How can I find a smart, reliable, experienced web programmer who's easy to work with?

I nominate @jp.

Craigslist is a great place to start. Once you know exactly what’s needed for your project, just make a posting and you will get tons of responses. One trick I like to use is to post in multiple cities (especially San Francisco) not just your own, if you’re comfortable working over the phone/skype/IM with another person.

I’ve also come across plenty of web programmers right here on Fluther. I’m sure you could find someone here too.

I worry about CraigsList. Based on the ads I see for designers (“must know Corel Draw, Microsoft Publisher, HTML, DHTML, CSS, Ajax, Ruby, Javascript, After Effects, Maya, Photoshop, Quark, light clerical, answer phones, get coffee. $8 – $10/hour depending on experience) I’d be reluctant to possibly taint the deal by going with someone who answers CL ads. Now, that doesn’t say much for me since I still check them daily, but whatever.

Anyone involved behind the scenes at Fluther qualifies in my book… PM sent to JP. Thanks guys.

Don’t knock craigslist just because there are a lot of people on there looking for spec work. I answer ads all the time. The quality of the ads posted for work doesn’t speak to the quality of the audience who’s out there looking for work, you know? I’ve gotten a few really good gigs off CL (I’m a designer) and I’m batting almost 1.000 in terms of the programmers I’ve used from CL. I live in San Fran, and there’s a lot of talented folks here- I would suggest posting in the SFbayarea section.

Just fyi… @jp isn’t exactly “behind the scenes at Fluther”, but he knows his way around web dev. And since he lives in an RV, I figure he’d even consider relocating. ;-D

@jballou, CL Bay Area may be a different story due to the volume of web work up there, true.

@robmandu, thanks, I wasn’t sure.

PnT, I work with this company and highly recommend the quality of their work. They are expert at large database and enterprise systems. Their client list is impressive. Just don’t go by the web site. It is an example of the shoemaker’s children design-wise. I have recently gotten them to agree to redo it. That shouldn’t matter, though, since you are doing the design end of your project.

PM me if you want an introduction.

Thanks, Marina. I’ll be assembling a list of potential partners.

Now, I’m outta here before I get busted for soliciting. ;0

I highly advise against Craigslist, even in the Bay area. We wasted our time posting.

Authentic jobs, however, was a huge success for us.

Thanks Andrew!

Unfortunately. No matter how much I hate Craigslist that’s all anybody uses in Boise ID. >.> I’d love to find even one job on authentic jobs, etc.

p.s. I love the CL ads that say “must have great antetion to detail as this is a very importnant position.”

We’ve had great success with ProgrammerMeetDesigner

Can’t recommend it enough.

I have to disagree with @andrew and other Craigslist-bashers: I have had excellent luck and hired some great people with Craigslist in the Bay Area.

On the other hand, Dice was a total waste of money for me, hiring web designer/developers.

However you recruit, make sure you know exactly what you’re looking for before they walk through the door. Be prepared to interview, interview, interview. Be brutal: have and ask difficult technical questions. Give them real-world problems to solve. Find out not just what they know, but how they work, how they think.

Finally, trust that little feeling that says ”...maybe not” during the interview. At one startup, everyone that I doubted (even slightly), but let the rest of my team convince me to hire ended up being a drain on the department.