I am a Sydney-based WordPress Developer and SEO Specialist. I work full time and I do freelance depending on the type of project I select and free time. I have recently transformed into Digital Marketing. I also provide SEO services, local SEO in Sydney, and WordPress web design as separate services. I had to up-skill in both departments, and it was a bit easy learning curve for me as I was passionate about both.
I did try to move away from Sydney recently but decided to stay in Sydney as I thought it was the better option for me long term. I did try to move to various cities including Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne. I did get some good offers from each city and was very close to moving to Brisbane.
This article is an estimate based on my experience. One thing I would love to highlight is the fact that WordPress Developer does pay reasonably well. You need to have the right skills and choose the right organisation to work at. If you have SEO skills, it is very advantageous.
What determines WordPress Developer's Salary
There are several factors that determine WordPress Developer salary including:
- Years of experience
- Skills sets including custom theme and plugin development
- Extra skills such as website design, UI/UX design
- SEO Expertise
- Copywriting skills or content planning and outlining
- Organisation type you are working - normally bigger companies are more generous with salary packages
Personally, if you ask me, I am not that big on years of experience. I think what a WordPress developer has achieved and worked on past is a key factor in determining salary.
WordPress Developer salaries are varied
In short, you get what you are worth. I have seen jobs advertised for the role of WordPress developer from anywhere around 30K to 6 figures for the role based in Sydney. So why does salary vary this much?
There is still a myth that working on a Premium Theme and adding data is WordPress Development. Though it is still WordPress related work, it doesn’t involve any code related job unless theme customisation is involved.
WordPress Developer must at least:
- Understand WordPress architecture, and be able to write code to build the framework around it
- Build Custom Theme
- Build Custom Plugin
- Write CSS and JavaScript as needed
WordPress has evolved as a complex framework over a few years. As the bare minimum to call one a WordPress Developer, you must be able to code the PSDs provided to you and convert them to industry standard custom theme.
The next level up would be creating or being able to write custom plugins as needed by the client’s requirement.
One of the most complained subjects about WordPress has always been it security issues. I personally think it’s over exaggerated. But it’s good to make yourself aware to various security issues or updates WordPress overcomes with every updates and releases. One of the blog I recommend is WordFence Blog. They do good job keeping you update with latest WordPress related security issues.
WordPress Developer Salary in Sydney and NSW
When it comes to WordPress Developer's salaries in Australia, Sydney and NSW are some of the highest paying. The reasons are the demand for good developers and the focus on quality of work. Saying so, these markets are hardest to get into for senior and high-paying roles too.
From my experience, there are 3 main categories which the salary for a WordPress Developer fall under. They are:
Junior WordPress Developer
The junior developer role is the entry-level role. As a junior WordPress developer, you are expected to have some experience anywhere between a few months to a couple of years.
Junior Developers get paid between 40-60K packages.
Mid-Level WordPress Developer
A level up to the Junior WordPress Developer, you are expected to have experience anywhere between 3 to 5 years with solid skill sets and a portfolio.
As a Mid-level WordPress developer, you can get packages anywhere between 60-80K or a bit higher.
Senior-Level WordPress Developer
As a Senior-level WordPress developer, you are expected to have a solid skill set, guide or mentor Junior Developers and have solid problem-solving skill sets. Employers will be looking for at least 5 years of experience. Any contributions to WordPress core or Plugin Development are highly regarded.
I have seen ads for Senior WordPress Developer at 6 Figures and as high as 250K and above offered in Sydney.
Next, I will use the stats above to discuss WordPress Developer's salaries around major cities that I am familiar with.
WordPress Developer salary in Brisbane
As a Junior WordPress Developer in Brisbane, expect a salary anywhere between 40-60K, as Mid Level you can expect around 60-80K, and as a Senior WordPress Developer, you can expect 100K.
In recent years, a WordPress Developer in Brisbane can expect a similar salary compared with Sydney and NSW. You can expect to get a similar or even better offer in Brisbane.
A few years back I was asked about my current package(Sydney-based) and offered 15% less. I said No to it. Things aren't like this anymore in Brisbane.
Brisbane is one of the fastest booking cities in Australia and a fair bit of companies are moving to Brisbane. This increased demand for WordPress Developers and hence increased salary.
WordPress Developer salary in Melbourne
As a Junior WordPress Developer trying to get into the Melbourne market, expect a salary anywhere between 40-60K, as Mid Level you can expect around 60-80K, and as a Senior WordPress Developer, you can expect 100K.
WordPress Developer Melbourne's salary always had been closest to Sydney and NSW when it comes to salary. You can expect to get a similar or even better offer in Brisbane.
With my recent study, I have found job listings for WordPress developers are higher in Melbourne compared to Sydney and NSW. With respect to salary packages, expect similar salary packages as of Sydney and NSW.
WordPress Developer Salary in Perth
Based on my experience, a WordPress Developer in Perth's salary is a bit less, at around 10-15% less compared to the major cities listed above.
But the good side of Perth is there are few really well-known WordPress Agency and Digital Marketing agency. If you get chance to land in one of those agencies, they will match Sydney based Salaries.
Staying ahead is the main key
My guess is that if you are thinking of being a WordPress Developer, you must have some idea about PHP. My suggestion would be to learn new skills in the industry.
Keep in mind that the IT industry is evolving every day so making oneself a good fit in the industry is always a clever idea.
If you are in digital or marketing industry, learning SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is highly rewarding. This is where I am standing at the moment. I build custom WordPress theme where conversions are the main requirement.
My On Page WordPress SEO has been quite good and I am always learning new ideas by reading many blogs. I have been learning Google Adwords recently.
Another skill you might want to add would be learning some web design skills. I started learning WordPress web design few years back and now I provide web design as my services. Now I market myself as full stack WordPress developer and designer.
One of the advantage of being a designer and developer had been, I am able to minimise the communication barrier of designer and developer. A good example of this is in the case of lack of communication between designer and developer where the project will end up costing over the budget or when web design ends up being too complex either for development or User Experience. This can lead to chaos in cases where clients have limited budget.
You will get what you worth – Stay Updated.
Yes, you will only get what you deserve or are worth. If you end up doing the same type of job for years without adding any new skill set, you won’t be getting a pay rise soon.
Try learning new things. Stay smart. Read various blogs. Always think of bringing something new to the team. And try to be a problem solver. Experiment with yourself and challenge yourself.
As mentioned above, as per industry standard salary ranges are significantly varied. It’s really up to you to be where you want to be.
