Quick Summary:
The most common mistakes when hiring a contract eLearning developer happen when organizations focus too heavily on authoring-tool skills and not enough on what the project actually requires.
Knowing Articulate Storyline, Rise, Adobe Captivate, or another development tool is important. But the right contract eLearning developer may also need to interpret storyboards, collaborate with instructional designers and subject matter experts, meet accessibility standards, troubleshoot technical issues, work within your organization’s AI and security policies, and deliver reliably under deadline.
Before you hire an eLearning developer, define what the person will actually be responsible for and look for evidence that they have successfully handled similar work.
Here are 10 common mistakes to avoid.
Mistake #1 - Hiring for the Tool Instead of the Project
“We need someone who knows Storyline” may be true, but it probably doesn’t tell you enough about the person you need.
Consider what you are asking the developer to build. A straightforward compliance course developed from a completed storyboard requires different expertise than a branching simulation with custom interactions, variables, accessibility requirements, audio, video, and LMS integration.
Start with the complexity of the work. Then identify the capabilities required to deliver it.
Instead of asking only, “Do you know the tool?” ask, “What have you built with the tool that is similar to what we need?”
Mistake #2 - Assuming All eLearning Developers
Have Instructional Design Skills
The line between instructional design and eLearning development can be blurry.
Some eLearning developers are excellent builders who work best from a detailed storyboard. Others are instructional designer/developers who can take less-developed content, make instructional decisions, and build the final course.
Neither is inherently better. The mistake is hiring one while expecting the other.
If your instructional design is already complete, a strong production-focused developer may be exactly what you need. If the developer will need to organize content, recommend practice activities, write assessment questions, or make decisions about the learner experience, you may need a custom eLearning developer with stronger instructional design capabilities.
Clarify where design ends and development begins before you start interviewing candidates.
9 Things to Consider when Hiring an eLearning Developer
Mistake #3 - Reviewing a Portfolio
Without Asking What the Developer Actually Did
A polished portfolio is important, but it doesn’t always tell you who did what.
The developer may have created the entire course. Or they may have worked as part of a team that included an instructional designer, graphic designer, animator, video producer, and other specialists.
Ask candidates to walk you through relevant samples. What were they personally responsible for? What did they receive before development began? Which elements did they create themselves? What technical challenges did they solve?
Most importantly, ask about a sample that resembles your project.
A beautiful portfolio demonstrates far less if the candidate’s actual role in creating it isn’t clear.
Mistake #4 - Overlooking Accessibility Experience
If your organization has accessibility requirements, don’t wait until development begins to discover whether your eLearning developer understands them.
Ask prospective eLearning developer contractors about their experience developing accessible courses. Depending on your requirements, that could include keyboard navigation, focus order, alt text, captions and transcripts, color contrast, screen readers, and accessible interaction design.
You can also ask candidates to explain how accessibility has changed something they built. That can reveal much more than simply asking whether they have “accessibility experience.”
If accessibility matters to your organization, make it part of the hiring criteria from the beginning.
Mistake #5 - Hiring Based on Hourly Rate Alone
Hourly rates are easy to compare. Total project costs aren’t.
A lower-cost freelance eLearning developer may take substantially longer to complete the work, require more direction, or need multiple rounds of corrections. A more experienced developer with a higher hourly rate may understand the assignment faster, anticipate problems, and produce stronger work with fewer revisions.
There are internal costs to consider too.
If your instructional designer, project manager, or subject matter expert has to spend hours correcting development issues or repeatedly explaining requirements, the organization is paying for that time. Those additional demands can also affect other projects and the L&D team’s reputation with stakeholders.
Compare the cost of getting the work completed successfully, not simply the developer’s hourly rate.
Mistake #6 - Underestimating the Importance
of Communication
Contract eLearning development rarely happens in isolation.
Developers may need to work with instructional designers, project managers, subject matter experts, graphic designers, learning technology teams, and business stakeholders.
Technical expertise matters, but so does the ability to ask good questions, raise concerns early, receive feedback professionally, and communicate when a deadline is at risk.
A developer who quietly struggles with a problem for three days before mentioning it can create far more disruption than one who raises the issue after three hours.
During the interview, ask for examples of how the developer has handled unclear requirements, conflicting feedback, difficult stakeholders, or unexpected development problems.
Mistake #7 - Ignoring Experience with
Similar Types of eLearning
Not all eLearning development requires the same skills.
Someone who primarily develops straightforward, information-based courses may not be the right person to build a complex branching simulation. A developer who specializes in sophisticated Storyline interactions may be unnecessary for a project requiring rapid production of a large number of Rise courses.
Look beyond industry experience and course topics. Consider the actual development challenge.
Has the developer created the kinds of interactions you need? Worked at a similar level of complexity? Managed comparable amounts of media? Built from the type of design documentation your team uses? Produced the volume of courses you need within similar timelines?
The closer the developer’s previous experience is to the work you need completed, the less you are asking that person to learn on your project.
Mistake #8 - Ignoring Your Technology,
Security, and AI Requirements
An eLearning course isn’t developed in a vacuum. Before hiring a contract eLearning developer, make sure the person can work within your organization’s technology and security requirements.
