Toptal is a marketplace for WordPress designers, experts, specialists, and consultants. Each Toptal WordPress freelancer is thoroughly vetted and trusted by top companies for their most critical design projects.
Lance is an award-winning design director, product designer, and UX strategist with an MBA. He has 20+ years experience doing hands-on UX/UI design and leading design and strategy at three global agencies, two Fortune 500s, and his own design agency. He has helped shape products and brands for Adobe, Red Bull, Visa, Zipcar, and ADP. His work has won multiple awards including Webby, W3, and Davey Awards. He loves solving complex design problems.
Bella, a UX designer from New York, now thrives in Berlin's creative sector. She's dedicated to user-centered design, crafting meaningful and intuitive experiences. With experience in branding and logo design, Bella understands diverse user needs. Her approach blends user motivation insight with iterative design for seamless products. Adaptable to trends, she collaborates well with teams, focusing on impactful, empathetic user experiences.
Lucas has 11+ years of UX and product design experience with product startups and digital agencies. He has successfully helped build mobile and web apps, SaaS dashboards, and websites from ideation to launch. His projects have included in-depth user research, wireframing and prototyping, interface design, and developer handoff.
For over a decade now, Aleksandar has worked as a UI/UX designer. Along with a background in graphic design, photography, and animation, he possesses a solid foundation in front-end development skills which helps him to understand design from a developers' point of view.
United Arab EmiratesToptal Member Since December 1, 2018
With a near-obsessive interest in creating well-balanced and pixel-perfect layouts, Cristian has designed one of the top poker platforms, HighStakes. After several years designing user interfaces (UI) and creating user experiences (UX), he now focuses on working on complex SaaS applications and providing branding solutions.
Scott has over a decade of experience in UX/UI design and front-end development—working on everything from large-scale government and public sector sites to applications for startups and small businesses. He's also completed his user experience (UX) certification with Nielsen Norman Group and is a Google Analytics certified professional. Scott brings a strong background in strategy, research, design, and development to every project.
Currently based in the Pacific Northwest, Joel is a product designer with over 10 years of experience in UX/UI design, front-end development, and WordPress development. He has led various UX research projects, helping companies change their designs and products based on users' needs.
Marti is a senior UI/UX designer based in New York. For the past several years, he's been designing digital products for the banking, hospitality, fashion, healthcare, pharmaceutical, automotive, and software industries. Marti's past clients include Citibank, HP, Galaxkey, Meta, Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen Group, Riyad Bank, Vorwerk Thermomix, Asics, The Ritz-Carlton Group, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Al Rajhi Bank, and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Alex is a UX designer with a decade of experience helping people achieve goals using human-centered design. From working on one of the first smart TVs to an eye-tracking system for one of the first smart cars, his work is thorough and thoughtful. In addition to innovation, Alex has worked on enterprise systems and consumer applications for companies like Microsoft Games Studios, the Guardian, Boingo Wireless, and Disney.
Ray is an award-winning, multidisciplinary experience designer, online and off, with 20+ years of experience delivering valuable, usable, engaging, and rewarding experiences for all. He has led organizations and teams, managed products and projects, and worked hands-on to provide design leadership, design thinking strategies, UX research, UX design, interaction design, and creative UI designs.
WordPress is one of the most powerful open-source content management platforms out there. It’s popular due to its easy setup, has a variety of plugins to extend its functionality, and it’s user-friendly. However, if a business wants to build a custom WordPress website that goes beyond templates, hiring a WordPress expert designer is crucial. By doing this, their website, blog, or online store will align more closely with their brand. This hiring guide looks at understanding the role of a WordPress designer and the skill sets required to build a WordPress website or any other custom WordPress job successfully. Included is what to look for when hiring a WordPress designer and some examples of interview questions that can be used to evaluate them.
... allows corporations to quickly assemble teams that have the right skills for specific projects.
Despite accelerating demand for coders, Toptal prides itself on almost Ivy League-level vetting.
