No-code development is becoming the ideal option for startups, small businesses, and enterprises to build and scale products quickly. It’s the best option for MVP development and complex software solutions, thanks to the speed of development and cost-efficiency.

Bubble.io is a no-code development tool that lets you build robust web apps without writing code. Recently the demand for Bubble developers has significantly increased, and many companies turned their focus to building entire Bubble development teams.

In this guide, we share all you need to know about hiring the right Bubble developer, what you should expect, and how to onboard your new team member. Other topics include the capabilities of the platform itself, what’s possible to build with Bubble, and what could be the limitations you might experience.

Hopefully, this article will equip you to find the candidate who can take your great ideas from design concept to product. And whenever you feel ready, WeLoveNoCode will quickly match you with the most skilled Bubble developer for your needs. Let’s get started!

Things to Consider When Choosing Bubble.io

Having been around for nearly ten years, Bubble is one of the most powerful no-code solutions with many advantages. However, there are limitations to the product that should be considered before hiring Bubble developers and choosing it as your no code platform. Let’s talk about them:

The question of source code ownership. Because the Bubble no-code tool is a cloud solution, the source code is not available to you.

AI and AR limitations. There are some difficulties in integrating artificial intelligence and augmented reality via Bubble.

Some users report issues with page rendering due to it being server-side generated.

Performance limits. When dealing with a substantial volume of users, data might become an issue. If you are expecting a heavy level of users, Bubble might hit its performance limit. You can also reach out to the Bubble team itself and ask about your specific case.

“Performance breaks down along a few different major dimensions: page load speed (without considering any queries on the page), querying speed (which influences total page load speed), and workflow speed.”

Content Manager at Bubble

Vivienne Chen

Don’t get scared by these limitations, there are so many things that Bubble.io does well! Lots of use-cases exist, and you can build various types of apps, and websites fast, simple, and without code. Here are some of the exciting products you can easily create on Bubble:

Online shop & eCommerce project
Personal & company blog
Corporative CRM system
Hiring platform
Education or training app
Trading platform or marketplace
Money tracking and budgeting app
Community app & social network
Scheduling app
Online banking
MVPs (here is an excellent guide on building MVPs from scratch)

Bubble is a very powerful no-code tool that suits even high-technical solutions. As an example, we built our platform for hiring no-code developers purely using Bubble. So far, we have 10,000+ no-code developers ready to help with any project and all our tech stack works perfectly on Bubble. Now let’s go to the tips which will help you move your Bubble hiring forward and bring your product to life faster.

Hiring Bubble Developer Skills Checklist

Hiring for any technical role is challenging and time-consuming but good preparation will help a lot. So let's go through a checklist of soft & hard skills that you need to consider and put in place when you want to hire a Bubble developer. Here are the things that most businesses require and which might be very practical for you as well:

Previous Bubble projects & experience with Bubble templates

It might seem obvious, but it is vital for any startup or business to find developers who have already worked with Bubble and can show this. You cannot afford the time to learn the Bubble.io platform because it has a learning curve for anyone new to it.

For WeLoveNoCode, we have a multi-step process of vetting no-code developers, as well as internal matching and quality systems. That allows us to provide the most skilled Bubble developers who worked on similar projects for clients who need that specific task.

You will want to see examples of their work and that they were involved in frontend and backend development, and proof of using the Bubble API landscape showing the integration of many services. In addition, look for evidence of complex backend solutions and creative frontend applications.

Passion for no-code and Bubble

It would be best if you had someone passionate about developing with Bubble who believes in making the most of all the available no-code options. Motivated developers will always go the extra mile. They will feel engaged to find intelligent solutions to complex problems while discovering various technical hacks. If your Bubble developer lacks this quality, your project might be stuck.

Also, no-code is evolving super fast, so having someone who is truly curious about no-code technology will be a huge advantage for your business. And if you have questions about how no-code can be useful for you & your business, this guide answers the typical no-code questions.

Agile experience

Most developers will have some experience in agile working methodologies, but it is necessary to check this is part of your candidate's skills set. Imagine that you have someone who has never worked in Sprints, never used JIRA, or never estimated a product roadmap. This will lead to problems with planning and might delay your Bubble project delivery. You don’t need to look for a Scrum Master but you definitely should ask about the previous workflows which the developer had.

