8 Signs You Need to FIRE Your Developer

Millions of Developers at Your Disposal

Here’s a bit of trivia: A global 2023 study found there were over 26 million developers on Earth.

That’s a lot of options, not even accounting for space tech which will make interplanetary outsourcing a thing!

Point is, the average non-tech founder has tons of app developers to choose from, which inevitably means a few confident nincompoops will manage to bluff their way into a job.

Worry not, here are eight signs you’ve hired a bad developer – and need to fire them.

1. They Say ‘Yes’ to EVERYTHING!

It’s the developer equivalent of a one-night stand – they just want to finish projects ASAP so they can move on to the next one.

If they push back, they’ll need to explain stuff that costs time and effort that they can’t bill for.

So better to keep their mouths shut and fulfill all the requests.

Even if it means the client is driving the project off a cliff.

We suppose it depends on what kind of developer you want.

But, if like most founders, you value a developer you can trust to raise issues when they spot them, or who will proactively suggest a better way to accomplish your goals, then avoid these kinds of developers.

2. The App Interfaces Never Match Approved Designs 

Not all developers are good at design, but you should never accept it when proposed design mockups look fine but always end up as sloppy and inaccurate prototypes.

Remember that SpongeBob episode where Squidward is an art teacher and tries to draw a circle?

That’s what it’s like when developers can’t accurately turn mockups into prototypes.

You’ll consistently find inconsistencies across different design elements, for example:

• Inconsistent fonts
• Different or low-resolution images
• Entire layout changes

This tells you a developer doesn’t pay attention to basic UI design principles and their quality control sucks.

And these are frontend mistakes you can see – mistakes in the backend might go unchecked by both you and the developer, until the next sign happens. 

3. Their Solutions to Bugs Create New Bugs

There’s no such thing as bug-free software, but if an app is 90% bugs and 10% app, it’s a problem.

If new features consistently introduce bugs that disrupt previous features, what kind of debugging are your developers doing?

Sounds like they’re just slapping temporary solutions on top of temporary solutions.

It could be poor code or that they didn’t plan how to best sequence features.

Either way, any problem they fix could cause another problem,  even once the app goes into software maintenance mode.

So you’re forever paying them to fix problems that they cause.

4. They Can’t Seem to Sync App & Website Data

It’s very common for a business’ mobile and web apps to share the same database as it helps keep user information up-to-date.

Let’s say someone logs into your mobile app and does the following:

• update their profile 
• log an activity, and
• read a message

If that same user logs into your website with the same account, their experience on the website should reflect the recent actions they made on the app. 

This should be near instantaneous – think of how your bank balance gets updated immediately across all platforms.

However, in the hands of an incompetent developer, there can be delays to the updates, or no updates at all, and it’s almost always due to poorly written code on fetching the data.

5. Your Website Performs Terribly for No Reason

There’s no reason a website in 2024 should move like a goldfish’s digestive system.

Slow, bloated, and stinking of algae.

If the website your developers build is really slow for no reason, or has lots of layout issues, you need to replace your developers.

In fairness to them, if there’s a sudden spike in visitors, some lag is understandable, but otherwise, your developers probably don’t know what they’re doing

Time to push them down the stairs!

6. They Outsource to Other Agencies Without Asking

Ok, we’re starting to get into the big signs here.

There have been times when clients come to us because the agency they hired hired another agency to do some of the work without asking the client.

The first agency then tried to bill the client for work done by the second agency!

The client didn’t want to pay, so the first agency said they were dropping the project!

Why would a developer do this?

Sometimes they suddenly realize they need more manpower.

But most often, they outsource for specialized areas of development they can’t do themselves.

And they never disclosed this during initial discussions – it just slipped their mind.

In addition to being unprofessional, it makes total costs go way beyond the initial estimate. 

7. They Keep Missing Deadlines

Deadlines in software development must have some flexibility – it’s just part of the app development lifecycle.

You can’t expect all deadlines to be set in stone and followed down to the last second.

But when 90% of the deadlines are being missed.

And there’s always a good reason, be careful.

People get good at what they practice.

So if your developer always has legitimate explanations for missing deadlines, they probably have a lot of practice missing deadlines!

And even if it’s all genuine, at a certain point, your app or SaaS idea needs to get built.

8. They Make Changes to the App Without Informing

Sign number 8 is also about developers who don’t voice their concerns, but they do NOT do as they’re asked. 

Instead, they just do whatever they see fit! – and you only learn about it once deployed.

You ask them why and they’ll say it’s ‘better this way’, which is their way of saying they know better than you.

Some of you may think that’s not bad, but remember: An expert employee is still an employee!

Unless they’re a CTO, you are paying them to work for you.

They advise, you decide, and they execute.

Otherwise, eventually, they WILL make a decision that doesn’t align with your vision at all – and they’ll still bill you for it!

Final Note: Look for Patterns!

Even the best app developers are not immune to mistakes. 

Sometimes things align to create a perfect storm where normally competent people handle things poorly.

The key is to look out for patterns. 

A few occasional errors are normal, but consistently making the same mistakes or a large variety of mistakes is a big red flag.

You have 26 million developers in the world – why settle for subpar ones? 

And remember, the best way to avoid firing a crap developer is to avoid hiring a crap developer in the first place!

All the best!

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