How to hire a freelance web developer in the UK (without getting burned)

“I had a developer build my site last year. He went quiet after the deposit and I never heard from him again.”

I’ve heard versions of this more times than I can count. Sometimes it’s a disappearing act. Sometimes it’s a site that launches and immediately breaks. Sometimes it’s a developer who delivers something technically fine but completely wrong for the business.

Hiring a freelance web developer in the UK isn’t difficult if you know what you’re doing. Most people don’t, because they’ve never done it before. This post is for them.

Where people go wrong first

The instinct is to go straight to price comparison. You post on a jobs board, you get fifteen quotes ranging from £200 to £4,000, and you pick somewhere in the middle because that feels sensible.

It isn’t.

Price tells you almost nothing useful at this stage. A £500 quote might come from a skilled developer who works fast. It might come from someone who’ll disappear after the deposit. A £3,000 quote might represent genuinely good work. It might represent a freelancer who overestimates their skills and underdelivers.

The number you should be looking at first is the quality of their previous work, not their rate.

Where to actually find good developers

A few honest options:

Word of mouth. If a friend or another business owner used someone and was happy, that’s a warm recommendation worth ten cold applications. The developer has a reputation to protect with someone you know.

LinkedIn. Look at profiles, check their actual portfolio links, see if they’ve worked with recognisable clients. Anyone can write “experienced full-stack developer” in their bio. Not everyone can show you a project you can click through and test.

Direct search. Look for developers who’ve taken the time to build their own site and write about their work. It shows they treat their own online presence seriously, which tends to mean they’ll treat yours seriously too.

Freelance platforms (Upwork, Fiverr, PeoplePerHour). Fine for small, well-defined tasks. Riskier for a full website build. You can find genuinely good people on these platforms, but you need to spend more time vetting them. Read reviews carefully. Not just the star rating but what people actually said.

Agencies. Not strictly freelance, but worth mentioning. Agencies cost more, often significantly. In return you get a team, account management, and theoretically more process. Whether that’s worth the extra cost depends on the complexity of what you need. For most small business websites, it isn’t.

What to look for in their portfolio

You want to see three things.

First, does the work look credible? Not necessarily award-winning. Just professional, functional, and appropriate for the type of project. If they’re claiming to specialise in e-commerce but their portfolio is all one-page brochure sites, that’s worth noting.

Second, can you actually use the sites? Visit them. Test them on your phone. Try the contact forms. A portfolio screenshot is easy to fake. A live site that works well is harder to.

Third, are there any clients you can ask about? Some developers will share references if you ask. A good one won’t flinch at the question.

Questions worth asking before you commit

Before signing anything, have a conversation. Not an email exchange. A call. You’ll learn more in twenty minutes of talking than in five rounds of back-and-forth emails.

Ask how they work. How will you see progress? What happens if something goes wrong after launch? Who owns the code when the project is done? Do they handle hosting, or is that on you?

Ask what they need from you and when. Good developers give you a clear list of what they need (content, logos, access to existing accounts) and a timeline. Vague answers here tend to become vague answers later when the project is running late.

Ask what happens if you’re not happy with something. A confident developer will tell you how they handle revisions. They’ll have a clear answer because they’ve thought about it. A nervous answer to this question is a red flag.

Red flags that are worth walking away from

No contract. Any developer working at a meaningful scale should be comfortable putting the scope, timeline, payment terms, and deliverables in writing. “We can just sort it over email” is not a professional arrangement.

Vague about ownership. You need to own your domain, your hosting account, and your code when the project is done. If a developer is evasive about this, push harder. If they stay evasive, leave.

No fixed timeline. “It’ll be done when it’s done” is not a timeline. Even for complex projects, a developer should be able to give you a realistic estimate with milestones.

Asks for full payment upfront. Some deposit is standard, usually 30-50% to start. Full payment before a line of code has been written is unusual. Not always wrong, but worth asking why.

They promise page one on Google. A web developer builds your site. SEO is related but separate, and no one controls Google’s algorithm. Anyone who guarantees rankings is either confused or selling you something.

What it actually costs

For a straightforward business website in the UK, you’re looking at a few different models.

Project-based: Usually somewhere between £1,500 and £8,000 for a small to medium business site. More if it’s complex. A quoted project means you pay upfront (or in stages) for a defined piece of work.

Monthly retainer: Some developers, myself included, offer subscription plans. You get the site built and hosted for a fixed monthly fee, typically £69-£300 depending on complexity. No big upfront cost. Works well for small businesses that want ongoing support included.

Hourly rate: Usually £40-£100/hour for a UK-based freelancer, higher for specialists. Better suited to ongoing work or maintenance than to a new build, where an hourly rate without a fixed estimate can get out of hand.

None of these models is inherently better. It depends on your cash flow, how much ongoing support you need, and how clearly defined the project is.

The agency vs freelancer question

Agencies cost more. Sometimes the extra cost is justified. More often, for a small business website, it isn’t.

A freelancer builds your site and you deal with them directly. No account managers relaying your feedback to someone you’ve never met. No project coordinators explaining why something simple is taking three weeks. You talk to the person doing the work.

The risk with a freelancer is obvious: you’re relying on one person. If they get ill or take on too much, your project can stall. That’s real. The way to mitigate it is to hire someone with a track record, a contract with clear terms, and a sensible timeline.

The risk with an agency that people don’t talk about as much: the person who pitches you the work often isn’t the person who builds it. You might meet an impressive senior developer in the sales meeting and find yourself dealing with a junior six weeks later.

Neither model is without risk. Know what you’re signing up for.

My recommendation

Check the portfolio before you check the price. Get a conversation before you get a quote. Make sure there’s a contract. And before you pay anything, be clear on who owns the domain, the hosting account, and the code when the project is done.

If someone meets all of those, the price is probably fair.

If you’re in the UK and looking for a freelance web developer, I’m happy to have a conversation about what you need. No pitch, no obligation. Drop me a message and I’ll get back to you within a day.