins on a per-client basis. He also specializes in eCommerce on the WooCommerce platform and other large platforms, like SFCC. Trevor is willing to leverage his skillset in new and challenging projects.
Jason is an experienced web developer with a broad range of both professional and personal technical achievements. He is the founder of Tough Space Consulting, a cloud-based business software consulting company that has helped a number of clients become more efficient and save money by improving their internal business processes. Jason is a strong team player yet at the same time enjoys taking on personal challenges.
Benjamin brings over ten years of industry experience to the table and has worked with major tech companies like Yelp, Thumbtack, Airtable, and Namecheap. He's an expert in bridging the gap between design and engineering and helping teams establish a design language that results in quality end-user experiences. Benjamin's competent across the full web stack. He values communication and trust most when working with remote teams.
Petar has over five years of experience as a full-stack PHP developer. He mostly works with PHP frameworks and develops WordPress sites. He's an extremely fast learner, adaptable to new enviroments. Recently, he's started to switch his focus to Node.js.
Marcelo has been working for more than 10 years in User Experience (UX). He has solid knowledge of mobile platforms, UX, usability, design, front-end development, and WordPress, in addition to excellent interpersonal skills. He has proven experience in project management and strong organizational and planning skills, coordinating deliverables with prioritization of tasks according to the needs of each business.
Flavio is a top developer and an aspiring entrepreneur. He has extensive experience and skills with web and game development and is also proficient with mobile applications. He is a master of PHP, JavaScript, and WordPress.
Carlos is fanatic about Internet and communication technologies and finding ways to help people solve daily problems. He has a host of experience building web and Android applications, and always aims to deliver the best possible user experience.
Currently, WordPress is one of the most popular Content Management Systems. Clients love it because it’s easy to set up, there are a variety of plugins, and it has a user-friendly approach. Developers like it because of its understandable functionality, which means it’s easy enough to set up yet still gives decent quality. As a result, the number of sites using WordPress is growing, and it’s becoming more important than ever to be able to separate the best WordPress developers from the rest of the pack. In this WordPress Hiring Guide, we cover the most important questions and answers that will help you determine whether your candidates are suitable for your hiring needs.
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Tripcents wouldn't exist without Toptal. Toptal Projects enabled us to rapidly develop our foundation with a product manager, lead developer, and senior designer. In just over 60 days we went from concept to Alpha. The speed, knowledge, expertise, and flexibility is second to none. The Toptal team were as part of tripcents as any in-house team member of tripcents. They contributed and took ownership of the development just like everyone else. We will continue to use Toptal. As a start up, they are our secret weapon.
Brantley Pace, CEO & Co-Founder
Tripcents
I am more than pleased with our experience with Toptal. The professional I got to work with was on the phone with me within a couple of hours. I knew after discussing my project with him that he was the candidate I wanted. I hired him immediately and he wasted no time in getting to my project, even going the extra mile by adding some great design elements that enhanced our overall look.
Paul Fenley, Director
K Dunn & Associates
The developers I was paired with were incredible -- smart, driven, and responsive. It used to be hard to find quality engineers and consultants. Now it isn't.
Ryan Rockefeller, CEO
Radeeus
Toptal understood our project needs immediately. We were matched with an exceptional freelancer from Argentina who, from Day 1, immersed himself in our industry, blended seamlessly with our team, understood our vision, and produced top-notch results. Toptal makes connecting with superior developers and programmers very easy.
Jason Kulik, Co-Founder
ProHatch
As a small company with limited resources we can't afford to make expensive mistakes. Toptal provided us with an experienced programmer who was able to hit the ground running and begin contributing immediately. It has been a great experience and one we'd repeat again in a heartbeat.
Stuart Pocknee , Principal
Site Specific Software Solutions
We used Toptal to hire a developer with extensive Amazon Web Services experience. We interviewed four candidates, one of which turned out to be a great fit for our requirements. The process was quick and effective.
Abner Guzmán Rivera, CTO and Chief Scientist
Photo Kharma
Sergio was an awesome developer to work with. Top notch, responsive, and got the work done efficiently.
Dennis Baldwin, Chief Technologist and Co-Founder
PriceBlink
Working with Marcin is a joy. He is competent, professional, flexible, and extremely quick to understand what is required and how to implement it.
