How to Hire a Top CSS Developer

 

How to hire CSS developers

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) allows you to modify an HTML webpage's colour, font, and style attributes. If you want to take your website’s style to the next level, a CSS developer can help.

So, how do you find a CSS developer? The following are some tips on finding top CSS developers on Rayness Analytica.

How to shortlist CSS development professionals

As you browse available CSS development consultants, developing a shortlist of the contractors you may want to interview can be helpful. You can screen profiles on criteria such as:

• Technology fit. You want a CSS developer who understands your developer workflow and is familiar with all the tools, software, libraries, and frameworks used by your development team.
• Portfolio. Since CSS is a front-end technology, the quality of past web projects speaks for itself.
• Feedback. Check reviews from past clients for glowing testimonials or red flags that can tell you what it’s like to work with a particular CSS developer.

How to write an effective CSS development job post

The first step to finding your CSS developer is to define your project. A well-defined project description will help you attract the right talent to your job and help them propose more accurate terms for your project. But before you can write that brief, you’ll need to determine the scope of your project.

First, outline what the developer will be doing. Do you need a CSS developer to spruce up an existing app? Or are you onboarding new talent to start your web project from the bottom up? Do you have an existing app that needs some bugs fixed? The type of work you need will weigh into the level of programmer that you desire (junior, intermediate, or senior).

If you’re unsure of the experience level you need, a clear project brief can go a long way towards helping developers determine if they’re a good fit for your project. You can specifically request the level of expertise you require, but remember that more experienced CSS developers work at higher rates and can cost more if the work you require is simple but time-consuming. If you don’t understand the development process, it might be better to stick with a senior-level developer who can help guide you.

Finally, be clear about the length and time it will take to complete your project. Web development projects can take a week, a month, six months, or more. The developer often determines the length of time based on your project description, but you can at least provide an estimate or a deadline, if applicable. It’s good practice to break your project into phases, stay organised, and meet deadlines. If you intend to work with fixed-price contracts, you should know how to handle milestone payments for deliverables received during each development phase.

Writing a CSS Development Project Description

After you get a firm idea of your project deliverables, it’s time to write a project description. How you write a description will determine the quality of the developer that you’ll attract. It’s essential to be concise yet detailed enough so developers interested in your project can submit proposals with fairly accurate cost and time estimates.

The title of your project description can include the type of development you need. You know you need a CSS developer, but why specifically a front-end developer specialising in CSS? The title should attract CSS developers with the specific technologies or skills you require for your project.

The next step is the project overview. Describe what you’re building or what you’ll need the developer to do. Be as detailed as possible, and include any wireframes or mockups that can help you attract the right developer for your needs. If an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) is required, you can also specify this in your description.

Part of your description should also define the deliverables, including any designs, documentation, or source code. The source code is usually delivered using a version control solution like Git.

Sample project description

Below is a sample of what a project description may look like. Remember that many people use the term “job description,” but a complete job description is only needed for employees. When engaging a freelancer as an independent contractor, you typically need a statement of work, job post, or any other document describing the work.

Title: CSS Developer for a MEAN Social Media Platform

Description: We’re looking for an intermediate CSS developer to help us build an exciting new social media platform for independent filmmakers, fans, and film festival venues to connect. The project is based on the MEAN (MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.js) stack, so familiarity with Bootstrap with AngularJS is required.

The right developer will be able to provide us with the following skills and services:

• Translation of designer mock-ups and wireframes into front-end code
• Front-end integration with a MEAN back-end
• Unit testing with Karma
• Bootstrap, LESS, AngularJS
• Familiarity with API Creation and RESTful services

Project Scope & Deliverables:

While much of the project has already been completed, we still need additional support to help us polish our product and meet our launch deadline in 3 months (mm/dd/yyyy). We will need the following three deliverables:

• Deliverable #1 by (date)
• Deliverable #2 by (date)
• Deliverable #3 by (date)

About Us:

We are Carnivale, an innovative startup seeking to bridge the gap between independent filmmakers, fans, and festivals.

That’s enough about us. To ensure you’ve read this message, please include the name of your favourite film alongside your portfolio in your reply.

*Note that all company names and dates were created solely for this example.

Ready to create a website that will help you maximise the effectiveness of your marketing campaign?