UX design skills

Your app or website is not being built just to be functional, it will need to have a great user experience. So it’s a vital skill of the modern developer that they understand the fundamentals of user experience (and UI) design. If you have UX & UI or Product Design, that’s great. However, having a Bubble developer who understands design patterns, has natural attention to UI details and visual taste, will make your life much easier (and the product much better).

If your developer has some understanding of UX, they can better use available Bubble features to provide better experience. Here is a great example from Vivienne Chen from the Bubble team.

If you’re building something complex, you can create a custom “loading” reusable element or pop-up in Bubble to help your users understand when something in your app requires a little more time to think, which can improve your user’s experience.

Bubble's Content Manager

Vivienne Chen

Problem-solving skills

Developing a product takes more than building the functionalities of the software. You want a Bubble developer who has an analytical mind and approaches challenges with a problem-solving mindset. You don’t need someone who will come back to you after four weeks of development, saying that something was blocking the process from day one and the project delivery will be delayed.

Creativity

Similar to the previous point, you want someone with imagination and ideas, both in their coding and their vision on a website or application should work. A developer is not only an executor, it’s a person who can advise you about better technical solutions for your task. As a startup or innovative business, you need no-code developers who can do more than simply follow instructions; you need them to contribute.

At this point, you probably think that you need to find some magic unicorn developer :) In reality, the wrong candidate will cost you much more than the time you spent finding a best-fit person.

Communication skills

This advice is strongly connected with the previous ones. You don’t have time to explain the needs and requirements 3 or 4 times; you need developers that understand things the first time and can ask questions and raise problems clearly, so you work efficiently as a collaborative team. Don’t ignore soft skills while hiring Bubble developers.

Teamwork

This is particularly important if you want to hire remote developers, where their ability to work with each other is vital. Teamwork comes from previous experience working in different environments and with cross-functional teams. If your Bubble developer or Bubble freelancer has always worked alone, pay extra attention to their skills to cooperate with others.

What Type of Bubble Developers Do You Need?

Deciding that you need a Bubble developer with a specific skill set is just the beginning of the hiring process. Now it's time to determine what employment type fits your project: in-house Bubble developer, Bubble freelancer, or maybe Bubble agency. To move forward, you need to answer a couple of questions about your internal requirements. Take a look at those questions below.

Will it be on-site or a remote Bubble developer?

Do you plan to work with an on-site no-code developer who will work from one location together with your team? Or would you rather have a remote no-code developer? Each option has its benefits and limitations.

If an on-site developer is your preference, you're restricted to developers who stay around your geographical location, which can be a limitation in terms of the quality of talent you can access. In some counties, you won’t find many no-code developers, so the hiring process will be much longer (an example would be hiring Bubble developers in Australia). With the abundance of tools for remote work management, such as planning apps, video conference apps, instant messaging apps, and project management tools like Trello or JIRA, the on-site model is becoming outdated.

For some startups, employees must check in at their office once or twice a week for collaborative events and team meetings. That’s some type of a hybrid work model.

The final option is a fully remote team, where businesses will hire developers in many parts of the world and manage them virtually. The clear advantages to this approach are increased availability of Bubble candidates and reduced hiring costs in other countries, which is why this has been an ideal approach for startups in the US and much of Europe. Another clear advantage of the fully remote route is scalability. As your team grows, you need to hire fast, and when you have a wider pool of talent to choose from by recruiting globally, it gives you an edge.

With all approaches above, a critical accomplishment startups cite is having people imbibe the brand's culture. If you decide to go fully remote, it is essential to plan to manage this and ensure that the Bubble developers are a vital part of the business. A concern for many businesses is the issue of timezones and working patterns. If you require teams to connect on projects and log in at different times, project management can be much more challenging (but still manageable). It is possible to take a hybrid approach with a core team of Bubble developers working on-site and a remote team simultaneously. In this scenario, the senior developers and project managers will often be central contact points.

