CSS
How to hire CSS developers
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) allows you to modify color, font, and other style attributes of an HTML webpage. If you’re looking to take your website’s style to the next level, a CSS developer can help.
So how do you find a CSS developer? What follows are some tips on finding top CSS developers on Upwork.
How to shortlist CSS development professionals
As you’re browsing available CSS development consultants, it can be helpful to develop a shortlist of the contractors you may want to interview. You can screen profiles on criteria such as:
- Technology fit. You want a CSS developer who understands your developer workflow and is familiar with all the tools, software, libraries, and frameworks used by your development team.
- Portfolio. Since CSS is a front-end technology, the quality of past web projects speaks for itself.
- Feedback. Check reviews from past clients for glowing testimonials or red flags that can tell you what it’s like to work with a particular CSS developer.
How to write an effective CSS development job post
The first step to finding your CSS developer is to define your project. A well-defined project description will help you attract the right kind of talent to your job, and help them propose more accurate terms to your project. But before you can write that brief, you’ll need to determine the scope of your project.
First, outline what the developer will be doing. Do you need a CSS developer to spruce up an existing app? Or are you onboarding new talent to start your web project from the bottom up? Do you have an existing app that needs some bugs fixed? The type of work you need will weigh into the level of programmer that you desire (junior, intermediate, or senior).
If you’re unsure of the experience level that you need, a clear project brief can go a long way towards helping developers determine if they’re a good fit for your project. You can specifically request the level of expertise you require, but remember that more experienced CSS developers work at higher rates, and can end up costing more if the work you require is simple but time consuming. If you don’t have any understanding of the development process, it might be better to stick with a senior-level developer who can help guide you through the process.
Finally, be clear about the length and the amount of time it will take to complete your project. Web development projects can take a week, a month, six months, or more. The length of time is often determined by the developer based on your project description, but you can at least provide an estimate or a deadline, if applicable. It’s good practice to break your project up into phases, to stay organized and meet deadlines. If you intend to work with fixed price contracts, you should have an idea how you’ll handle milestone payments for deliverables received during each phase of development.
Writing a CSS Development Project Description
After you get a firm idea of your project deliverables, it’s time to write a project description. The way you write a description will determine the quality of developer that you’ll attract. It’s important to be concise yet detailed enough so developers interested in your project can submit proposals with fairly accurate cost and time estimates.
The title of your project description can include the type of development that you need. You know that you need a CSS developer, but why specifically a front-end developer specialized in CSS? The title should attract CSS developers with the specific technologies or skills you require for your project.
The next step is the project overview. Describe what you’re building or what you’ll need the developer to do. Be as detailed as possible, and include any wireframes or mockups that can help you attract the right developer for your needs. If an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) is required, you can also specify this in your description.
Part of your description should also define the deliverables including any designs, documentation, or source code. The source code is usually delivered using a version control solution such as Git.
Sample project description
Below is a sample of how a project description may look. Keep in mind that many people use the term “job description,” but a full job description is only needed for employees. When engaging a freelancer as an independent contractor, you typically just need a statement of work, job post, or any other document that describes the work to be done.
Title: CSS Developer for a MEAN Social Media Platform
Description: We’re looking for an intermediate CSS developer to help us build an exciting new social media platform for independent filmmakers, fans, and film festival venues to connect with one another. The project is based on the MEAN (MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.js) stack, so familiarity using Bootstrap with AngularJS is required.
The right developer will be able to provide us with the following skills and services:
- Translation of designer mock-ups and wireframes into front-end code
- Front-end integration with a MEAN back-end
- Unit testing with Karma
- Bootstrap, LESS, AngularJS
- Familiarity with API Creation and RESTful services
Project Scope & Deliverables:
While much of the project has already been completed, we still need additional support to help us polish our product and meet our launch deadline in 3 months (mm/dd/yyyy). We will need the following three deliverables:
- Deliverable #1 by (date)
- Deliverable #2 by (date)
- Deliverable #3 by (date)
About Us:
We are Carnivale, an innovative startup seeking to bridge the gap between independent filmmakers, fans, and festivals.
That’s enough about us, to ensure you’ve read the entirety of this message, please include the name of your favorite film alongside your portfolio in your reply.
*Note all company names and dates, were created solely for the use of this example.
