How to hire an online content developer

How to hire an online content developer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step online 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 an online content developer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new online content developer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an online 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

   Hiring the perfect online content developer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of online content developer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Online Content Developer	Description	Hourly rate
   Online Content Developer	Web developers design and create websites. They are responsible for the look of the site... Show more	$33-58
   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
   Software Developer	A software developer is responsible for designing application systems to support the user and business' needs. Duties of a software developer include testing software codes, performing diagnostic programs and troubleshooting, interpreting system data and establishing efficient parameters, and ensuring the compatibility of the systems... Show more	$32-54

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Content Development
   • Java
   • Web Content
   • HTML
   • Html Css
   • JQuery
   • Photoshop
   • CSS
   • Content Management System
   • Windows
   • JavaScript
   • Ajax
   • Database
   • Facebook

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage intranet updates while administering user access to corporate projects.
   • Hand code ColdFusion (CFScript), JavaScript, XHTML and CSS.
   • Convert hundreds of legacy documents and pages from HTML into XML.
   • Develop and test the new inventory management system using ColdFusion and javascript.
   • Convert and publish documents and articles into XML for weekly content publication.
   • Develop elearning presentations using text, graphics, and animations in Microsoft PowerPoint.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, online content developers' average salary in nebraska is 38% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level online content developers 43% less than senior-level online content developers.
   • Certifications. An online 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 an online content developer's salary.

   Average online content developer salary

   $92,160yearly

   $44.31 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level online content developer salary

   $69,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

4. Writing an online content developer job description

   A good online content developer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an online content developer job description:

   Online content developer job description example

   **Position Purpose:**
   
   The Developer has demonstrated a good working knowledge in at least one programming language. This position takes business requirements and turns them into detail technical design to be used as part of a system application for production. The Developer works in both developing and maintaining applications for production environments. The Developer documents requirements, tests systems, works with the life cycle process. This position develops code or written programs from scratch to be used in a production environment. This position works to become proficient in one or more programming languages within assigned technical area by performing assigned tasks.
   
   **Key Responsibilities:**
   
   + 25% Follow the established processes, policies, standards and procedures to
   
   + assure compliance with corporate and regulatory policies and standards.
   
   + 50% Take business requirements and develop the total technical design for
   
   + assigned mid-sized projects and ensure proper usage as part of the design efforts in building a system to be put into production.
   
   + 25% Conduct appropriate test reviews on assigned projects as necessary. Present findings and offer solutions to management.
   
   **Direct Manager/Direct Reports:**
   
   + This position typically reports to Manager Online
   
   + This position has 0 direct reports
   
   **Travel Requirements:**
   
   + Typically requires overnight travel less than 10% of the time.
   
   **Physical Requirements:**
   
   + Most of the time is spent sitting in a comfortable position and there is frequent opportunity to move about. On rare occasions there may be a need to move or lift light articles.
   
   **Working Conditions:**
   
   + Located in a comfortable indoor area. Any unpleasant conditions would be infrequent and not objectionable.
   
   **Minimum Qualifications:**
   
   + Must be eighteen years of age or older.
   
   + Must be legally permitted to work in the United States.
   
   **Preferred Qualifications:**
   
   + 2+ years of relevant work experience
   
   + Experience in developing Web applications using .NET stack such as C#.NET, ASP.NET, ASP.NET Core
   
   + Exposure to modern web application framework such as MVC and Entity
   
   + Exposure to a front-end technology and framework such as HTML, CCS, JavaScript and JQuery
   
   + Exposure to writing SQL queries against a relational database
   
   + Exposure to version control systems (preferably TFS)
   
   **Minimum Education:**
   
   + The knowledge, skills and abilities typically acquired through the completion of a high school diploma and/or GED.
   
   **Preferred Education:**
   
   + No additional education
   
   **Minimum Years of Work Experience:**
   
   + 2
   
   **Preferred Years of Work Experience:**
   
   + No additional years of experience
   
   **Minimum Leadership Experience:**
   
   + None
   
   **Preferred Leadership Experience:**
   
   + None
   
   **Certifications:**
   
   + None
   
   **Competencies:**
   
   + Action Oriented
   
   + Collaborates
   
   + Communicates Effectively
   
   + Customer Focus
   
   + Drives Results
   
   We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right online content developer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with online content developers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit online content developers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   To find online content developer candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting online content developers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   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.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview online content developer candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • 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 online content developer

   Once you've found the online 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 also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new online content developer. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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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