How to hire a content developer

How to hire a content developer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step content developer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a content developer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new content developer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a content developer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a content developer, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A content developer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, content developers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents content developer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Content Developer	Description	Hourly rate
   Content Developer	Web developers design and create websites. They are responsible for the look of the site... Show more	$24-48
   Developer/Consultant	A developer/consultant is responsible for developing system databases and applications, depending on the business' needs and clients' specifications. Developers/consultants design their services to manage optimal performance and maximize productivity for timely submission of projects, ensuring client satisfaction and loyalty... Show more	$34-64
   Web Application Developer	A web application developer is responsible for designing website and system applications following clients' specifications and business' needs. Web application developers utilize their expertise in programming languages and system codes, ensuring the efficiency and smooth navigation of the website... Show more	$31-52

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Content Development
   • Digital Marketing
   • Subject Matter Experts
   • Digital Content
   • Project Management
   • PowerPoint
   • Content Strategy
   • Java
   • Web Content
   • Training Content
   • User Experience
   • HTML
   • CSS
   • JavaScript

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop scripts to automate operations and optimize web performance (jQuery).
   • Manage, design, and create new HTML help look and feel that provide cost-effective ways to reuse content.
   • Analyze, plan, develop, QA, and deliver training courses for instructor lead training and web base training.
   • Manage social media marketing, including Instagram
   • Design a mobile-first responsive layout compliant with HTML5 and CSS3 standards.
   • Develop jQuery plugins, config files, Javascript files and CSS files.

   More content developer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your content developer job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A content developer can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, content developers' average salary in missouri is 33% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level content developers 50% less than senior-level content developers.
   • Certifications. A content developer with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a content developer's salary.

   Average content developer salary

   $72,030yearly

   $34.63 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level content developer salary

   $51,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average content developer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$89,156	$43
   2	New Jersey	$78,548	$38
   3	Washington	$77,548	$37
   4	New York	$73,813	$35
   5	District of Columbia	$71,733	$34
   6	Georgia	$70,410	$34
   7	Arizona	$70,087	$34
   8	North Carolina	$69,589	$33
   9	Massachusetts	$69,230	$33
   10	South Carolina	$69,040	$33
   11	Pennsylvania	$68,497	$33
   12	Oregon	$68,327	$33
   13	Nevada	$67,225	$32
   14	Connecticut	$66,707	$32
   15	Virginia	$65,868	$32
   16	Texas	$65,256	$31
   17	Maryland	$64,066	$31
   18	Delaware	$63,444	$31
   19	Rhode Island	$63,300	$30
   20	West Virginia	$63,294	$30

   Average content developer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Google	$134,705	$64.76	29
   2	Microsoft	$130,693	$62.83	9
   3	NVIDIA	$122,131	$58.72	11
   4	Apple	$119,219	$57.32	27
   5	Macy's	$100,708	$48.42	2
   6	Amazon	$99,205	$47.69	136
   7	Wind River	$99,201	$47.69
   8	Booz Allen Hamilton	$98,932	$47.56	30
   9	Tableau	$97,778	$47.01
   10	VMware	$96,110	$46.21
   11	NetApp	$95,675	$46.00
   12	GoDaddy	$95,492	$45.91
   13	Workday	$93,210	$44.81
   14	MathWorks	$92,685	$44.56
   15	Cengage Learning	$90,119	$43.33
   16	UBS	$89,902	$43.22	6
   17	Connors Group	$89,416	$42.99
   18	Intel	$89,289	$42.93	10
   19	PVH	$87,627	$42.13
   20	Lands' End	$85,493	$41.10

4. Writing a content developer job description

   A job description for a content developer role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a content developer job description:

   Content developer job description example

   Scope AR is the pioneer of enterprise-class augmented reality solutions, delivering the industry's only cross-platform AR tools for getting workers the knowledge they need, when they need it. The company is revolutionizing the way enterprises work and collaborate by offering AR tools that provide more effective and efficient knowledge-sharing to conduct complex remote tasks, employee training, product and equipment assembly, maintenance and repair, field and customer support, and more.
   
   The company's device-agnostic technology supports smartphones, tablets and wearables, making it easy for leading organizations like Johnson & Johnson, Danaher, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, and others to leverage AR as a new way to scale their organizations globally, with greater efficiency.
   
   Working at Scope AR provides you the opportunity to have a real and major impact on the way products around the globe get created and how work gets done.
   
   This individual will combine a strong set of skills in 3D content manipulation and technical instruction with a proven ability to engage with prospects and customers to define and develop AR instructions, and help them develop the ability to do so unaided.
   
   We are seeking a full time, remote, self-motivated individual with significant 3D content experience, overall design competence and extensive client facing experience. This person will become a proficient author in WorkLink Create, developing next generational instructional content as well as developing training material to educate customers.
   
   Key ResponsibilitiesDevelop an inside-out knowledge of Scope AR's WorkLink augmented reality platform, with particular emphasis on the creation and use of AR instructions As a key member of the Creative Services team, work directly with the production manager and customers to define and develop best-in-class instructional AR content for clients and prospects Support WorkLink projects (internal and external) with digital content creation including modeling, translation, decimation, image editing etc.Provide feedback and insight into WorkLink user experiences to contribute to the ongoing development of features and capabilities Understand customer focus and assist on successful delivery of valid use cases
   
   RequirementsExperience in CAD translation and 3D content creation including format conversion, decimation, modeling and animation.Self motivated and proven ability to work independently on time and on budget as well as work with a collaborative team.Strong written and verbal communication skills Ability to present technical training classes Must enjoy working in a startup environment Ability to travel to client sites as needed (Primarily North America, with some international) General competence in image editing (eg Photoshop, Illustrator or equivalent).Beneficial to have a familiarity with Industrial equipment and manufacturing processes.
   
   Additional RequirementsApplicant must be a U.S. citizen Applicant must be willing to submit to a background check Applicant must be comfortable working with the Defense industry Applicant must be willing to travel (estimated 10-20%)
   
   We're growing our team quickly, so if you like solving hard problems, working in the newest technology available and have the skills listed above, we'd love to hear from you!
   We're growing our team quickly, so if you like solving hard problems, want to have real influence at work and have the skills listed above, we'd love to hear from you!

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right content developer for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your content developer job on Zippia to find and attract quality content developer candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with content developer candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with a content developer applicant. In those cases, having candidates complete a test project can go a long way in figuring out who's the most likely to succeed in the role. If you aren't a technical person and don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new content developer

   Once you've found the content developer candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a content developer?