André Fischer, CTO
POSTIFY
We needed a expert engineer who could start on our project immediately. Simanas exceeded our expectations with his work. Not having to interview and chase down an expert developer was an excellent time-saver and made everyone feel more comfortable with our choice to switch platforms to utilize a more robust language. Toptal made the process easy and convenient. Toptal is now the first place we look for expert-level help.
Derek Minor, Senior VP of Web Development
Networld Media Group
Toptal's developers and architects have been both very professional and easy to work with. The solution they produced was fairly priced and top quality, reducing our time to launch. Thanks again, Toptal.
Jeremy Wessels, CEO
Kognosi
We had a great experience with Toptal. They paired us with the perfect developer for our application and made the process very easy. It was also easy to extend beyond the initial time frame, and we were able to keep the same contractor throughout our project. We definitely recommend Toptal for finding high quality talent quickly and seamlessly.
Ryan Morrissey, CTO
Applied Business Technologies, LLC
I'm incredibly impressed with Toptal. Our developer communicates with me every day, and is a very powerful coder. He's a true professional and his work is just excellent. 5 stars for Toptal.
Pietro Casoar, CEO
Ronin Play Pty Ltd
Working with Toptal has been a great experience. Prior to using them, I had spent quite some time interviewing other freelancers and wasn't finding what I needed. After engaging with Toptal, they matched me up with the perfect developer in a matter of days. The developer I'm working with not only delivers quality code, but he also makes suggestions on things that I hadn't thought of. It's clear to me that Amaury knows what he is doing. Highly recommended!
George Cheng, CEO
Bulavard, Inc.
As a Toptal qualified front-end developer, I also run my own consulting practice. When clients come to me for help filling key roles on their team, Toptal is the only place I feel comfortable recommending. Toptal's entire candidate pool is the best of the best. Toptal is the best value for money I've found in nearly half a decade of professional online work.
Ethan Brooks, CTO
Langlotz Patent & Trademark Works, Inc.
In Higgle's early days, we needed the best-in-class developers, at affordable rates, in a timely fashion. Toptal delivered!
Lara Aldag, CEO
Higgle
Toptal makes finding a candidate extremely easy and gives you peace-of-mind that they have the skills to deliver. I would definitely recommend their services to anyone looking for highly-skilled developers.
Michael Gluckman, Data Manager
Mxit
Toptal’s ability to rapidly match our project with the best developers was just superb. The developers have become part of our team, and I’m amazed at the level of professional commitment each of them has demonstrated. For those looking to work remotely with the best engineers, look no further than Toptal.
Laurent Alis, Founder
Livepress
Toptal makes finding qualified engineers a breeze. We needed an experienced ASP.NET MVC architect to guide the development of our start-up app, and Toptal had three great candidates for us in less than a week. After making our selection, the engineer was online immediately and hit the ground running. It was so much faster and easier than having to discover and vet candidates ourselves.
Jeff Kelly, Co-Founder
Concerted Solutions
We needed some short-term work in Scala, and Toptal found us a great developer within 24 hours. This simply would not have been possible via any other platform.
Franco Arda, Co-Founder
WhatAdsWork.com
Toptal offers a no-compromise solution to businesses undergoing rapid development and scale. Every engineer we've contracted through Toptal has quickly integrated into our team and held their work to the highest standard of quality while maintaining blazing development speed.
At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our WordPress developers to ensure we only match you with talent of the highest caliber. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut. You'll work with engineering experts (never generalized recruiters or HR reps) to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics. The end result: expert vetted talent from our network, custom matched to fit your business needs. Start now.
Can I hire WordPress developers in less than 48 hours through Toptal?
Depending on availability and how fast you can progress, you could start working with a WordPress developer within 48 hours of signing up. Start now.
What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal WordPress developers?
We make sure that each engagement between you and your WordPress developer begins with a trial period of up to two weeks. This means that you have time to confirm the engagement will be successful. If you're completely satisfied with the results, we'll bill you for the time and continue the engagement for as long as you'd like. If you're not completely satisfied, you won't be billed. From there, we can either part ways, or we can provide you with another expert who may be a better fit and with whom we will begin a second, no-risk trial. Start now.
