How to Find an ExpressionEngine Freelancer
by Ryan Irelan
Recently on Twitter someone wondered aloud how he could find freelancers that do ExpressionEngine work. It’s really not that hard and there are a few different ways to go about it. Let’s run through them quickly so you can be on your way to finding the person you need.
These tips will help you find an ExpressionEngine professional, not just a freelancer. Some of the professionals you’ll find are agencies (larger and small), not individuals.
ExpressionEngine Pro Network
While it could be so much more, the ExpressionEngine Pro Network is still a solid and reliable place to start your search. The list of freelancers and agencies have all been vetted by EllisLab. To gain admittance to the Network you have to demonstrate some knowledge of ExpressionEngine, show completed projects and generally be professional.
There is no cost to be part of the Pro Network, so this is not paid placement. Use the Pro Network listing as your first source for leads.
Director-ee
A website built by EE community members, Director-ee is self-described as “The ExpressionEngine Community at Your Fingertips.” It’s a voluntary directory of people in the EE community, including those with full-time jobs using ExpressionEngine and freelancers. You can view developer profiles, search for a certain skill set or even post a job.
Personal Referrals
Always the best but the hardest to get, personal referrals can also help you find the ExpressionEngine professional you’re looking for. If you contact a professional (found via other means) and they are unavailable for the work you need done, ask them for a referral to someone they know (and, most importantly, trust). In my experience these types of referrals lead to great relationships.
Twitter #eecms tag
Every day, from Alabama to Austraila, ExpressionEngine developers of all shades of experience share information, tips, tricks, ideas and more on Twitter. They mark their conversations using the #eecms hash tag. If you’re familiar with Twitter, you can set up a search for that hashtag and follow along. Thi s is a nice way of finding other EE professionals that may be able to help you or ask questions.
Search the #eecms hash tag now
ExpressionEngine Meetups
Within the last year an increasing number of EE meetups take place each month across the US (and world). Groups of EE professionals (and novices) gather together to share information, talk shop and socialize. If you’re looking for a local professional, you might consider searching for a meetup in your area and reaching out to the members or meetup organizer.
Google!
It’s not the best place to start but a google search is a good way to get some more potential professionals to add to your list. Savvy EE professionals will also be good at optimizing their websites to the keywords you will use to find them.
Email EllisLab
If you really, really cannot find what you’re looking for, you can–as a last resort–email EllisLab (the makers of ExpressionEngine) directly and ask for further help. They will most likely point you to the Pro Network, but sometimes special cases require their help. Be assured, they want you and your EE-powered website to succeed, so don’t be afraid to ask for help.
By choosing ExpressionEngine for your project, you automatically gain access to a large but closeknit community of designers and developers who specialize in ExpressionEngine. We are very proud of our community and certain that you’ll find the person you need to get the job done.
Posted on Dec 05, 2011
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Bjørn Børresen — 09:17 on 12.05.2011
Google is indeed a good tip, but I’d recommend googling ExpressionEngine freelancer instead of developer: https://www.google.com/search?gcx=c&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=expressionengine+freelancer
Ryan Irelan — 10:46 on 12.05.2011
Thanks, Bjørn!
And if anyone can find the tweet I reference in the first sentence, that would be great. I saw it come through my feed reader and now I can’t find it, even using a Twitter search.
Gary — 11:31 on 12.05.2011
Seems like director-ee.com should be mentioned as well.
Ryan Irelan — 12:04 on 12.05.2011
Good call, Gary! My initial brainstorm had the site included but I wrote this late at night and neglected to include them. I’ll update the article.
Tim Carter — 20:19 on 12.05.2011
I completely agree that personal referrals are best. You might also consider searching LinkedIn.com, as a contact or “contact’s contact” might come up.
For what it’s worth, I would add the suggestion that any potential ExpressionEngine developer should show the back-end of an EE website that they built—not just the front-end. I find that explanations about how templates, channels, add-ons, etc. were set up really makes it clear if the developer knows EE well. We often get people who call us to “fix” an EE website that someone else built, and it’s immediately clear that that the first developer didn’t really know what they were doing. A very expensive—and unnecessary—mistake.
Ryan Battles — 10:35 on 12.06.2011
Thanks for the http://director-ee.com mention. We are working hard to make the site as community-friendly as possible, while being a useful resource for those looking for a freelancer. We also have the capability for each profile to post their current availability, and to reach out directly to them via a contact form on their profile.
モンクレールダウン — 04:41 on 12.28.2011
事実上、人造の防水の生地のその時にの使うのは熱量の十分さを保証しことができないて、価格の高いアヒル羽毛はまた仕方がない大量の割当額を穴埋めします。そこでRamillonは試験がいくつか列の人造の材料を採用して代替品にすることを始めます。彼は1種のポリエステルの新しい繊維を選んで、Tergalといいます。Ramillonはこのような原料でナイロンの製品を穴埋めします。新しい線の製品は一連であることにしてそれぞれ大いに運動する雑誌の広告の上でまで(へ)供給されます。