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The healthcare sector is a highly lucrative global business. Patients, healthcare professionals, and many other stakeholders demand top notch service results in this sector. Naturally, technology is extremely important to any healthcare company. Websites, as one such example, play a big part in improving operational efficiency and customer service. As a user-friendly and open-source content management system (CMS), WordPress helps organizations to create such websites.
You can develop a WordPress website and launch it quite quickly. Developers take advantage of the rich WordPress themes and plugins ecosystem. They can easily develop search engine optimization (SEO)-friendly, performant websites using WordPress.
Naturally, healthcare WordPress developers are in demand so you need to plan well how to hire suitable WordPress web design and development professionals.
While you might feel tempted to hire freelance WordPress programmers, this approach has risks. Your best bet is to hire WordPress developers or teams from a trustworthy software development company like DevTeam.Space. More on that later.
You need to start by understanding the skill requirements for healthcare WordPress developers. These are as follows:
Primary Healthcare WordPress website development skills
A healthcare WordPress developer needs the following primary skills:
- Sound knowledge of WordPress;
- Good understanding of how the leading CMSs work;
- Expertise in PHP;
- Deep knowledge of the healthcare sector including the working of different stakeholders;
- Sufficient understanding of JavaScript;
- Familiarity with HTML, HTML5, CSS, and CSS3;
- Expertise in JSON and XML;
- Experience in working with popular SQL databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.;
- Deep knowledge of the WordPress ecosystem of plugins and themes;
- Excellent knowledge of tools to install and configure relevant software products;
- Experience in customizing WordPress themes and maintaining child themes;
- WordPress theme development skills;
- Experience in developing WordPress plugins;
- Web design skills;
- Sound knowledge of how search engines like Google work;
- Experience in creating WordPress websites and pages for healthcare organizations;
- Experience in maintaining and enhancing existing websites;
- Good knowledge of fixing bugs in WordPress websites;
- Knowledge of debugging tools like Firebug and Chrome Inspector;
- Proficiency with code versioning tools like Git.
Note: Healthcare WordPress developers should be able to demonstrate an impressive portfolio of relevant websites that they have previously developed.
Other software development skills needed for creating healthcare WordPress websites
A smart healthcare WordPress developer should have the following additional skills:
1. Information security skills needed for WordPress healthcare website development
WordPress is a free and open-source CMS with a vast ecosystem of themes and plugins. Its ease of use makes it highly popular, and it has been so for a while. The downside to this popularity is the unwelcome attention of hackers. Cybercriminals have analyzed WordPress sites in detail and have found ways to attack them. Fortunately, developers and information security professionals have learned their lessons too.
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- How to code a secure WordPress site;
- The tools and techniques to secure the login procedures and credentials;
- Familiarity with the leading WordPress security plugins;
- The ability to analyze and choose WordPress themes and plugins that received regular security updates;
- Using the latest version of PHP;
- Implementing tools like SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)/HTTP, firewalls, etc.;
- Managing the WordPress backup process;
- Executing security scans and reviewing their results;
- Implementing website monitoring solutions;
- Disabling the option of editing files in the WordPress dashboard.
2. API development and integration skills needed for developing a WordPress medical website
Suppose you have organizational capabilities including information as the core functionality of your proposed healthcare website. The front end of your website must link up to the back end to access these capabilities. You need to develop your own APIs for this.
You might also use a few 3rd party APIs for certain non-core features. You need to integrate these and your own APIs into your proposed WordPress site.
Therefore, WordPress developers need API development and integration skills. They need the following skills:
- The ability to choose between GraphQL vs REST APIs;
- RESTful API development skills;
- Knowledge of hosting APIs using cloud computing platforms;
- Knowledge of API development tools like Postman;
- Familiarity with API documentation tools like Swagger;
- The ability to secure APIs using encryption, authentication, quotas, and throttling;
- Knowledge of testing APIs;
- Proficiency in designing API endpoints;
- Knowledge of creating rules for API requests and responses;
- Experience in integrating APIs to WordPress websites via plugins and widgets.
3. Cloud computing knowledge needed for developing a healthcare WordPress website
The healthcare industry is highly regulated. Cloud computing has made a mark in the software development industry, and cloud solutions have a big role to play in the healthcare sector too. You need to exercise appropriate care though. Therefore, you need healthcare WordPress developers with a high degree of cloud computing skills.
