I recently got the chance to pick the brain of Marc McDougall, CRO developer-extraordinaire and my Codeable colleage since May of 2017. Marc shared with me his expert advice for new clients – and developers – to the Codeable platform and has a “very particular set of skills” you’ll definitely want to hear more about.
If you’re not familiar already, Codeable is an outsourcing platform catering exclusively to WordPress development projects. Their mission is simple: to connect the world’s best freelance WordPress developers with clients and deliver quality without question.
Joining the creme-de-la-creme of WordPress developers on Codeable is no easy task.
In fact, only 2% of WordPress developers who apply to Codeable are accepted to the platform.
Marc made the cut.
Marc has spent the past two years with Codeable specializing in Conversion Rate Optimization – and only Conversion Rate Optimization.
He is fully dedicated to turning his client’s hard-earned sourced traffic into paying customers. Marc’s success rate speaks for itself, having achieved perfect, five-star ratings on 175 projects, and counting.
Marc has had tremendous success with his niche on the Codeable platform, and his advise to other developers is nothing short of honest – it’s not for the beginners. “Being a part of the Codeable community comes with a ton of responsibility,” as it’s currently the best online marketplace for finding quality work as a freelancer that currently exists.
If you have a website that’s getting in the way of your business in some way, hire Marc to put a stop to the problem. He’s who you you need to turn your business around.
But don’t just take my word for it – Hear from Marc in our interview below, or you can read reviews from his clients and browse his portfolio here.
1. For anyone who isn’t already familiar with Codeable, could you describe Codeable to them?
Codeable is a service which helps businesses of all sizes solve problems with their web presence, usually when that web presence is powered by WordPress.
2. How has Codeable impacted your career as a freelance WordPress developer? Is working for Codeable any different than your previous jobs as a developer and if so, how?
I have never worked in the corporate scene as a developer, so not much to compare there. However, it has added a substantial degree of consistency to my freelance career.
Being able to talk with tons of people every week that are all experiencing some sort of problem with their site feels meaningful and helps with the classic “where’s my next job coming from!?” anxiety we all feel.
3. Do you have a favorite memory, or favorite client, from Codeable? If so, could you tell us more about what set that experience apart from all the rest.
Oh yeah — my favorite client so far has been Alec Hogg of Biznews.com.
He was introduced to me by a colleague (Mike Andreasen), and we hit it off immediately. He deeply understood my core philosophy as a designer, and was always super willing to bend over backwards to help me deliver on the project.
Alec wanted to talk because he was seeing that people were not signing up for the premium option on his new site as often as he thought they should be (for a site the size of his). The suspicion was that there were a few usability problems on the site that were ultimately getting in the way of people signing up.
Once we were done, he started seeing an upward trend in new monthly subscribers, and he was ecstatic.
It’s memorable to me because it bolsters one of the core principles of my design philosophy: sometimes, it’s best to just get out of your customer’s way. Too many solutions are over-engineered these days, and that opens up an opportunity for delightfully-simple solutions to stand out from the crowd.
Although we re-designed his site over 2 years ago, we still keep in touch.
4. What are your favorite types of projects to work on via Codeable? If you could pick your perfect project, what (or who) would it be?
I only work on design projects that are focused around CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization).
More specifically: when someone feels like their website is getting in the way of them doing business with their customers in some way, I come in and put a stop to that.
I have the highest impact on projects where I can come in and really understand a business and their customers, then redesign some part (or all) of the site experience to make their product/service resonate with those customers.
P.S. If you’d like to learn more about how to optimize your own site for conversions, you can check out my guide here (it’s intended for SaaS sites, but the principles are the same for everyone).
5. For anyone who is considering joining Codeable, what advice would you have to share with them to convince them to join?
I generally wouldn’t try to convince them — being part of the Codeable community comes with a ton of responsibility, and it’s not the best place for you if you’re just starting out in the independent work scene.
However, if I had an inkling that someone was a good fit (and they’d expressed interest), I’d tell them that it’s currently the best online marketplace for finding quality work as a freelancer that currently exists.
6. For anyone who is considering posting their next WordPress project to Codeable, what advice would you have to share with them to convince them to do that?
Just like before, I wouldn’t try and convince them, but rather ask them to further clarify the problem they’re experiencing, and learn a bit more about their business and the type of relationship they’d like to have with a partner.
Maybe Codeable isn’t the best fit for their needs — it could be that they just need someone to bang something out in a few hours (in which case Upwork or Toptal might be better suited to their needs).
However, if they’re looking for a long-term relationship, seem honest & up-front in their communication style, and have the time to do things the right way, then I’d suggest they give Codeable a shot.
There’s so many stellar service providers in their roster, it would be hard to not find someone that meshes with their personality.
7. Some people think we’re robots, but developers are human too… When you’re not writing code for your clients, what do you like to do with your free time?
When I’m not torturing myself over a new UX flow, I spend most of my time rock climbing and reluctantly making myself play League of Legends.
(Me, about 20 seconds away from smashing into the ground)
8. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about your time on Codeable so far?
The sense community here is quite strong. Going beyond all the quality work that gets sent your way, the Codeable community managers foster an uncanny sense of camaraderie that is honestly quite rare for these types of sites.
It’s a great place to find great work, sure, but the community Slack is where the real gems are. 🙂