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How to Hire a Great WordPress Developer
The Challenge
Currently, WordPress is one of the most popular Content Management Systems (CMS). It may be used to create a personal blog, eCommerce internet shop, landing page, small business or corporate website and more. Clients love it because it’s easy to set up, there are a variety of plugins and, overall, it has a user-friendly approach. Developers like it because of its understandable functionality, which means it’s easy enough to set up yet still gives you decent quality.
The number of sites using WordPress is growing, which is creating a demand for a significant number of dedicated WordPress developers. So, how do we distinguish a novice from an experienced WordPress expert? In this guide, we suggest questions and answers that will help you determine the level of skills your candidate has.
Why spend money and time building a website from scratch, when you can hire top WordPress developer and save?
Q: Discuss theme customization and how to setup a custom theme, name the minimum required files, and explain how WordPress recognizes a new theme.
Every WordPress site requires a theme; it is how it is structured and is, therefore, an integral part of the site.
The new theme is created as follows: In the wp-content/themes/ directory, create and name a new folder. Best practice is to use the name of the company for which you are making the website. Use lower case (Roman alphabet) without spaces. Note that you need to put in the theme folder these five files: style.css, functions.php, index.php, header.php and footer.php. Later, you can extend the theme with other custom files.
The formation of the style.css file header is a part of the base theme settings. With the help of file style.css and headers in it, WordPress’s core will recognize your folder as the new theme.
The beginning of the style.css should be as follows:
/*
Theme Name: [theme name]
Author: [author name]
Author URI: [author URL]
Version: [theme version]
Description: [theme description]
License: GNU General Public License v2 or later
License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html
*/
If you create a child theme, you need to add another line where the base theme is indicated.
Template: twentyfifteen
Where twentyfifteen is the name of the main (parent) folder theme.
Q: Explain how WordPress generates a page.
WordPress recognizes and analyzes the request entered in the URL bar, picks the best PHP file, and generates the webpage. It makes a global object $wp_query based on the request in the URL. Then, with the help of its functions, WordPress loads other files, such as header.php, footer.php, and sidebar.php.
Check the template hierarchy scheme, which defines the process and file that will output the content of the current query.
For example, if the address is /? Cat = 1, WordPress will first look for category-slug.php file. If the file is not found, it will search the category-id.php file. If this can’t be found, either, it looks for the file category.php, and so on, until it finds the appropriate file. If it can’t find one, it simply selects the index.php file.
Q: Explain the semantics of a theme’s development and the basic principles of a good theme. What should be kept in the theme files?
Here are some of WordPress’s best practices and recommended principles for creating a new theme:
The function wp_head() must be in the header.php file.
The function that operates classes, must be in the header.php file, inside the body tag: <body <php body_class ();? ? >>
The function wp_footer() must be in the footer.php file.
If you have a repeating functionality, this code must be put into separate function, and this function must be added to the functions.php file.
In all files, except header.php and the footer.php, the number of opening HTML tags must be equal to the number of closing tags.
If the file contains duplicate pieces of HTML code, it is better to unite them in a single file, put it in a theme subfolder, which can be named blocks or whatever you need, connect this piece of code, and call the function get_template_part( 'blocks/[name-of-the-file.php]' );.
File index.php is the final file to process the request, so it needs to have the main loop minus any queries. That means it will be impossible to alter the main loop in index.php.
All the theme settings must be in the functions.php file: actions, filters, custom functions, and custom classes. Although classes and functions may be located in different files, and be connected to the main functions.php, or be placed in a separate plugin.
The code should not contain commented code. Commenting as a description is allowed, but code chunks that have been used in the design, should be removed.
Code in the files should be structured with the aid of indents.
If the code uses functions or plugins classes, make sure the function or class exists:
if (function_exists ('name_of_the_function'))
For direct requests to the database, you must use the class $wpdb and its methods.
If you use the form and need to create an options page admin panel, you must use wp_nonce_field(), and on the server side check this field and action:
<?php
if ( ! isset( $_POST['name_of_nonce_field'] ) || ! wp_verify_nonce( $_POST['name_of_nonce_field'], 'name_of_my_action' )
) {
print 'Sorry, your nonce did not verify.';
exit;
} else {
// process form data
}
?>
/* some code is here*/
<form method="post">
<!-- some inputs here ... -->
<?php wp_nonce_field( 'name_of_my_action', 'name_of_nonce_field' ); ?>
</form>
If some files are not used, remove them from theme folder. If a client doesn’t need to use “search” on his site, remove searchform.php from the theme folder.
