The hardest part of commissioning a first version is not finding someone who can write the code. It is making sure that, when the work is done, you can run it, change it and hand it to someone else. Most of that is decided before the first line is written.
Cut the scope until one user journey works
A minimum product is the smallest thing that lets a real person do the one thing you are testing. Name that journey, such as "a visitor signs up, creates a project and receives an email", and make everything else optional. Features that are interesting but not on the journey belong in a second phase.
Own the accounts from day one
Create the source repository, hosting project, domain registration, database and email service under your own accounts, and invite the developer in. It is far easier to grant access than to take it back. Avoid arrangements where the only copy of the code or the only login sits with the seller.
Ask about the stack, and why
You do not need to choose technology, but you should ask why the developer prefers theirs and how easy it is to hire for later. Mainstream tools with good documentation are usually safer for a first product than exotic ones, because a replacement developer will be able to pick them up.
Define done in testable terms
- The journey works on a phone and a laptop, in the two browsers your users actually use.
- Secrets such as API keys are stored in environment settings, not inside the code.
- There is a short written note on how to run the project locally and how to deploy it.
- Basic automated tests cover the journey that matters most.
- Third-party licences used by the project are listed.
Pay against milestones that produce something you can run
Break the work into stages that each end with something you can open and try, for example a working sign-up flow, then the core feature, then deployment. Our guide to milestone payments explains how to size them so that neither side carries too much risk.
Plan the handover before you need it
Ask for a short walkthrough recording or call at the end, and for the repository history to remain intact. A developer who is happy to document their work is usually also a developer whose work is easy to maintain.
Check what AI was used for
Developers increasingly use AI tools, which can be a good thing. What matters is that a person understands and is accountable for every part. Look for the work-mode label on the listing, and see how to choose between the labels.