Devvista is a software development and growth agency that places and manages dedicated frontend developers and UI engineers for businesses in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and the UAE. You can hire by the hour, as a team, or at a fixed price.
The front end is everything a visitor touches: layout, forms, speed, and how it behaves on a phone or with a screen reader. Below: what our frontend engineers build, how the role differs from design and backend work, the cost, how to check a candidate and how hiring works from your country.
What our frontend developers build
Responsive interfaces from a design
Screens built from a designer's files that work at phone, tablet and desktop widths, with the spacing and states a design file leaves out.
Component libraries and design systems
A shared set of buttons, forms and layouts so new pages reuse existing parts and the product looks consistent.
Speed and Core Web Vitals work
Cutting heavy images, scripts and layout shifts so pages load fast on a mid-range phone, measured before and after.
Accessibility fixes
Keyboard use, labels, contrast and focus order, so people using assistive technology can finish a task.
Front ends for existing APIs
The interface for a system that already has a backend. Our hire backend developers page covers the other side.
Frontend developer, UI designer or full-stack developer: who do you need?
The roles overlap, and the wrong choice costs weeks. The table separates them by the output you should expect.
| Role | Main output | Strongest at | Hire when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frontend developer | Working screens in code | Layout, performance and accessibility | You have a design and an API |
| UI/UX designer | Designs and flows | Usability and visual design | You have an idea but no screens |
| Full-stack developer | Screens and the backend | Carrying a feature end to end | You need one person for a small product |
| Framework specialist | A product in one framework | Depth in React, Vue or Angular | You have committed to a framework |
Our UI/UX design service covers the design side, and our full-stack page covers the generalist route. The framework pages go deeper on each tool, and our guide to hiring dedicated developers covers the engagement models.
Frontend problems and how a developer measures the fix
Frontend work is easy to judge by eye and hard to judge by number. The table pairs common problems with the measure that shows the fix worked.
| Problem | Likely cause | How it is measured | Typical fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pages feel slow on phones | Large images and heavy scripts | Largest Contentful Paint in field data | Resize images, defer scripts |
| Layout jumps as the page loads | Images and ads without reserved space | Cumulative Layout Shift | Reserve space for media |
| Buttons lag after a tap | Long tasks blocking the page | Interaction to Next Paint | Split heavy work, trim scripts |
| Forms fail for keyboard users | Missing labels and focus order | A keyboard-only walkthrough | Add labels and fix tab order |
| Screens look different between pages | Copied styles instead of shared components | A review of repeated styles | Introduce shared components |
A good frontend engineer shows the number before and after, using tools such as Lighthouse and the browser's own performance panel.
What it costs and how you can hire
Hourly rates for frontend developers run from $10 to $100 by developer level, and fixed prices from $500 to $100,000 by complexity. Everything is priced in US dollars.
| Model | Best for | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated frontend developer by the hour | Improving a live interface through the year, fix by fix | By developer level |
| Small frontend team | A product build needing frontend, backend and testing skills together | Hourly, per person |
| Fixed-price build | A set of screens or a component library with a written scope | By complexity |
| Scoping first | You have designs or an idea and need a plan and a component list before building | A short engagement that ends in a written spec |
Illustration (an estimate, not a quote): a responsive front end for a customer dashboard of about 12 screens, with a shared component set, forms, charts and accessibility checks, at an assumed $40 an hour:
| Work | Hours |
|---|---|
| Design review and component list | 18 |
| Shared components and styles | 40 |
| Dashboard screens | 56 |
| Forms and validation | 26 |
| Charts and tables | 24 |
| Accessibility pass | 16 |
| Speed pass on phones | 14 |
| Handover and documentation | 10 |
| Total | 204 hours, about $8,160 at $40 an hour |
A smaller set of screens falls below that; a product with many data views rises above. Send your designs and we will price your own.
Which frontend developer profile you need
Frontend hires differ by whether the work is building, polishing or measuring.
| Profile | What they do | Ask to see |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend developer | Builds screens from designs | A live interface and its performance score |
| Senior frontend engineer | Structures the front end and sets standards for others | A component library or standards document |
| Performance and accessibility specialist | Measures and fixes speed and usability problems | A before-and-after report |
| Design-engineer | Bridges designs and code, building polished interactions | A prototype and the shipped version |
Common situations and what to hire
Frontend jobs start from several places.
| Your situation | What to hire | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Designs ready and an API behind them | A frontend developer on a fixed-price build | Components are built first, then the screens |
| A live interface that feels slow | A performance specialist by the hour | Measure first, fix the biggest cost, measure again |
| A product with inconsistent screens | A senior engineer to introduce a component system | Existing screens move to shared parts in stages |
What the first month of a frontend hire looks like
- Week one: access to designs and the API, with a component list agreed.
- Week two: shared components and the first screens, checked on phone, tablet and desktop.
- Week three: forms, states and data views connected to the API.
- Week four: an accessibility pass, a speed pass on a mid-range phone and a handover of the component documentation.
How to check any frontend developer before you hire
Put these to any candidate, from any company. Strong answers are concrete and admit what a choice costs.
- How do you turn a design into reusable components?
- How do you test the interface at different screen sizes and with a keyboard only?
- How do you decide what to load first on a slow phone?
- How do you measure speed, and which number do you care about most?
- How do you handle an API that returns an error or is slow?
- Who owns the repository and the design files at handover?
- Ask for a small paid trial task before you commit: one screen built from a design with loading, error and empty states, tested on a phone and with a keyboard.
If a quote arrives before anyone has asked about your systems, the quote is a guess.
Mistakes to avoid when hiring frontend developers
Frontend work looks finished before it is.
- Checking only on a developer's fast laptop.
- Copying styles page by page instead of building shared components.
- Leaving accessibility until after launch.
- Adding scripts and widgets without measuring their cost.
Hiring from the US, UK, Australia, Canada and the UAE
We serve frontend developers clients across five markets, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the UAE, remotely. Calls, written specs and a shared project board replace site visits.
Who this is for, and who it is not
| A good fit | Not a fit |
|---|---|
| A business with designs or a design system that needs building into a fast interface | A request for a pixel copy of a site with no thought for phones |
| A team adding a frontend developer by the hour | A project needing developers on site |
| Owners who approve a component list and measure speed before and after | A plan with no testing on real phones |