Functions that begin with the _ must only be written in the loop. And in the loop, if possible, use the functions started with the _ for presenting display fields.
Q: Explain how to create a custom page template.
For custom page templates, it is better to create a separate folder; do not mix custom templates with existing WordPress templates. Place the custom template file into this folder. At the beginning of the file you need to add the following code:
Q: Explain how to include your CSS and JavaScript files into the theme or plugin correctly.
You can use <link> or <script>, but the correct way is to connect them in the functions.php file. You need to add action to wp_enqueue_scripts, and our action is to connect JavaScript and CSS files:
function theme_scripts_styles () {
// Connection of a custom JS file after jquery library that will be connected independently by WordPress
wp_enqueue_script ( 'theme-script', get_template_directory_uri () '/js/jquery.main.js', array ( 'jquery').);
// Loads default theme style.css.
wp_enqueue_style ( 'theme-style', get_stylesheet_uri (), array ());
// Connection of a custom css file
wp_enqueue_style (. 'theme-theme', get_template_directory_uri () '/theme.css', array ());
}
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'theme_scripts_styles' );
Q: Explain how you make a custom menu and how you display that menu on the page.
To display the menu, you must:
Select the location for ther menu in the functions.php:
Menus are placed on a page via the admin panel, which also allows other pages to have menus (with the same look) placed in the same location.
Custom settings can be made through parameters wp_nav_menu() function, but should you need to create a custom menu, do this:
Create inheritance class from Walker_Nav_Menu, where you can write your custom functionality: class Custom_Walker_Nav_Menu extends Walker_Nav_Menu {...}.
When displaying the menu, add another parameter walker:
Loop means “cycle” from which WordPress generates the page content. If there is a single page, for example, page.php or single.php, the cycle remains with the template, but it will be realized only once. If you have search.php, archive.php or the index.php, the cycle will take place as many times as necessary to satisfy the request, which depends on the query URL, and consequently, on how the object is formed wp_query. Loop runs for posts in the global $wp_query object.
Q: Explain the difference between functions that begin with the_ and other functions.
Functions starting with the_ are intended to be used in the loop. Note they can’t be used out of the cycle.
Q: Explain custom post types; why do we use them, and how can we create them?
Custom post types are needed to break content logically. For example, we want to list all the sales managers in a company, so that customers may contact them directly from our website. Say, we have about 20 people in the sales department, and at any time, one of them might quit or someone new might join. So, for this task, the most logical action is to create the post type Team and in the template list everybody who is in the post type Team.
A simple example of the creation of a custom post type:
Custom post types are created at the action init. Therefore, you need to create action and name it register_post_type() in function with the desired set of parameters.
Q: Explain how to get posts from custom post type and custom taxonomy.
For example, we have a post type Team and taxonomy Department, and in a custom taxonomy, we have the term Managers. Our task is to display all the managers.
Provided the “slug” of the term Managers in custom taxonomy Department is equal to Managers, we can utilize WP_Query class, like this:
Shortcodes are keywords used to create macros that can be used later in a post’s content. In WordPress, they are enclosed in square brackets []. Shortcodes can be used either in the content editor’s post or in a pattern, if you apply do_shortcode() function. The simplest example is when a client does not know HTML, but it is necessary to insert something in the content of the posts.
In WordPress, we can create three types of shortcodes. However, because they can be configured in different ways, shortcodes have unlimited possibilities. It is important to note that the shortcode processing function must return the value, not display it. For example, if we need to display the phrase “Hello World”, we would write in functions.php something like the following:
Also, as well as the parameters, we can handle the text itself. To do that, the shortcode should look like this: [hworld cssclass = "red"] Hello world [/ hworld].
Q: Describe how to make a widget. Explain primary widget functions.
In WordPress, you can create custom widgets by creating a class that inherits basic functions from WP_Widget class.
The primary functions of the widget class:
__construct(): Constructor of the widget, it will add a widget to the admin panel.
widget($ args, $ instance): Displays the content on the front-end based on the function arguments. $ args are widget arguments which are set in the sidebar to wrap a widget. $ instance are parameters of the widget, which can be configured in the admin area.
update($ new_instance, $ old_instance): A feature that saves the new widget options, if they have been changed by the administrator in the admin panel.
form($ instance): Creates a widget settings form in the admin panel on the page widgets.php.