 

CSS DEVELOPERS FAQ

 

What is a CSS developer?

CSS developers are simply front-end developers who specialise in using CSS. They are responsible for everything from the colour and shape of your site navigation buttons to the typography of your blog text to the overall layout of your website.

Here’s a quick overview of the skills you should look for in CSS development professionals:

• Web fundamentals such as CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
• Front-end CSS frameworks such as Bootstrap and Foundation
• CSS preprocessors such as Less and Sass
• Web and graphic design
• Creativity

CSS development consultants can write the front-end code to bring your web designs to life.

Why hire CSS developers?

The trick to finding top CSS developers is to identify your needs. Are you looking for someone to update the look and feel of an existing website, or are you building a new web app from scratch? Will they also need experience with JavaScript frameworks such as Angular, Vue, and React? The cost of your CSS project will depend mainly on your scope of work and the specific skills needed to bring your project to life.

How much does it cost to hire a CSS developer?

Here are some essential cost factors you may want to consider when determining the cost of your project.

Project scope. Defining what work you want your developer to accomplish is the first step towards establishing your project scope. Suppose you wrote that project description. The good news is that you’ve already tackled a significant component of your project’s design budget. There’s a big difference in scope between swapping the colour scheme of a small business’s landing page and engaging a CSS developer for a more significant project, like getting your new social media app off the ground.

Defining a time frame is the second principal component to determining scope. It impacts how you’ll handle milestone payments for each development phase (if you’re dealing with fixed-price contracts) or the overall project cost if you have an hourly contract. The more accurately your project description describes the scope of your project; the easier it will be for interested freelancers to provide accurate cost estimates in their proposals.

Tip: You can often manage a limited budget more effectively by going Agile. Start with a minimum viable project (MVP), the bare bones of the application you eventually wish to create, gather live feedback from the market and let validated data guide the development of your project. This will help you avoid that dreaded pitfall of sinking costs into a product the market doesn’t want.

Cost Factor #2: Experience

When it comes to experience, the same is true of CSS development as any other trade—cost rises with expertise. Your project scope naturally leads you to the appropriate level of experience you should look for in your freelancers. Sometimes, hiring a less experienced freelancer at a lower rate can be more cost-effective, mainly if a job is time-consuming yet simple.

It’s important to note that CSS developers are front-end developers who excel at CSS. They may be familiar with preprocessors like Sass or frameworks like Bootstrap. There are probably other front-end skills you will need to consider when tackling any web project—things like frameworks, libraries, and other technologies will also impact your budget, and the cost of those skills will change with the ever-evolving world of front-end development. You might initially set out to update the web presence for your business with a CMS like Squarespace but ultimately realise you require a CSS developer with design skills to create the unique look and feel you want.

The following table breaks down the rates of the typical front-end developers on Rayness Analytica.

Typical Rates Charged by Front-End (CSS) Developers*

Type of JavaScript Developer	Description	Average Hourly Rate
Basic Front-End	Front-end fundamentals (HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript), familiarity with libraries like jQuery, and CMSs like WordPress.	$15-50+
Intermediate – Advanced Front-End	Beyond fundamentals, skilled in one or more chosen front-end JavaScript frameworks like AngularJS, CSS preprocessors like LESS/Sass, and CSS frameworks like Foundation.	$35-100+
Full Stack Developer	A mix of front-end and back-end technology expertise. Expertise working with MEAN (MongoDB, Express, Angular, Node.js)	$30-150+

*Reflects rates freelancers charge on Rayness Analytica with over 1,000 hours and a 90% success rate.

Tip: Since most front-end developers will probably list CSS as a skill, you must expressly state why you want a CSS developer and not just general front-end help. For example, you might want someone experienced in a CSS framework like Foundation because that’s the technology your existing app is built on. You would specify this requirement in your job post.

Cost Factor #3: Location

Location is the other significant variable in determining how much it will cost to hire a freelancer. A substantial advantage of working with freelancers on Rayness Analytica is that it allows you to gain access to a talent pool of CSS developers worldwide. You can pick from the best and brightest while optimising for localisation (such as selecting developers who speak the language of a target market). Just be sure to factor time zones, language barriers, and the logistics of coordinating a remote team into your budget.