That can include your LMS, publishing standards, SCORM or xAPI requirements, approved authoring tools and software versions, browser and mobile requirements, file management processes, and security restrictions.
Increasingly, the conversation should also include AI.
Is the developer allowed to use generative AI while working on your project? If so, which tools are approved? What information can and cannot be entered into those tools? Can AI be used to generate images, narration, code, assessment questions, or draft content? Does AI-generated material require additional review?
Don’t assume a developer’s normal workflow matches your organization’s policies.
Ask about AI use during the hiring process and establish expectations before the developer has access to confidential company information, proprietary content, or learner data.
Mistake #9 - Failing to Check References
or Past Performance
A portfolio shows you what an eLearning developer can produce. It doesn’t necessarily show you what it is like to work with that person.
Did the developer meet deadlines? How much direction did they require? Did they communicate when something was going wrong? How did they respond to feedback? Were their source files organized? Could another developer easily pick up the project later?
If you are hiring a freelance eLearning developer directly, talk with someone who has worked with the developer when possible.
If you’re working with an eLearning staffing or consulting company, ask whether the company has placed the consultant before. A company that has seen the consultant work on previous client projects will have firsthand feedback about reliability, communication, technical expertise, responsiveness, and overall performance.
That information can tell you things a resume and portfolio simply can’t
Mistake #10 - Waiting Until the Project Is Urgent to Hire
When a deadline is already approaching, your choices become more limited.
You may end up hiring the first qualified developer who is available instead of the developer whose experience best fits the work. Experienced eLearning development consultants may already be committed to other projects, particularly when you need specialized technical expertise.
Start thinking about development capacity while the project is being scoped.
Does your internal team have the bandwidth to do the work? Do they have the right technical capabilities? Is there a period when several projects will hit development at the same time?
You don’t necessarily need the contractor to start immediately. You do need enough time to find the right person.
How Can You Avoid Hiring
the Wrong Contract eLearning Developer?
Most hiring mistakes can be prevented by getting specific before you begin evaluating candidates.
Define the deliverables, level of complexity, technical environment, development tools, accessibility requirements, AI policies, timeline, and expected division of responsibilities. Determine whether you need someone who primarily develops from completed designs or someone who can contribute to instructional design as well.
Then look for evidence that candidates have successfully handled comparable work.
Don’t stop at the resume or portfolio. Ask candidates to explain what they built, how they worked, what problems they encountered, and how they solved them.
The goal isn’t to find the eLearning developer with the longest list of software tools. It’s to find the person whose experience fits the work you actually need done.
What Should You Look for
When You Hire an eLearning Developer?
The right contract eLearning developer will look different from project to project.
For one project, that might mean advanced Storyline expertise and experience developing complex simulations. For another, it could mean someone who can quickly produce a high volume of well-designed Rise courses. A third might require a hybrid instructional designer/developer who can take loosely organized source material through design and development.
Before you hire, ask yourself:
- What exactly will this person be responsible for?
- What will they receive from our team?
- How technically complex is the development?
- What accessibility requirements must they meet?
- What technology, security, and AI policies must they follow?
- Who will they need to collaborate with?
- What comparable work have they successfully completed?
Those answers make it much easier to distinguish between a qualified eLearning developer and the right eLearning developer for your project.
When you have more projects than people™, getting that match right means you’re truly adding capacity rather than creating another project for your internal team to manage.
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What to Read Next:
If you’re preparing to hire a contract eLearning developer, these related resources can help you plan your project and make a stronger hiring decision:
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Frequently Asked Questions
About Hiring Contract eLearning Developers
What does a contract eLearning developer do?
A contract eLearning developer builds digital learning experiences for an organization on a temporary or project basis. Depending on the assignment, responsibilities may include developing courses in tools such as Articulate Storyline or Rise, creating interactions, incorporating audio and video, applying accessibility standards, testing courses, and preparing files for an LMS.
What's the difference between an eLearning developer and an instructional designer?
An instructional designer typically focuses on analyzing learning needs and designing the learning experience, while an eLearning developer builds the digital course. However, many professionals have skills in both areas. Before hiring, clarify whether you need development only or someone who can also make instructional design decisions.
What should I look for in an eLearning developer's portfolio?
Look for work similar in complexity and format to your project. Ask the developer to explain exactly what they contributed to each example, what materials they started with, which tools they used, the challenges they encountered, and how they solved them.
Should I ask an eLearning developer about AI use?
Yes. If your organization has policies governing generative AI, discuss them before the project begins. Ask what AI tools the developer normally uses, how they use them, and whether those practices align with your organization’s security, confidentiality, intellectual property, and content-review requirements.
How much does it cost to hire a freelance eLearning developer?
Rates vary based on experience, technical expertise, project complexity, location, duration, and whether the developer is also providing instructional design. Rather than comparing hourly rates alone, consider the total cost of development, including internal time required for project management, SME support, revisions, and rework.
When should I use a contract eLearning developer?
A contract developer can be useful when your internal team lacks development capacity, you need specialized technical expertise, you have a temporary increase in workload, or a project requires capabilities your team doesn’t regularly need.