Contractor, Permanent Staff or Outsourced Bubble Developer

In choosing between a contractor Bubble developer, permanent team member, or outsourced no-code expert, you need to consider several factors that we will discuss below. A decision is best achieved by weighing the pros and cons of each approach.

Permanent Bubble developer

Pros - Your developers will become a part of the business and understand its vision. They will likely be more invested in the company's success with more accountability for what they work on and how they work. It’s like having an in-house Bubble team, which takes full ownership of the product from A-Z.

Cons - Traditionally, hiring developers with a basic salary and extra perks like bonuses, taxes, and pension contributions is more expensive. It's more challenging, time-consuming, and costly to let them go if they don't work out. This is similar to hiring any other developers, not only for Bubble no-code platform.

Contractor / Freelance Bubble developer

Pros - If your project is only for a short period, working with a freelance Bubble developer is ideal. For example, if you’re building a prototype, you should test its viability before recruiting permanent staff. It's easier to hire freelance Bubble developers with specific strengths to perform specific tasks within a specified timeframe. It means you don't need your developer to be as engaged as a permanent developer would be.

Cons - Freelancers are often less organized and require higher supervision to ensure they work on your project. With a lack of long-term accountability, they may not pay as much attention to detail as they should. But, again, this is a universal challenge for any no code developer or a traditional one.

Outsourced to a Bubble Agency

Pros - A full-fledged Bubble.io agency usually offers a broader skillset, which makes them better technical partners for large projects. They also provide structure and are generally more reliable. If you choose the right agency, they will offer Bubble developers with experience and expertise, which lets you collaborate at different levels depending on your project requirement. Moreover, because their success is mainly dependent on their integrity, they usually deliver a higher quality of results than freelancers. For WeLoveNoCode, we combined the benefits of a Bubble agency, engaged no-code developers, and affordable cost. If you want to chat more about hiring Bubble developers, just book a free consultation with us.

Cons - It’s more expensive to hire freelance Bubble developers via an agency. It may cost as much as 5x the standard fees if you work with a Bubble.io agency, especially if it’s an agency from the US, UK, or Europe. Also, if you choose the wrong partner who provides you junior Bubble developers, your project might be stuck, and you could waste a lot of time and money. That’s very true if you try to go for “cheaper” Bubble agencies, who might have a great salesperson but inefficient development process, QA, junior team members, and lack of work ethics. This advice is accurate for working with any agency and in any business (we acknowledge that there are a lot of notable agencies out there and don’t want to hurt anyone's feelings here).

Conclusion - If you’re looking to hire Bubble developers on a short-term basis for small projects, then freelancers or project-based teams are your ideal choice. However, If you are an established business looking to grow your existing product, hiring an in-house team of permanent developers/development partners would be the logical route. Working with a company like WeLoveNoCode, which offers pre-vetted Bubble developers with management support, is your best bet if you are a startup looking to build your product and scale at speed.

Where can you hire Bubble developers?

The incredible beauty of modern recruitment is that so many platforms exist to find Bubble.io developers with different levels of experiences, costs, and skillset. The downside is that too many options can be overwhelming.

You need to quickly decide what platform works for you and focus on them.

Do you need to find an affordable Bubble developer that works on a project-by-project basis?
Do you want a Bubble developer with experience in specific use-cases?
Do you want them to provide samples of projects they've worked on before?

Consider these questions before checking the platforms to hire Bubble developers. To help, we put together a comprehensive list of 25 great places to hire no-code developers, including Bubble experts. You can find the full list here and here are some good options: WeLoveNoCode, Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal, Freelancer, Bubble.io Agency page or LinkedIn search. Before posting your job offer, you need to think about the points mentioned below, for example:

Explain what use-cases you require experience in. This will filter out people who don't have the required technical Bubble expertise for the use-case.

Mention the number of hours you expect from the Bubble developer. Doing this will help the developer to compare the requirements with their schedule.

Make your offer look appealing and different. You need to stand out. Do not just write paragraphs of text. Instead, use bullet points, include numbers, and sell your offer in a few words. We talk more about this in the next sections.

Finally and most importantly, include what you're offering to pay. Bubble developers are in high demand and will not waste time applying for roles when they don't know how much they stand to earn.

How can you identify the right candidate?