They should have the following skills:
- Analyzing the strengths and limitations of different WordPress cloud hosting providers;
- Familiarity with the leading WordPress cloud hosting providers like InMotion, Kinsta, etc.;
- Knowledge of relevant tools provided by the cloud hosting providers;
- Choosing between different hosting plans like shared hosting and virtual private server (VPS).
4. Code review skills needed for developing a healthcare WordPress platform
Quite a few organizations use a 3rd party WordPress theme, one or more 3rd party plugins, stock images, etc. to build their WordPress sites. They might use premium themes and plugins if they need to offer more features than average sites. These wouldn’t suffice if you have unique or highly customized features to offer. Existing templates might not work, and you need to create new themes and plugins.
Designing and developing new themes and plugins from scratch requires considerable coding skills. To back this up, you need to implement a thorough testing process. Furthermore, you need to have a structured and systematic code review process. Look for healthcare WordPress developers with code review experience. They should know the important code review strategies.
5. Software engineering, development methodologies, and development process skills
You need healthcare WordPress developers who understand software development processes back to front. They should have good testing experience and be skilled in defect management, quality management, and software development best practices.
Healthcare developers need to understand the software development lifecycle (SDLC). The knowledge of software development methodologies like agile and waterfall is important too.
6. Industry domain skills needed for developing WordPress healthcare websites
Modern-day software development isn’t only about niche technical skills. Organizations need to deliver the value that stakeholders need. That makes industry domain skills highly important. You need to focus on this even more since the healthcare sector has several unique characteristics.
Patients are obviously important in the healthcare sector. You might need to cater to many other stakeholders too, e.g., providers, insurance companies, employers, regulators, etc.
The healthcare industry is highly regulated. Knowledge of regulations like HIPAA is important. The sector has many not-for-profit organizations too. Healthcare information exchanges play a key role in overall service delivery. You need healthcare WordPress developers with knowledge in many of these aspects.
7. Competencies that expert healthcare WordPress website developers need
Healthcare WordPress developers need the following competencies:
- Passion for excellence: It takes a lot to develop a user-friendly healthcare website that delivers tangible value to stakeholders. You need developers with an eye for detail and a passion for excellence.
- Problem-solving skills: Software development can be complex, and the complexities can be higher in highly regulated industries like healthcare. You need programmers with sound problem-solving skills in healthcare web development projects.
- Communication skills: Developers need to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders including existing team members. We can’t overstate the importance of communication skills.
- Teamwork: Developers must display the willingness to work in a team. They must proactively collaborate with other team members.
- Commitment: Medical website development projects can have uncertainties due to inherent complexities. You still need to meet the project budget, schedule, scope, and quality requirements. You need committed developers.
- Empathy: Depending on the nature of a healthcare website, it might serve multiple stakeholders. They include patients, healthcare professionals, marketing team members, regulators, etc. You need developers to understand the business requirements from the perspective of these diverse stakeholders. Empathy is the key.
How to find the best WordPress healthcare web developers?
Having obtained an understanding of the skill requirements for a healthcare WordPress development project, you can start the hiring process. Take the following steps:
1. Decide the kind of platform to hire healthcare WordPress developers
A healthcare website development project is often a huge and important initiative in any organization. Such projects have high visibility. You can’t afford to fail in such projects. You need the right people for such projects, therefore, you need to make the right hiring decisions. Choosing the right hiring platform makes a big difference.
You might think that you can manage such projects with freelance developers. Some WordPress projects can be relatively simple, which might prompt you to think of hiring freelancers. However, any WordPress project to develop a healthcare site is a complex project. You might find it hard to execute such projects with freelancers.
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Freelancers work part-time as they are juggling multiple projects so you might not get enough time and effort from them. Managing part-timers can be hard. You will find it harder for remote freelancers.
If freelancers leave your project mid-way, then you need to find replacement developers. Freelance platforms don’t offer any project management support.
We recommend you hire dedicated healthcare WordPress developers from a software development company like DevTeam.Space instead. We provide high-quality WordPress developers and WordPress development services. DevTeam.Space also has extensive experience in the healthcare sector.
Our full-time developers are skilled and experienced. Our vetting process ensures quality. We routinely encourage our developers to upskill, therefore, they are motivated.
We provide project management support. Our AI-powered agile processes help you succeed. Our dedicated account managers work closely with you. Hire healthcare WordPress developers from us.