Our clients
Creating an app for the game
Leading a digital transformation
Building a cross-platform app to be used worldwide
Drilling into real-time data creates an industry game changer
Testimonials
Michael is an incredible designer, and has been a great fit for our project. He just gets it in a way that can’t be taught. My goal was to pay Toptal to find me a high quality designer for my project, and that is exactly what happened. It was easy. Being able to see the portfolio work on Toptal’s platform is what gave me the infomation I needed to choose Michael. I have nothing but good things to say about Toptal and am looking forward to using Toptal for other projects in the future.
Edward Daniel, Co-Founder
improvemygun.com
I've worked very closely with Martina for over a year and have to say she is one of the best people I have ever worked with. Instead of simply following instructions blindly, she thinks through the task at hand, becoming a thought partner to help with whatever the project may be. Besides being super talented at design, she possesses specific qualities that make her exceptional to work with given the fast paced nature of being a startup. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a talented, professional designer who doesn't need much direction to hit the ground running.
Sahil Khanna, Sr. Manager, Marketing
LeanTaaS, Inc.
Darko did a great job figuring out the user architecture for our concept, which led him to produce terrific wireframes. His knowledge of usability and design was a perfect match for the outside voice we needed to help jumpstart our project. We would certainly recommend him and work with him again in the future.
Rich Danker, Founder
Prose Market
Carlos has the unique talent of blending both quantitative and qualitative research to keenly identify UX challenges and opportunities. He thinks methodically, emphatically, and holistically to produce data-driven strategies and well-executed designs. Over the past 8 years of working with fully or partially distributed teams, Carlos manages working remotely far better than anyone I've encountered because of his strong communication and presentation skills. He is the first on my list the next time I need a UX designer.
Michelle Krogmeier, Project Manager
Union Station
Rafael is an amazing designer. His aesthetic sense is spot on, and he seems to be able to anticipate our needs before we even know what they are. He's taken the time to understand both our company and our clientele, and his solutions are consistently in-line with our values, interests, and our customers' needs. He delivers on time (if not earlier), works quickly, is well organized, and very effective. He's a pleasure to work with, and we're very happy to have found him through Toptal.
Ethan Brooks, CTO
Langlotz Patent & Trademark Works, Inc.
Toptal gave us access to the best designers out there. They’re not easy to find. Those designers integrated very quickly with our existing teams. They very quickly understood our business case and the value of our solution. Toptal really allowed us to focus on building the best possible product and save a lot of time on the typical administrative pains that goes with it -- specifically, finding the best talent. Toptal designers were very responsive, always online -- and that made life very easy for us. We have ambitious goals on how to grow the application and already Toptal has been a key contributor to that success.
Thierry Jakircevic, General Manager, Digital Solutions, Bridgestone Head Office, Tokyo
Bridgestone Corporation
We had an amazing experience working with our Toptal designer. In only two weeks, we accomplished what would've taken most companies 3 months to complete. We also enjoyed working with the Toptal team to make sure we were paired up with the right designer that would fit both our company culture and working style.
Ted Blosser, Head of Sales and Customer Success
WorkRamp
Dean blew us away. He ranks right up there as one of the top five designers of the hundreds I have worked with in the past. He listened, was totally professional, and came up with a 3D rotating cube design completely on his own. We didn't even ask for it, and yet it has become the centerpiece of our app and how users engage with it right off the bat. What he produced inspired all of us at Votify, and put us on track for launch and investor funding.
Michael Lawrence, Founder & CEO
Votify LLC
How to Hire WordPress Designers through Toptal
1
Talk to One of Our Industry Experts
A Toptal director of design will work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics.
2
Work With Hand-Selected Talent
Within days, we'll introduce you to the right WordPress designer for your project. Average time to match is under 24 hours.
3
The Right Fit, Guaranteed
Work with your new WordPress designer for a trial period (pay only if satisfied), ensuring they're the right fit before starting the engagement.
