Questions, answered
Hiring a senior developer, in plain English
The questions UK business owners ask us most often, answered without jargon. If your question is not here, ask our AI adviser or send us a message.
Getting started
What does Devs On Tap actually do?
We provide senior developers, designers, business analysts and other specialists for businesses that need software work done. That could be a new website, a web or mobile app, help connecting business systems, ongoing support, or rescuing an app that was built with AI tools and is now causing problems.
I have never worked with developers before. Can you still help?
Yes, and you are exactly who we built this service for. You never need to write a technical specification. Describe what you want in everyday words, in our AI adviser or the request form, and we turn that into a clear brief for you to check and edit before anything is agreed.
How do I start?
The easiest way is to tell us what you need. Our AI adviser asks plain-English questions, suggests the kind and number of people your project needs, and ends with a next step to send an enquiry. You can also browse the resource directory and pick people yourself.
Rates and working arrangements
What are your hourly rates?
All of our resources work at rates between £35 and £55 per hour, depending on their specialism and experience. We will confirm the exact rate for the people proposed for your project before you commit to anything.
Where are your developers based?
Our team members work across the UK and Europe, including London, Dublin, Lisbon, Porto, Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Warsaw and Bucharest. Whatever we propose, the people on your project work within your time zone, so you are never waiting until the next day for an answer.
Can I hire one person, or only a whole team?
Either. Some clients need a single developer for a few hours a week. Others need a full team: developers, a designer, a business analyst and someone to manage delivery. You can choose the people yourself, or let our AI adviser recommend how many people and who.
Do you offer part-time or ongoing support, or only full projects?
Both. When you send a request you tell us the duration, how many hours per week you expect, and whether you are building something new or supporting and improving something that already exists. We shape the team around that.
AI-built software and rescues
What is vibe coding?
Vibe coding is a casual term for building software by describing it to an AI tool rather than writing the code yourself. It can produce something that works surprisingly quickly, but the result is often insecure, fragile or hard to maintain because nobody has reviewed how it was put together.
My AI-built app is broken, slow or insecure. Can you fix it?
Yes. Rescuing and securing AI-built applications is one of our specialisms. Our senior developers have extensive experience reviewing, fixing and hardening apps that were created with AI tools, and we explain what we found and what we recommend in plain English before any work starts.
What is a business analyst and when would I need one?
A business analyst works out exactly what your business actually needs before anyone writes code. They interview the people involved, check the current systems, and write requirements everyone can agree on. Our AI adviser will recommend one when a project is large, vague, involves several stakeholders, connects to other systems, or when requirements are uncertain. It is one of the cheapest ways to avoid building the wrong thing.
How the work happens
Will I understand what I am agreeing to?
Yes. After your enquiry you receive a plain-English brief starting with "Here is what we understood", which you can edit. You also see a ballpark price and timeline, and three options ranging from essentials to everything, so you choose what suits your budget.
Do I need a technical specification or a project plan?
No. Tell us the goal in your own words. If anything is unclear, our business analysts work it out with you. The brief we send you is written so a non-technical reader can check every line of it.
Can I choose the specific people who work on my project?
Yes. Every person in our directory has a profile showing their role, experience and focus. You can select people yourself and add them to a team, or accept the recommendation from our AI adviser and adjust it. We confirm the specialist skills and availability for your project before you book.
How do I get a price?
Send a request through the site and we reply with a clear, plain-English quote based on your brief, priced at hourly rates between £35 and £55. There is no pricing calculator to wrestle with, because the right answer depends on who your project needs and for how long.
Not sure what a word means? Our plain-English glossary explains the terms you are most likely to hear.