The final thing to make the widget work is on the action widgets_init attach function that will record (register) it:
class CustomWidget extends WP_Widget {
function __construct() { ... }
function widget( $args, $instance ) { ... }
function update( $new_instance, $old_instance ) { ... }
function form( $instance ) { ... }
}
add_action( 'widgets_init', create_function( '', 'return register_widget( "CustomWidget" );' ) );
Q: Explain what actions and filters are. Discuss their differences, and how and when to use them.
You can not change WordPress core files and plugins. However, sometimes we need to change default core behavior, which is when actions and filters come to the rescue.
They work almost identically, the only difference is that functions that are imposed on the filters return a value, while actions do not. So, filters change some content or meaning, which would later be used by the core or plugin.
Here’s an example of a filter that must be written in the functions.php:
In the filter function, number 10 can be any integer that indicates the priority of this filter, if such filters will be several, and number 3 is a number of variables that come into function.
It is important to check the theme’s ability to work without plugins, so that when the plugin is deactivated the theme will keep working. For example, if we use the plugin WP_PageNavi, we should write code like this:
That means when you turn off the plugin, the theme will continue to operate while maintaining a functional page. However, it will be a standard page, not one that would show with the use of the plugin.
Q: Describe the steps to create a simple plugin.
The plugin is an addition; it is an expansion of WordPress’s functionality. To create a plugin, you first need to create a folder in the wp-content/plugins directory, using lower case, Roman alphabet, and no spaces. Inside this folder, you need to create a file with the same name as the folder using the extension .php. This will be the main file. Additionally, create an empty index.php file to hide the list of files and catalogs.
At the beginning of the main file, add predefined metadata lines through which WordPress understands that it is a plugin:
Designing (creating) plugins with classes is recommended. So, an example of a plugin’s code structure might be like this:
<?php
/*
Plugin Name: TestPlugin_Name
Description: TestPlugin_Name description.
Version: 1.0.0
Author: evgen@toptal.com
Author URI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evgengavrilov
License: GPL2
License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html
*/
class TestPlugin {
[CODE IS HERE]
function TestPlugin(){
[CODE IS HERE]
}
[CODE IS HERE]
}
$testplugin = new TestPlugin();
Remember the rules of creating a theme: Media may only connect through action wp_enqueue_scripts, and the plugin must not contain any errors.
Q: Explain the role of child themes. How do you make a basic child theme?
Child themes are necessary when you need to change styles and functions of the main, or parent, theme but without changing its code. It’s like Object Oriented Programming: a class and its derived class. The inheritance does not break the parent, but it can change existing methods and add new ones.
A child theme may be created quickly and easily in a few steps:
Create a folder inside the wp-content/themes with the name [name-of-parents-folders-theme]-child.
Inside the folder, create styles.css file and to the main header file, add another line: Template: [name-of-parents-folders-theme].
Create a functions.php file.
Thus, we can alter the styles of the parent theme by adding to our child folder template files. WordPress will use these files, and, if necessary, other files will be used from the parent theme folder.
Q: Explain a WordPress network, and how to create one.
WordPress network is a way of managing multiple sites through a single admin panel. The main difference in roles of Administrator and Super Administrator is that the Super Administrator can manage the network (Multisite).
The network can be made on any WordPress website. Although this functionality is integrated, by default, it is not activated.
To create a network:
At the end of the wp-config.php file, write a line: define ( 'WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true);
Refresh the Admin panel, and Subparagraph “Network Setup” should appear in the Tools menu. Click on it and go to the installation page. Fill in the fields created by WordPress.
Next, you will be transferred to the page settings that should be copied to wp-config.php and .htaccess files. Simply copy the suggested code, and paste it into the appropriate file.
When the files are changed, remember to logout of the Admin panel to allow a user to create and manage the network’s websites.
Conclusion
We hope you find the questions and answers in this post to be a useful foundation as you search for great full-time or part-time candidates among the few elite WordPress programmers. Finding such candidates versed in plugin development or theme development is well worth the effort, as they will undoubtedly have a significant, positive impact on your team’s productivity and drive your WordPress project.