Ready to create a website that will help you maximize the effectiveness of your marketing campaign? Log in and post your CSS development job on Upwork today.
CSS DEVELOPERS FAQ
What is a CSS developer?
CSS developers are simply front-end developers who specialize in using CSS. Everything from the color and shape of your site navigation buttons to the typography of your blog text to the overall layout of your website falls under the domain of the CSS developer.
Here’s a quick overview of the skills you should look for in CSS development professionals:
- Web fundamentals such as CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
- Front-end CSS frameworks such as Bootstrap and Foundation
- CSS preprocessors such as Less and Sass
- Web and graphic design
- Creativity
CSS development consultants can write the front-end code that will bring your web designs to life.
Why hire CSS developers?
The trick to finding top CSS developers is to identify your needs. Are you looking for someone to update the look and feel of an existing website, or are you building a new web app from scratch? Will they also need experience with JavaScript frameworks such as Angular, Vue, and React? The cost of your CSS project will depend largely on your scope of work and the specific skills needed to bring your project to life.
How much does it cost to hire a CSS developer?
Here are some important cost factors you may want to consider when determining the cost of your project.
Project scopeDefining what work you want your developer to accomplish is the first step towards establishing your project scope. If you wrote that project description, good news: you’ve already tackled a major component of your project’s design budget. There’s a big difference in scope between swapping the color scheme of a small business’s landing page and engaging a CSS developer for a bigger project, like getting your new social media app off the ground.
Defining a time frame is the second major component to determining scope. It has an impact on how you’ll handle milestone payments for each phase of development (if you’re dealing with fixed-price contracts), or the overall cost of a project if you have an hourly contract. The more accurately your project description describes the scope of your project, the easier it will be for interested freelancers to provide accurate cost estimates in their proposals.
Tip: You can often manage a limited budget more effectively by going Agile. Start with a minimum viable project (MVP), the bare bones of the application you eventually wish to create, gather live feedback from the market, and let validated data guide the development of your project. This will help you avoid that dreaded pitfall of sinking cost into a product the market doesn’t want.
Cost Factor #2: Experience
When it comes to experience, the same is true of CSS development as any other trade—cost rises with expertise. Your project scope naturally leads you to the appropriate level of experience you should look for in your freelancers. Sometimes it can be more cost effective to hire a less experienced freelancer at a lower rate, particularly if a job is time consuming yet simple to perform.
It’s important to note that CSS developers are really front-end developers who excel at CSS. They may be familiar with preprocessors like Sass or frameworks like Bootstrap. There are probably other front-end skills you will need to consider when tackling any web project—things like frameworks, libraries, and other technologies will also impact your budget, and the cost of those skills will change with the ever evolving world of front-end development. You might initially set out to update the web presence for your business with a CMS like Squarespace, but ultimately realize you require a CSS developer with design skills to create the unique look and feel you want.
The following table breaks down the rates of the typical types of front-end developers you can find on Upwork.
Typical Rates Charged by Front-End (CSS) Developers*
| Type of JavaScript Developer | Description | Average Hourly Rate |
| Basic Front-End | Front-end fundamentals (HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript), familiarity with libraries like jQuery, and CMS’s like WordPress. | $15-50+ |
| Intermediate – Advanced Front-End | Beyond fundamentals, also skilled in one or more chosen front-end JavaScript frameworks like AngularJS, CSS preprocessors like LESS/Sass, and CSS frameworks like Foundation. | $35-100+ |
| Full Stack Developer | Mix of front-end and back-end technology expertise. Expertise working with MEAN (MongoDB, Express, Angular, Node.js) | $30-150+ |
*Reflects rates charged by freelancers on Upwork in North America with over 1,000 hours and 90% success rate.
Tip: Since most front-end developers will probably list CSS as a skill, it is especially important you specifically state why you want a CSS developer and not just general front-end help. For example, you might want someone experienced in in a CSS framework like Foundation because that’s the technology your existing app is built on. You would specify this requirement in your job post.
Cost Factor #3: Location
Location is the other big variable in determining how much it will cost to hire a freelancer. A big advantage to working with freelancers on Upwork, is that you gain access to a talent pool of CSS developers from around the world. You can pick from the best and brightest, while optimizing for localization (such as selecting developers who speak the language of a target market). Just be sure to factor time zones, language barriers, and the logistics of coordinating a remote team into your budget.