I've had good luck with hiring local programmers. It's nice to get the face to face interaction and you can 'feel' the person out a little more. It might be a little more expensive, but I feel I get a better product since I know the person face to face - a safety factor you coudl say.

Well I have quite a bit of experience hiring freelancers there are quite a few decent ones for php the best being kailash badu on sitepoint, but for other languages I talk with the freelancer and being a coder myself I test them. It helps if you can get references and a portfolio.

I can't speak to the quality of coders you'll find on the job boards.

If you're looking for a writer, however, I'd consider investigating alternatives. My personal experience as both a buyer and seller on elance, etc. has been underwhelming. It's almost impossible to ascertain applicants' actual talent level based on their profiles and, to be honest, many talented writers who understand online business enough to really help you "graduate" very quickly because they're able to stay busy without the hassles of bidding, etc.

Additionally, the feedback scores are almost meaningless. Many buyers are unable to distinguish good work from the kind of thing that many of you wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. Remember, all of the lousy garbage you find online met with someone's approval at some point...

You might find a talented person who's just starting out, but you're really rolling the dice.

Carson

For a web designer:

I personally would hire locally.

For all my projects, I use Sahil Lavingia, a very non-famous guy who does fricking amazing work.

I met him through a friend, and set him up for a cheap job. He had an amazing turnaround and I've used him ever since.

His e-mail: sahil@slavingia.com

Tell him Walker sent you and he'll probably give you a discount too!

Originally Posted by mrsolutions

Dont post a job on Rentacoder or RAC and expect good coders to come to you - do get good freelancers you have to be prepared to hunt them down. Good ones don't need to look for jobs.

This is true especially for larger projects. Creating favorite lists for each technology type has helped out a lot for inviting coders.

For small projects I usually do a public auction which usually works out good. It's also a great way to find "up and coming" coders at lower rates.

I find the best way is to be very clear on what you specify in the first place.
Then both sides get the best of the deal.

If the freelancer can explain your project back to you in their own words, then your on the right track.

GetAFreelancer.com is the site I use.

getacoder-dot-com is a good website as far as I have seen. If someone else posted that link before me, sorry, I just didn't read all 3 pages before posting.

I would recommend post it on some freelancer sites. Few of which i use are v7e, digitalpoint, getafreelancer.