Tips for managing a remote WordPress development team

Remote work has become more than just a trend—it’s a necessity. Businesses are embracing the benefits of having a geographically diverse workforce, and the world of web development is no exception. In their 2023 survey of 90,000 developers, Stack Overflow reported 84% of developers worked remotely in whole or part. This statistic remained virtually unchanged since the previous year. Remote work is a new norm that digital marketing agencies need to embrace.

Managing a remote WordPress development team, however, comes with its unique challenges. At White Label Agency, we have long experience of this, managing teams across five borders: Sweden, Portugal, Georgia, Ukraine, and of course the US. We’d like to share our top tips for effectively managing a remote development team.

Prioritize communication

Effective communication is the cornerstone of successful remote collaboration. At WLA, we’ve found video communication an effective means for remote collaboration: tools like Google Hangouts and Slack Huddles. As much communication is nonverbal, particularly when it’s across cultures, video offers a lot more than voice calls.

Eugene, one of our Account Managers at WLA, emphasizes the importance of cultural awareness in communication: “Cultural differences are present when working with WordPress customers from different parts of the world. To bridge this gap, I’ve added national holidays to my calendar. This not only shows respect for their culture but also provides more topics for discussion beyond business matters.”

Avoiding meetings to save time is a common mistake. Unlike long-term projects, WordPress development tasks are often short and require frequent monitoring. Regular check-ins can prevent misunderstandings and ensure projects stay on course.

Consider innovative approaches like requesting short daily video summaries from your developers. This allows you to stay informed about progress while limiting the time commitments of meetings.

Einar, our CEO at WLA, highlights another advantage of regular meetings:
“When you’re working with others remotely, you typically only talk when you have a specific, work-related reason. But this setup doesn’t mean that you should discount the value of the personal relationship. A feeling of mutual trust and support is a valuable component of productive teamwork — and it’s hard to create if you only talk strictly about what’s on the agenda.”

Establish clear roles and structure

To ensure everyone in your remote WordPress development team is on the same page, a clear structure is essential. At WLA, we’ve found that defining roles and objectives upfront is a game-changer. Here’s our recommended structure:

Head of Production: This role oversees the entire development team, manages communication, resolves conflicts, and keeps goals clear. They also monitor task loads to ensure developers aren’t overwhelmed. Einar gives his view of the HoP role:

“In our experience, we’re convinced that communication with customers should be provided by designated people, not developers. Why? Because it takes some time to switch attention between different kinds of working processes. If you’re trying to keep your team lean, one possibility is to have the Head of Production take responsibility for this. But watch out that he or she doesn’t get overworked — this person is essential to making the whole operation work well.”

Tech Leads: These experts provide guidance and share their knowledge when your team encounters challenges. They’re invaluable resources for troubleshooting and enhancing the quality of your projects.

Quality Assurance: Prioritize quality by having dedicated professionals who ensure your product meets the highest standards. Their expertise is especially crucial for various types of testing.

Sales and Marketing: Digital marketing agencies are dependent on close coordination between sales and marketing teams. This is especially the case for agencies which carry out a lot of project work, where timing of customer contact can be vital. At WLA our sales and marketing teams meet weekly to discuss leads and evaluate the effectiveness of marketing efforts.

Natalia, our Head of Production at WLA, remarks, “For our [operational] success, working well as a team has been important. The value of our services is so dependent on being flexible for our customers and you can’t deliver services with that type of flexibility without everybody being able to come together effectively: inbound sales, developers and management who puts it all together.”

Set your expectations

Setting correct expectations helps greatly in managing a WordPress development team. Don’t assume your developers automatically understand your priorities. At WLA, “overcommunication” is one of our core values—going to great lengths to ensure all team members, especially developers, know what’s wanted of them. In development tasks, we always:

• Describe what the final project should look like;
• Describe what updates they should provide;
• Agree on what should be considered “done work”;
• Set clear schedules for developer availability.

Whether your services are of pixel-perfect designs or SEO optimization, ensure your developers know the essential parameters for a project’s success.

Put your project goals and deadlines in writing. This provides clarity and helps everyone stay on track.

Use project management tools like ClickUp, Asana, or Trello. They help organize and track project tasks efficiently, reducing clutter in your communication channels. If you need more information about other tools that may help you, check this article out:

• Tools for Managing a Remote Development Team

Remote your development team with confidence

The ability to manage a remote WordPress development team is necessary in our new digital landscape. It can be a smooth and productive experience if you apply the right strategies, and it opens many doors for your agency in terms of getting the right skills at the right price. Remote work doesn’t have to be daunting or complicated.

At White Label Agency, remote work is part of our DNA. We manage offices across five countries and supply agencies globally. Over the past ten years we have become the world’s leading supplier of WordPress outsourcing services to digital agencies.

If your agency is looking to scale up its web development and design services, consider WLA as your partner. We offer white-labeled web development, design and maintenance services that can help your agency to deliver exceptional results to your clients. Contact our sales team today to explore how we can help your agency grow.

For further reading, consider our articles on:

• Hiring remote developers in digital agencies
• Essential mistakes to avoid when you hire WordPress developers remotely.
• Setting Up a Remote Development Team in 5 Steps