After posting the position and advertising it, the next step is to interview and choose your best candidates. You don't have time to waste on bad hires or “questionable” agencies as a startup. Remember that the perfect match may not be the most skilled Bubble developer in the market. Instead, it will be the person who best fits your business needs in character, culture, and the phase of your business, including limitations like budgets.

Step 1: Assess them before the first call

You may not be able to interview everyone who applies to work for you. This means that you need a filtering process to assess and shortlist potential candidates even before the first interview.

CV sifting

Start by listing out the essential criteria for the Bubble role, so it's easy to reference and check against their CVs - anyone who does not meet these criteria should be removed from the list; this approach leaves you with a list of people with the minimum requirements. If this list is suitable for the next stage (interviews), then move forward. The next step should be to test technical capability and cultural fit.

Check their portfolio

When it comes to checking for technical skills in Bubble, the candidate's portfolio website would be an excellent place to find samples of projects they've worked on before.

Ask for a cover letter

It is also possible to ask a candidate to apply with a cover letter. The advantage of this approach is that you're looking for someone willing to put in the effort to write something original and prove they have a genuine interest in the role. In addition, even a short cover letter will prove that the candidate read your job posting and not just blindly submitted their CV to your job.

The downside is this adds another barrier to people applying, putting off some good Bubble candidates. In addition, it's another layer of review, which becomes an extra task for you.

Reviews

If you are hiring a freelancer through a platform like Upwork or Fiverr, you can go through their reviews to see what people have said about them. It's another way of assessing and filtering them.

Step 2: Set up an interview process.

Whether interviewing in-person or via video conference, the basics of running an interview to ensure you find suitable candidates remain the same. Preparation is key. You need to have questions ready, so you have a consistent set of responses to compare Bubble candidates. Also, you need to ensure you have the right people in the room interviewing them (ideally, including fellow developers).

As the phrase goes, 'Game recognizes game'; in this instance, a no-code developer recognizes a no-code developer. Therefore, at least one person on the interview panel must understand the candidate's job. They'll relate with the candidates on a technical level. Part of the interview is about impressing the Bubble candidate - remember they may also have other offers.

Traditionally, an interview would involve 2-5 people. It leans towards the lower end of that number with a startup, but just one person mustn't conduct interviews. It would be best if you had a balanced perspective, so compare at least a couple of views before deciding. Think carefully about how you plan to assess and score candidates. For example, some businesses rely on the intuition and opinions of those performing the interview.

This approach becomes more challenging as the number of candidates increases because it's challenging to compare Bubble developers over time and remember what made them unique when it might be weeks between candidate interviews. For this reason, it would be good to introduce a simple scoring system that is often used along with a technical Bubble assessment. With this approach, you need to state precise requirements for the role of an agreed points system, weighted based on the most important criteria.

Here are a few examples:

Hard skills related to using the Bubble.io platform
Understanding of development concepts
Understanding of design concepts
Cultural fit
Communication skills
Creative skills
Problem-solving
Direct language experience
Teamwork

Examples of Good Bubble Interview Questions
So how do you ask the right interview questions for a Bubble developer? Here are some examples of questions that will help identify how well a candidate fits this role.

Do they have a willingness to listen and work in a team? "Give me an example of a feature you developed, but when delivered, it wasn't what the client wanted. Why did it go wrong, how did you correct the problem, and what did you learn from this?"

How do they navigate a difficult situation? "You get a call at 7 am saying your web application is not working. At first glance, the problem looks to be something unrelated to your code; what do you do next?"

Ability to be a team player? "Share about a situation where you proactively helped a team member."

Are they continuously improving? "Have you contributed to any open source projects outside of work, or can you share something about any projects outside work you've been involved in?"

Are they problem solvers? "If a bug appeared in a critical piece of code, can you describe how you diagnose the problem and solve it?"

