The best place to hire a PHP developer depends on the work you need that person to own. Maintaining a custom application, adding a Laravel integration and modifying a WordPress plugin can all involve PHP, but they call for different experience. A useful search begins with a specific role and a reviewable first deliverable.
Referrals, freelance marketplaces, specialist networks, agencies and direct employment are possible routes. None removes the need to check fit with your codebase. This guide helps you prepare that search; our PHP developer assessment guide covers evaluating the evidence once candidates arrive.
Start with the application you have, or the one you need
For an existing application, describe the current system before listing desired skills. Record the PHP version, framework or CMS and version, database, hosting arrangement, integrations and automated checks. Identify what is working, what needs to change and who understands the code today. If these details are unknown, an initial technical review is a separate task with its own deliverable.
Explain whether the developer must work within the current architecture, propose an upgrade or investigate both options. An unfamiliar codebase may need diagnosis before a reliable implementation estimate. Separate a necessary compatibility change from a broader rewrite proposal so candidates can explain the tradeoff.
For a new application, start with users and the first workflow: who submits information, who can change it, what must be stored and which external systems are involved. Identify who chooses the architecture and who will maintain it. The software requirements planning template can help turn that workflow into scope and acceptance checks before it becomes a job advertisement.
Distinguish plain PHP, Laravel and WordPress work
| Application | Useful experience to request | Detail to include in the brief |
|---|---|---|
| Plain PHP or a custom framework | Reading unfamiliar request flows, database access and application conventions. | How requests enter the application, which libraries it uses and whether setup instructions exist. |
| Laravel application | Work with the relevant framework version and the features this application actually uses. | Routes, authorization, database changes, queues and integrations within the proposed scope. |
| WordPress site or plugin | Experience with the relevant themes, plugins, editor and extension points. | Whether the work is configuration, theme presentation, custom functionality or an integration. |
| PHP backend with a separate frontend | API contracts and coordination with the frontend team. | Who owns browser behavior, frontend changes and testing across the boundary. |
A plain PHP application can still use third-party libraries. Laravel introduces framework conventions: its application structure documentation, for example, describes routes, jobs, policies and database migrations. Ask which of those responsibilities matter in your application rather than requiring every framework feature.
WordPress has its own extension model. Its Plugin Handbook describes plugins as packages that extend core functionality and can include PHP, JavaScript and other assets. Someone's PHP experience alone does not establish experience with your plugin or theme setup. Similarly, a backend role should not silently include an entire frontend redesign.
Make integration and maintenance responsibilities explicit
An integration role may involve more than connecting two successful API requests. Describe who owns the external account, where test credentials come from and how failures reach the people who can resolve them. Ask whether the developer is responsible for the surrounding workflow, data mapping and recovery behavior, or only a narrowly specified interface.
For maintenance, list the expected work: investigating reported defects, reviewing dependency changes, preserving existing behavior and documenting how the application runs. State whether the developer will inherit an issue backlog and who decides its priority. Feature delivery, scheduled maintenance and urgent support are separate responsibilities; an open-ended phrase such as “maintain the website” leaves all three unclear.
Identify the person who can review changes after onboarding. If the candidate would become the sole technical owner, include documentation and knowledge transfer in the role. If a team already exists, describe how this person works with its reviewer and release owner.
Choose a sourcing channel that fits the responsibility
| Channel | When to consider it | What to establish |
|---|---|---|
| Direct referrals | You can ask a trusted contact about comparable work. | What the recommended person actually owned and whether their availability matches the project. |
| Freelance marketplaces | You want to invite proposals for a defined individual role. | Relevant experience, named responsibilities and the platform's current engagement terms. |
| Specialist networks and communities | You need experience with a particular framework or ecosystem. | Whether hiring requests are permitted and what evidence supports the candidate's fit. |
| Development agencies | You are considering a provider for a scope needing several disciplines. | Who would be assigned, who reviews work and which responsibilities remain yours. |
| Direct employment | You want an internal role with continuing application ownership. | The workload, technical supervision, onboarding and maintenance responsibilities after the first project. |
Use a small number of channels with the same brief so responses are comparable. A referral is an introduction, a profile is a set of claims, and an agency proposal describes a proposed arrangement. Ask for evidence relevant to the role in each case. Our developer hiring platform guide examines sourcing options in more detail.
Write a brief candidates can answer
A useful PHP developer job description tells applicants what they will change and what support they will have. Include:
- Purpose and first outcome: the affected user, current problem and first deliverable you can review.
- Technical context: runtime and framework versions, database, important dependencies, integrations and hosting constraints.
- Ownership: whether the role includes diagnosis, implementation, tests, review, deployment or ongoing support.
- Available inputs: documentation, a safe development environment, synthetic data, vendor sandbox access and a person who can answer product questions.
- Boundaries: exclusions, approval requirements, collaboration hours and who handles adjacent frontend or infrastructure work.
- Commercial context: the engagement type, budget constraints, known deadline and what makes that deadline necessary.
For Composer-based projects, dependency declarations also matter: Composer's platform dependencies documentation explains requirements for PHP, extensions and system libraries. Have a technical reviewer summarize these constraints; do not paste credentials or production configuration into a public listing.
A fictional brief for an existing Laravel integration
Imagine a distributor whose support staff cannot reliably see the latest fulfillment status in an existing Laravel application. The proposed role is a PHP/Laravel developer who can investigate the current integration and implement a bounded change. It is not a claim about a client project or a completed assessment.
The brief identifies the deployed versions, queue setup, database and vendor test environment. The first deliverable is a documented diagnosis and proposed implementation scope. A later approved change would update the displayed order status, make failures visible to authorized staff and preserve the required history. Product staff decide the meaning of statuses; the existing operations owner approves deployment.
Proposed checks include an unknown external order identifier, a repeated update and an unavailable vendor service. These checks have not been run; they describe evidence the buyer would request. A new reporting dashboard, replacement frontend and permanent incident coverage remain outside this role unless added explicitly.
Screen for this codebase, then choose an assessment
Ask candidates to connect one relevant example to the responsibilities in the brief. What did they personally change? Which constraints were already present? How did they investigate failures and explain the result to the maintainer? Accept a confidential walkthrough or sanitized example when previous client code cannot be shared.
Separate essential experience from knowledge a developer can acquire during onboarding. Familiarity with your framework and integration pattern may be essential; experience with an unrelated optional package may not be. If you cannot review technical answers, identify a qualified reviewer before choosing an exercise.
Use the developer assessment brief to carry the agreed role into a bounded evaluation. The freelance developer engagement guide covers moving from selection into working arrangements. For a Laravel project discussion, bring the current application and first intended change to our Laravel and PHP development page.