Hire the best MVC Framework specialists

MVC is short for model-view-controller. It’s a UI design pattern that separates development concerns among three components: 

• Model, which handles the data layer consisting of business logic and data powering an application.
• View, which is the presentation layer, the part of an application a user sees and interacts with. 
• Controller, which updates models and views based on user input.

MVC is the most popular design pattern for achieving SoC (separation of concerns) in software development. There are many ways to implement the MVC design pattern and many variations or extensions of this concept such as MVVM (model-view-viewmodel) and MVP (model-view-presenter). 

The first step to determining the cost to hire an MVC framework specialist will be to define your needs. Rates can vary due to many factors, including expertise and experience, location, and market conditions.

Cost factor #1: project scope

The first variable to consider when determining scope is the nature of the work that needs to be completed. Not all MVC framework projects are created equal. Building a simple GUI (graphical user interface) to present business intelligence to your internal analysts will take less time than building an enterprise software-as-a-service app that will be deployed to consumers.

Tip: The more accurately your job description describes the scope of your project, the easier it will be for talent to give you accurate cost estimates and proposals.

Cost factor #2: MVC framework experience

Choosing the right level of expertise for the job is closely tied to how well you determined the scope of your project. You wouldn’t need an advanced C# developer to whip up a simple landing page with ASP.NET MVC, but building an enterprise web app will require greater expertise. Beyond experience level, you need to consider the type of experience the talent possesses. 

The following table breaks down the rates of the typical types of MVC framework specialists you can find on Upwork.

Rates charged by MVC framework specialists on Upwork

Types of MVC Framework Specialists	Description	Hourly Rate
ASP.NET MVC Developer	Proficiency in C#, ASP.NET, and the rest of the Microsoft app development ecosystem. Can build enterprise web apps with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and ASP.NET MVC library.	$50-100+
Java MVC Developer	Working knowledge of the Java web development ecosystem. Experienced with one or more Java MVC frameworks (e.g., Apache Struts, Spring MVC, JSF).	$30-60+
PHP MVC Developer	Working knowledge of the PHP web development ecosystem. Experienced with one or more PHP MVC frameworks (e.g., Laravel, CakePHP, Symfony).	$30-60+

 

Cost factor #3: location

Location is another variable that can impact an MVC framework specialist’s cost. It’s no secret that you can leverage differences in purchasing power between countries to gain savings on talent. But it’s also important to factor in hidden costs such as language barriers, time zones, and the logistics of managing a remote team. The real advantage to sourcing talent remotely on Upwork is the ability to scan a global talent pool for the best possible person for the job. Location is no longer an obstacle. 

Cost factor #4: independent contractor vs. agency

The final variable regarding talent cost is hiring an independent contractor vs. an agency. An agency is often a “one size fits all” model, so you’ll often have access to a designer, a project manager, an engineer, and more. When hiring individuals you have total autonomy regarding who is responsible for which part of the project, but you’ll need to source each of those skills separately.

The trade-off between hiring individuals vs. hiring an agency is the level of administrative overhead you incur personally in coordinating tasks among all members of the team. Project scope and personal preference will determine which style is a better fit for your needs.

Remember that MVC is just a design pattern, not an architecture

When it comes to MVC, the terms design pattern and application architecture are often used interchangeably, especially in the marketing copy of different software development products. 

But it’s important for developers to know that in its original implementation, MVC was envisioned as a UI design pattern. That distinction is important, because unlike an application architecture, which provides a design solution for your entire application, MVC is concerned only with the programming logic that goes into the UI:

• Model: Business logic (data manipulation)

• View: Formatting and rendering

• Controller: User-driven event handling

Application development aspects such as routing, data storage, parsing, and networking aren’t accounted for by default, and it is up to you, the developer, to decide whether they should be included in the model, the view, or the controller. MVC can be part of a larger, more comprehensive application architecture. 

Test smart and test often

A well-documented test suite that grows with your application will ensure you’re able to update and maintain your application with minimal downtime and disruptions. It’s better to catch code-breaking changes before you push a build to production. 

Consider adopting TDD (test-driven development), an Agile development methodology that involves writing code iteratively in three steps:

• Red: Write a test for a software feature that fails

• Green: Write the minimum code needed to pass the test

• Refactor: Rewrite your passing code to best practices

Not only will TDD help you maximize your test coverage, but it will also encourage your development team to write well-documented, modular, reusable code. Encourage unit tests during development and regression testing before deployment. 

Don’t repeat yourself; automate

According to the DRY principle, “Every piece of knowledge or logic must have a single, unambiguous representation within a system.” In other words, if you find yourself repeating the same piece of code over and over again, chances are high that you could refactor it into more-efficient code. 

It turns out that the DRY principle can also be expanded beyond the code to the entire software development life cycle. If there’s something you find yourself doing repetitively, such as configuring your cloud resources, there’s a good chance it’s worth investing a little extra time in automation tools to make your life easier (e.g., automating server provisioning with Ansible playbooks).