Finally, ensure you give the candidate plenty of opportunities to ask you questions. It benefits you in two ways:

You learn a lot about a person by the types of questions they ask
You give the person an opportunity to understand what you do, which can encourage them to join

Step 3: Technical assessment

When hiring no-code developers and specifically Bubble developers, most companies now require the candidate to perform some form of technical assessment. This is also known as a “test task” or “home assignment,” which is where they will be asked to perform tasks that are relevant to the job. Here are ways to go about a technical Bubble assessment:

1. Internally managed technical tasks
The most traditional method is for the startup to create the Bubble-related tasks themselves and ask the candidate to complete them either in person or remotely, generally within a specified time. The advantage of this approach is that the startup controls the quality of the test. In addition, they will assess the output themselves and have a feel for how the candidate works.

However, it can be taxing if you're hiring for many roles or you have several Bubble candidates for one position. Also, a good practice is to provide feedback to the candidate on the quality of his work, which requires another Bubble developer in your team (or someone who has technical skills) to spend time and write feedback.

2. Digital platform
Companies also use algorithmic-based platforms to test the capabilities of developers. They have tests built into the platform and then automate the delivery and scoring of the tests. It's a fast and relatively cost-effective way to assess Bubble developer's skills. These platforms can also be used as the first line of filtering candidates before interviews. It's often used when looking to hire a lot of no-code developers at once.

A significant downside to this approach is that they have a bad reputation with most developers, who feel they don't properly assess a candidate's skill level or provide feedback. In their opinion, they prefer humans evaluating their work. Also, you should find a platform that has skills-assessment for Bubble specifically.

3. Outsourced human-reviewed technical assessment
Platforms like Geektastic allow you to outsource your technical assessment process to vetted developers. In addition, they usually include feedback on the tests, ensuring a better experience for the candidate. However, this option is generally more expensive and should be tailored to the skilled Bubble mentor/developer who will run the assessment.

Step 4: References

Once you have completed steps 1 - 3 and shortlisted your preferred Bubble candidate(s), you'll need to get a reference from a previous employer or client. This is important for a couple of reasons.

It enables you to understand if the Bubble developer has a work ethic that fits your business or not. Your business will have its own culture, and if someone doesn’t suit it, you will have problems later on.

You can check if the candidate worked in a similar work setup, let’s say a remote development team. Maybe your potential candidate has never worked in a cross-functional remote team, and you need a Bubble developer who knows how to coordinate with PMs, designers, and marketing.

If the candidate worked with the same Bubble projects before. Let’s say you need someone who knows how to connect to Twitter and Instagram APIs easily for your project app. You might ask a previous client if the Bubble developer made that :) And if not, that’s not a problem, a skilled tech candidate will learn along the way, but you need to add some learning curve to the project.

You learn more about them which will make the onboarding process easier.

All of those questions are quickly answered by a reference check. If your skilled candidate can not provide any reference, previous customers’ testimonials, or they simply don’t reply, that is a red flag.

Making the offer

So you've found the perfect candidate who will take your business to the next level, but how do you get them to come on board? The competition for Bubble developers has never been greater, and chances are if you spotted this talent, someone else will as well. So let's look at the critical factors you should add to your offer.

Deciding on the price/salary for your Bubble developer

Whether you're looking to hire a Bubble freelancer or a full-time Bubble developer, you need to decide on an annual salary. Salaries should be attractive for the candidate but still, be within your budget. If you are a startup, you might propose part of the salary in shares.

While other perks for the role matter, salary and growth opportunities are always crucial for developers. Remember to consider the country (or even region within the country) you're hiring from. For example, if you have decided that the role should be remote, then study where the Bubble candidate is based and compare the salary ranges for that country.

Don't assume the salary range; there are significant differences between the sub-continent/Eastern Europe and more established technology countries like the US, UK, or Germany.

Once you know the no-code developer's skill level, decide on your opening offer. Don't try to undercut Bubble developers because it's not about getting good people for the lowest salary. You will lose the best developers because they will get better offers.

You need to leave yourself room to go higher if negotiation is required, but that should be within a comfortable range. One interesting side note is whether the quality of Bubble candidates and costs affect a decision around the number of no-code developers you should hire. If you need to build an entire Bubble development team, you should carefully consider your budget.

Having assessed the marketplace, you may find that you could get three good no-code developers that would be right for the business, rather than two more expensive no-code developers. The opposite may also be true; if you struggle to find several decent Bubble developers, your strategy may be to pay more than planned for one excellent and experienced Bubble developer instead.

