Most business owners don't hire a bad web developer because they're careless. They hire a bad web developer because they don't know how to evaluate one.

How to Tell If a Web Developer Actually Knows What They're Doing

The industry makes this harder than it should be. Confident language, polished portfolios, and technical jargon are often mistaken for competence. In reality, those things are easy to fake.

The first sign someone knows what they’re doing is how they talk about outcomes. Skilled developers don’t lead with tools, platforms, or features. They talk about what the website is responsible for inside the business. Leads. Visibility. Clarity. Conversion.

When someone immediately starts pitching a stack, a theme, or a framework without asking how the business actually gets customers, that’s a red flag.

Another tell is how they handle questions. Experienced builders welcome scrutiny. They expect it. They don’t dodge questions about results, past projects, or tradeoffs. If answers are vague, defensive, or overly abstract, there’s usually a reason.

Referrals matter more than portfolios. Anyone can show screenshots. What matters is whether real businesses are willing to vouch for the work. If a developer can’t provide even one client you can speak to, that’s not a coincidence.

Excuses like NDAs, confidentiality, or “we don’t share clients” don’t hold up. Good work creates advocates. People who deliver results don’t hide them.

Another signal is how they talk about Google. Developers who understand rankings don’t treat them like magic. They don’t promise overnight success or secret techniques. They talk about structure, compliance, and time. They acknowledge that ranking well requires doing a lot of things correctly and consistently.

Anyone promising fast, guaranteed rankings is either inexperienced or dishonest.