How Do I Find A Good Bubble.io Developer?

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Introduction

As startup founders and business owners realise that Bubble.io dramatically reduces the time and cost of developing web platforms, demand for Bubble.io Developers and Agencies is increasing at a rapid rate.

Therefore, finding a good Bubble.io developer or agency is difficult within a competitive environment.

Where to look?

So you want to do a Bubble.io project? Making initial contact with a Bubble.io developer or agency is not difficult.

Try:

• Bubble.io’s Agency Page (https://bubble.io/agencies)
• LinkedIn
• Google or other Search Engines
• Freelancer Sites

Read about why we started MomentumGroup.tech — a no-code tech product agency.

I’ve found a Dev or Agency. What criteria should I use to evaluate them?

Price

An important factor. But make sure you are “comparing apples with apples”. There are many other variables to consider.

Portfolio Quality

What have they already built? Is it good quality? Do you like it? Is it similar to what you are trying to build?

Communication

Building innovative web platforms requires high levels of abstract conversation. Are they easy are they to communicate with? Will they “get the details” or will you be explaining yourself 3 or 4 times?

Skillsets

Does the same person design and build? Do they engage UIUX designers to do the product design?

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Do they have other people they can call on when extending Bubble is required, e.g. front-end or full-stack web developers when your product needs to be extended beyond Bubble? Data analytics or data science specialists? Growth marketing and email marketing experts?

Professional Background

Do they have experience in, or demonstrate the ability to quickly understand your industry or business?

Project Management Style

How do they do project management? Will the project be fixed cost or variable? Will you pay them a day or week rate?

Professionalism

Do they have legal documents and insurances in place? Are they happy to sign your Independent Contractor Agreement and Non-Disclosure Agreement if applicable?

Warranty

What is the warranty arrangement for work completion and bugs?

Documentation & Maintainability

Will they provide any technical documentation for future developers who work on your project? How easy is it for other developers to pick up and maintain their work?

Support Arrangements

Will you be able to get changes made to your product later once you’ve deployed? Do they offer support packages, including service level agreements for response time to investigate issues?

Geography

Where are they based? Timezone and governing laws should also influence your choice. Not a dealbreaker in my view but still a factor.

Do I go Agency or Freelance?

I started working as a Freelance Bubble.io developer and I quickly transitioned to an Agency model. Why? Because one person can only do so much — and being a “jack-of-all-trades” limited the quality level I was able to achieve.

Benefits of Freelance

• Cheaper.
• Possibly more agile.

Benefits of Agency

• More resources — people, skillsets, processes, availability.
• Can deliver larger and more complex projects.
• Should offer a higher degree of professionalism and continuity. These are very important for your business reputation as you grow.

What should I budget for my Bubble.io project?

There are no fixed rules here but I would suggest a budget of around $10,000 USD for a basic MVP concept of a web platform (e.g. social network, one side of a marketplace, SAAS product). You may be able to do this for less if you go to a freelancer directly, however, you will likely need to transition to an Agency or in house team if your product is successful — so best to work towards this kind of budget from the outset, or you’ll wear the cost eventually — one way or another.

If you want to do something more substantial, I would be looking at $15,000-$30,000 USD and I would definitely consider an Agency as they will have the scale to be able to deliver your product in a tight timeframe.

If these numbers scare you, remember you are getting extreme value, e.g. $50,000-$150,000 of dev for $10,000-$30,000. Also remember that if you want to make a dent in the universe and launch your scalable tech platform, you will need to spend money. You will have many costs including tech, marketing, branding, legal, accounting, subscriptions, and more.

The difference with Bubble.io is that the tech won’t be your main expense (requiring early capital raising) — it will be much more in line with other typical expenses of setting up a business.

Final word

In my view, trust and relationship is the key factor to look for in your choice of developer.

Assuming that your shortlist of candidates has a baseline of professionalism and competence, remember that you will be working with your developer or agency for some time if your product is successful.

Changing developers or agencies can be expensive and painful, so take some time to make a good choice upfront.

Ask direct questions but try not to come across as having unrealistic expectations both in terms of cost and timeline. Bubble.io may reduce the implementation time of your project to 20–30% of a traditional dev approach — which is awesome! But it doesn’t eliminate the need for investment into UIUX design or mean you’ll be able to build the equivalent of Airbnb for $500. In other words, it’s not magic and there is still lots of work to be done in a Bubble project.

Plan for a long-term relationship with your developer or agency and they will produce a strong return on investment for you.

MomentumGroup.tech is a no-code tech product agency specialising in Bubble.io Development, UXUI Design and Marketing Automation based in Sydney, Australia with team and clients from around the world.

Read our Blog Post on Why We Started Momentum Group .

Will founded Momentum Academy to enable more people to learn and build a career in Bubble with our Intensive Bootcamp Course.

Will is the Director and Lead Developer (Bubble.io) — More about Will here: willericksson.com).

*The views expressed here are those of Will Ericksson and do not represent Bubble. Bubble is a trademark of the Bubble Group Inc.