A guide to hiring a Drupal developer
Drupal is an open source content management system written in PHP. Organisations use it for websites that hold a lot of content, have many editors or need careful control over who can publish what. Universities, public bodies, publishers and larger companies often fall into this group. A Drupal developer is a programmer who can shape the system around your content and keep it healthy over the years. Below you will find what the work covers, how to size up a candidate and how to run a remote engagement. It is written for marketing leads and founders who run a Drupal site, or are choosing a platform for a new one.
What makes Drupal different
Many content systems start from pages and posts. Drupal starts from your content. You define the types of content you have, such as articles, events, people or products, and the fields each one needs. Then you build lists, search pages and permissions on top. This takes more planning at the start, and it pays back when the site grows. It also explains why a good developer matters: the early structure decides how easy the site is to use for years afterwards.
What the work usually involves
A common request is a new build: planning the structure, building the pages and creating a theme. Another is custom code, such as a module for a feature that no community module provides. A third is connections, for example linking the site to a customer database, a sign-in system or a mobile app. A fourth is care and upgrades. Drupal sites need regular updates, and older sites often need a larger move to a current version.
How a Drupal developer differs from other roles
A CMS developer works across platforms and helps you compare them. A WordPress developer specialises in a different system with its own plugins and themes. A PHP developer writes server code for many kinds of projects. A Drupal developer knows this platform’s structure, its module system and its upgrade path, which is where most surprises in a project appear.
When a Drupal developer makes sense
- Your site holds many kinds of content and the current system cannot model them.
- Several teams edit the site and you need review and approval steps.
- You publish in more than one language.
- Your Drupal site is old and nobody is sure how to update it safely.
- You need the site to share content with an app or another system.
If your needs are simple, a lighter platform may serve you better. A developer who says so before starting is worth hiring.
Plan the content first
The most useful step before any build is a content plan. List the kinds of content you publish, who writes them, who approves them and where they appear. Bring examples. A developer can turn this into types, fields and lists much faster than from a design file alone. It also helps you decide what to bring from the old site and what to leave behind.
Reading a Drupal developer’s background
Ask to see a site the person built and what they did to keep it updated. Good answers describe the structure, the modules chosen and the way editors were trained. Treat a background with caution when it lists only themes or only module installs. A strong developer shows judgement about which parts to build, which to reuse and which to leave out.
Questions for the interview
- How do you plan content types and fields for a site you have never seen?
- When do you write a custom module, and when do you use an existing one?
- How do you move settings and changes from a test copy to the live site?
- A security update is released. What steps do you take?
- How would you move content from an older site into a new Drupal build?
Strong answers are specific and come with stories from real projects. Be wary of anyone who gives every answer the same module name.
Start with a small paid trial task
Give every finalist one small piece of real work from your own site. Good choices include modelling one content type with its listing page, fixing a layout problem in the theme, or reviewing a custom module for risks. Pay them for the hours. Judge how clearly the work is organised and how well the person explains the trade-offs.
Settle who looks after the site
A Drupal site needs steady care. Agree who applies updates, how often backups run and how fast a problem should be fixed. Use a test copy for every change and move work to the live site only after it is checked. Keep the code and the content in accounts that your organisation owns, and remove access when the work ends.
Working with your team
Include your editors early. They know what slows them down, and their feedback shapes a better structure. A brief weekly call and one shared task list keep everyone on the same page. Plan large changes around your publishing calendar, so that a big update does not land during a busy week.
Mistakes to avoid
- Installing many add-on modules without checking that they are still maintained.
- Putting custom changes where the next update will overwrite them.
- Skipping updates for years until the jump becomes large and risky.
- Leaving the sole copy of the custom code on a single person’s computer.
Looking for something broader? Browse our CMS developers for choosing and running a platform, or our PHP developers for server code.