No matter who you hire, make sure you are getting the same deal.
2. Interview the WordPress healthcare website development professionals
You have now posted a job ad after choosing the right hiring platform. It’s time to interview the applicants. You can use our WordPress interview questions if you don’t have WordPress expertise. Alternatively, you can take help from friends or colleagues.
Ask questions that help you to evaluate the practical experience of candidates. Don’t ask only theoretical questions. Cover all the relevant technical skill areas when you conduct interviews.
Evaluate how developers have solved past project problems. You should expect to hear concrete action points and not superficial comments.
Explain your project requirements to the developers. Invite ideas from them and check how they would approach your project. Candidates should provide specific suggestions and not jargon.
3. Onboard WordPress healthcare web development professionals effectively
You have selected the right developers, and you now want them to get up to steam quickly. Effective onboarding goes a long way toward this objective.
Provide all the relevant project documents to your new WordPress developers. Explain your project requirements. Describe the technical solutions, non-functional requirements (NFRs), etc.
Provide the necessary access to the new team members. The new team needs access to code repositories and other relevant tools.
Introduce the new developers to your existing team. Explain their roles and responsibilities.
Describe the project plan, furthermore, explain the project milestones. Talk about the work approval process. Set up a communication process and accountability with your new developers.
Tips for hiring developers to create healthcare WordPress websites
Consider the following suggestions from us when you hire healthcare WordPress developers:
1. Hire developers that know how to use plugins effectively
Plugins are an important part of the rich WordPress ecosystem. You can achieve a lot by using plugins on a WordPress site. However, a downside exists. Using too many plugins can slow your website down.
Imagine you use a plugin for every minor feature, e.g., sharing information on Facebook. You will likely have too many plugins on your website. Not only do they impact the speed of your website but they increase your management overheads. For example, you need to regularly review whether all plugins you use have the latest security patches.
When you depend on many plugins, you can find it hard to remove these dependencies later. You will need to completely redesign the website and multiple web pages.
You will do well to carefully analyze the need for plugins. Look for developers with experience in conducting such analyses.
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2. Evaluate PHP, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS skills of developers
While 3rd party themes and plugins might be just fine for simple WordPress projects, you will likely need more customization in medium-to-high-complexity projects. You will need your own theme and plugins for better results. PHP programming skills become more important in this context. You also should look for programmers with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS skills.
3. Hire developers with enough experience
Junior WordPress developers might do just fine if you have simple projects. However, don’t explore this approach of hiring only junior developers for complex projects. You need a project team with a judicious mix of experience in complex projects.
Examples of questions to ask during the interview when hiring healthcare WordPress developers
Ask questions that indicate the practical skills of developers. The following are a few examples:
1. Describe the documentation work you did in any of your past projects
Answer:
You are asking this open-ended question to understand whether candidates understand the software development best practices. Another developer might maintain and enhance a WordPress website created by one developer. If the original developer doesn’t create the necessary documentation, then the maintenance efforts could be hard.
Expect developers will mention how they documented their code. They should describe the documentation they created for new themes or plugins they created. If they customize themes and plugins, they should talk about the associated documentation.
2. Describe the performant-tuning work that you did in a past healthcare WordPress development project
Answer:
In response to this open-ended question, developers should talk about the performance issues they noticed. They should then talk about the mitigation measures. These measures might include hosting-related action items, optimizing the content, eliminating redundant plugins, etc.
3. Describe the challenges you faced while developing a WordPress plugin catering to a healthcare industry requirement and how you resolved them
Answer:
Developers should describe the specific challenges they faced in reply to this open-ended question. These challenges could include unclear and fluid requirements. They might talk about the divergent opinions of different stakeholders. Developers should talk about the actions they took to mitigate these challenges, e.g., conducting brainstorming sessions to bring about a consensus among stakeholders.
Submit a Project With Zero Risk
Despite being one of the most popular CMSs, a WordPress website development project can be complex. You need skilled and experienced WordPress developers to get it right. Why take the risk of hiring anything but the best healthcare WordPress developers?
DevTeam.Space is a community of experienced field expert software developers. All of our dedicated healthcare WordPress developers have been vetted and trained in our unique agile software development process.
We match only the most suitable developer or development team to your project specifications. If you would like to learn more, simply fill out our DevTeam.Space product specification form and one of our experienced account managers will get in touch to answer any questions you might have.