Find Experts With Related Skills
Access a vast pool of skilled designers in our talent network and hire the top 3% within just 48 hours.
At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our WordPress designers 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 design 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.
Can I hire WordPress designers in less than 48 hours through Toptal?
Depending on availability and how fast you can progress, you could start working with a WordPress designer within 48 hours of signing up.
What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal WordPress designers?
We make sure that each engagement between you and your WordPress designer 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.
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How to Hire a WordPress Designer
WordPress is a free open-source tool and content management system (CMS) that enables the creation of websites, a WordPress blog, and more. It’s a software designed for everyone, emphasizing performance, security, and ease of use.
The WordPress platform has come a long way since its launch in 2003. Available in more than 70 languages, WordPress is flexible, highly customizable, and has powerful website-building features. However, it still mostly relies on the use of templates, what they call “themes.” If a business needs more than WordPress templates, it is highly recommended they hire an experienced WordPress designer.
WordPress is not just for website design or blogs, however. WordPress also offers a full range of eCommerce options, from one‑click payments to paid subscriptions. That said, the complexity of creating a fully customized, sophisticated online store absolutely necessitates not only hiring a WordPress developer but also an experienced WordPress designer.
What Is a WordPress Designer?
A WordPress designer is someone who understands the software and the WordPress ecosystem and is familiar with its features, functionalities, and capabilities. WordPress websites are organized around “themes,” and the platform offers a multitude of plugins and widgets for extensive customization. An expert WordPress designer would know how to work with the WordPress platform to create an eCommerce store by using plugins such as WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads.
Because there are so many WordPress designers out there, finding the right one depends on your project’s particular needs. To be clear, this hiring guide is for hiring a WordPress expert designer which is different from hiring WordPress developers for plugin development or theme development.
What to Look for When Hiring a WordPress Designer
Anyone without any specialized programming knowledge can build a website, but a working knowledge of WordPress intricacies, such as theme development, using plugins, and optimizing for SEO is a big advantage for a designer. An expert WordPress designer should have mastery of the themes and plugins that are proven to work well, in-depth knowledge of the platform’s capabilities, and be familiar with what types of projects would most benefit from its use.
Beyond having a sophisticated design aesthetic (proficiency in UI/UX design, color schemes, typography, layout, visual design, and more), a great WordPress designer should also be familiar with the capabilities of its underlying technologies, such as HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, PHP, and jQuery, and how they work together to power WordPress websites. If needed, they can help you hire a WordPress developer as well to assist with more intricate coding requirements.
Understanding the entire web development process, including design, development, and deployment, is a definite requirement, as is having experience with responsive and adaptive WordPress website design. The right candidate should have a sound understanding of design and development trends as well as content management systems.
The popularity of WordPress—especially among non-programmers—also makes it a target for cybercriminals, so it’s best to look for a WordPress website designer with expert knowledge of security best practices. For example, cybercriminals often distribute for free visually attractive WordPress themes that contain malicious scripts that steal site traffic or people’s personal and payment data.
A seasoned WordPress website designer can elevate a project beyond what a WordPress developer alone could do. They should be able to take a company’s brand and business requirements and build a WordPress website that matches its goals. That said, it’s a good idea to ask for examples of previous projects to see what each candidate has worked on. This will ensure that the type of work the designer has done in the past matches the project’s requirements. All candidates tend to have their unique strengths and weaknesses, so they’re likely to keep within their comfort zones when applying for projects.
WordPress Designer Interview Questions
The following interview question examples should help you with the interview process when hiring a WordPress designer. We hope you find these questions and answers a useful foundation as you search for a great candidate among the few expert WordPress website designers. Taking the time to find candidates well-versed with the platform, using plugins, and customizing themes is well worth the effort. They will certainly have a significant, positive impact on your WordPress project and take it successfully across the finish line.
What kinds of projects can be built with WordPress?
