Look for clear discovery, realistic scope, responsive implementation, secure defaults, performance discipline, ownership of deployment details, maintainable code, transparent communication, and evidence from real projects. Avoid guarantees that cannot be measured or promises that skip requirements discovery.
Start with the problem, not the framework
A good developer asks what the website needs to achieve, who uses it, what content exists, which systems it connects to, who will maintain it, and what constraints matter. Technology should follow requirements rather than become the sales pitch.
Ask how mobile is designed and tested
Responsive design is not simply shrinking desktop cards. Ask about navigation, touch targets, forms, media, performance, viewport testing, and how complex interactions change on smaller screens.
Ask about security and ownership
Clarify who controls the domain, DNS, hosting, analytics, repositories, environment variables, third-party accounts, and backups. You should not become permanently dependent on one person simply because credentials were never organized.
Ask how SEO is built into production
Technical SEO starts with crawlable links, metadata, canonical URLs, semantic structure, mobile content, sitemaps, structured data where appropriate, and performance. It is not a package of keywords added after launch.
Look for maintainability and deployment discipline
Version control, staging, backups, rollback, monitoring, update plans, and documentation matter after launch. A site that looks good but cannot be safely updated becomes expensive quickly.
Evaluate proof carefully
Prefer live projects, case studies, public repositories where appropriate, clear descriptions of the developer’s role, and honest labels for concepts or private work. Real evidence is more useful than inflated project counts or unverified metrics.