Additional perks to Bubble developers (on-site vs. remote)

The salary is only part of the package. Other elements will depend on the role type. Some benefits are universal, regardless of whether the Bubble developer is working on-site or remotely.

Flexible working
Bonus structure
Holidays
Private health care and pension contributions
Stock options

Any no-code developer working on-site may expect the following.

Break out areas
Breakfast and potentially other food and drinks
Well, spaced-out desks. No developer wants to sit on top of others and get constantly interrupted.
Game areas are very popular with developers, from pool and table tennis tables to consoles.
Social events

While some of these additional perks seem pretty expensive, without them, your chances of hiring the best developers become a little tricky. It's better to focus initially on the ones with no direct cost to the business before assessing the others. If you offer the right environment and perks, you may end up getting developers (and retaining them) for lower salaries.

Selling the opportunity

If you have read our guide so far, you know that it’s hard to find a good developer. It’s even harder to convince them to join your company on beneficial terms (for your company). For example, if you want to hire Bubble developers in Australia, you would need to propose almost 3x the salary simply because there are not many skilled Bubble developers in that area! When proposing, remind them about why they were attracted to your company in the first place. Then, sell your vision again in the job offer.

Additionally, talk about projects the Bubble developer will work on and the value it will bring. Talk about the existing tech stack, cool integrations, and the ability to influence product decisions.

In short, those are the main selling points you can use to convince your exceptional new developer to accept your offer (this is universal not only for Bubble experts):

Technical challenges and exciting product/project on Bubble
Ability to influence product decisions
Company vision
Strong development team to learn from
Focus on the no-code tech stack with different no-code integrations
Ability to learn new no-code tools
Team, company culture, work-life balance, career growth, and a competitive salary (if you have such :)
Everything we discussed in the Additional Perks section.

If you are hiring a Bubble freelancer or Bubble agency, these points will be necessary. Then you need to focus on an acceptable budget and “use-case.”

How to Onboard Your New Bubble Developer

Congratulations, you've hired a talented Bubble developer; now what? First, let's look at how to onboard new team members and help them add value as quickly as possible.

A single point of contact
While most inductions will involve your developer meeting different teams, they must have a single person who organizes their schedule and answers any questions. It should either be an HR personnel or an engineering manager. Ideally, the HR and engineering lead will prepare an onboarding checklist that will cover learning the product, tech stack, users, development & QA & release process, tooling, and all other essential job aspects. Your Bubble developer is now part of your processes and they should understand it perfectly and know whom to ask questions.

Actionable plan
The new team member will feel more welcomed and comfortable if a clear plan is laid out for their first few weeks. For example, asking your new Bubble developer to reach out and chat with a few people is not acceptable—book initial meetings for them. Set up small doable steps for your developer. It could include accessing all existing tools, going through existing product documentation, or completing an onboarding checklist.

Avoid overloading them with information
We instinctively want to expose new members to information as fast as possible. However, they can become overwhelmed, so rather than speed up the onboarding process, this may slow it down. This is the universal truth of every new employee, not only your new Bubble developer.

Equipment and software
Try to show available tools the company uses as fast as possible. Do you have some paid services your Bubble developer should get? Do you have design/QA/PM tools they can use? It's frustrating if they have too many issues with access and tools — plan for all relevant access to be provided as soon as possible. If you provide laptops, do it beforehand.

Give them some early tasks.
Don't make everything about the induction. Instead, give the no-code developer small Bubble tasks on non-critical projects to integrate them into the system early on.

What should be a budget for a Bubble.io Developer?

Although there's no fast and hard rule here, the average monthly salary for a Bubble developer is around $5,700. The cost of Bubble development depends on the complexity of the project, your specific requirements, scale, need to write custom code, and the location of the Bubble agencies or Bubble developers. You still may be able to pay slightly less if you work with a Bubble freelancer. If you choose to work with WeLoveNoCode, you can get a monthly subscription deal of about $1999 per month.

As a final word

We hope this article helped you define your hiring strategy and set you up for success with building your Bubble development team. Don’t hesitate to contact us whenever you need advice on making your idea live with Bubble or any other no-code tool.