An expert WordPress designer should be able to demonstrate familiarity with the WordPress platform. WordPress plugin development and the types of projects for which it’s most suited. Listen for in-depth knowledge and examples. It’s also important to be familiar with how to hire WordPress developers and the kinds of projects for which WordPress is not well suited.
What are WordPress themes, plugins, and widgets?
This question tests familiarity with the basic WordPress framework. A WordPress theme defines the design of a website, including its layout. Changing a theme changes how a site looks, i.e., what people see when browsing your website. Though many WordPress sites use custom themes, there are thousands of free WordPress themes available.
WordPress plugins are PHP scripts that extend the functionality of WordPress. They enhance the features of WordPress or add entirely new features to a site. Plugins are typically free to the public and are available via the WordPress Plugin Directory. Even though plugins are extensively tested and considered safe, one must be careful because they can be of varying quality.
WordPress widgets add content and features to sidebars, which can appear on the left or right side of sites. Plugins will often have their unique widgets, but good examples are the default widgets that come with WordPress, such as Categories, Tag Cloud, Search, and more. As opposed to WordPress plugin development, widgets require no expertise to code. They can be added, removed, and rearranged on the WordPress Administration Screens.
Can you tell me about WordPress theme customization and what methods you would use?
Every WordPress site requires a theme; it’s integral to its structure and, therefore, an essential part of a website. Themes are like templates, and they can be easily customized. Using various methods, expert WordPress designers can adjust their layout, colors, headers, menus, widgets, and fonts.
In addition, WordPress plugins can be used, which makes it possible to customize a variety of functionalities. Plugins can also be used to manage code snippets that can be added to the
code block of the HTML file or the functions.php file of the theme.
WordPress projects are further customizable by going directly into the underlying code. If they have the skills to do so, code editing gives designers precise control over how a site looks or functions. They can use the new block editor or the classic editor to edit HTML code for individual pages or posts.
Discuss different ways of installing plugins into a theme and explain one of the ways of doing it.
If using WordPress.com, plugins cannot be installed unless the site is on the “business plan.” WordPress plugins can be integrated in many ways, such as through:
Actions and filters
Shortcodes
Widgets
A PHP function
One of the simplest ways to install a WordPress plugin is to do it from the site administration dashboard. Under Plugins > Add New, one can search for a plugin, install it, and activate it. There are other ways, and an expert WordPress designer should be able to give you a clear explanation of the method they’d prefer to use.
Is it a good idea to install a lot of WordPress plugins?
WordPress has many plugins, but it’s not a good idea to install too many. The more plugins installed, the “bulkier” the site and the slower the loading times, so it’s best not to use plugins unless absolutely necessary.
If you must use many plugins, make sure you have a Plugin Organizer installed to manage them. This plugin lets you specify what plugins are activated on which pages, and the selective loading will significantly speed up the site.
You can also use P3 (Plugin Performance Profiler), a tool to see which plugins are taking up most of your resources.
How do I use Google Analytics with WordPress?
An expert WordPress designer should know there are many different ways to set up Google Analytics in WordPress, so listen for experience in this area. There are at least three different methods, and a great WordPress designer would help you choose the one that best suits your needs.
One of the easiest ones to use is MonsterInsights, a popular Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. It has a free and a premium version. More than 1 million websites use it, including Bloomberg and Zillow.
A more complicated way is to install Google Analytics in a WordPress theme. This method is only for advanced users familiar with coding, as it involves adding code in the header.php file.
Is WordPress.com more secure than WordPress.org? Why?
Because themes are limited on WordPress.com and installing plugins is generally not allowed, WordPress.com is considered more secure than WordPress.org.
Rounding Up the Requirements and Getting Started
At this point, you will have defined your WordPress project needs, identified a strong WordPress designer candidate, and you’re ready to move ahead with your project. The next and final step is to recap and address the following:
Project scope and deliverables (expected/required)
