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A Silverlight developer is a software engineer who builds, maintains, and migrates rich internet applications using Microsoft Silverlight, XAML, and the .NET framework for browser-based and out-of-browser deployment. Although Microsoft has ended mainstream support for Silverlight, many enterprise systems, internal line-of-business tools, and legacy media platforms still depend on it, making experienced Silverlight programmers a sought-after resource for maintenance, bug fixes, and modernization projects.
Hiring a Silverlight developer gives you access to a specialist who can keep mission-critical applications running while you plan a longer-term technology strategy. Silverlight programmers work across XAML markup, C#, and the .NET runtime to maintain features, patch security issues, and extend functionality on existing codebases.
Typical deliverables from a freelance Silverlight expert include:
A capable Silverlight consultant works fluently across the Microsoft stack and the supporting tooling that surrounds Silverlight projects. Buyers should expect proficiency in:
Strong candidates also understand adjacent Microsoft technologies including WPF, ASP.NET, Blazor, and .NET MAUI, which is essential when the engagement involves migration rather than pure maintenance.
Silverlight is most commonly found in established enterprise environments where browser plug-in applications were standardized years ago. Industries where Silverlight engagements still appear include:
Most current projects fall into one of three buckets: keeping a legacy application alive, extracting business logic for a rebuild, or executing a full migration to a modern web stack.
Because Silverlight is a legacy technology, depth of experience matters more than recency. Look for engineers with a strong .NET background, demonstrable XAML portfolios, and clear evidence of having shipped Silverlight applications to production. Migration experience is a major plus when modernization is on your roadmap.
Strong evaluation signals include:
Sample interview questions you can use directly:
Freelancer.com gives you direct access to a global pool of experienced .NET and Silverlight programmers, including specialists who have spent years inside enterprise codebases that newer developers have never touched. Because Silverlight expertise is increasingly rare, the scale of the talent network on Freelancer.com matters: you can quickly find freelancers with the exact combination of XAML, C#, WCF, and migration experience your project needs.
Clients set their own budgets and receive competitive bids from vetted freelancers on Freelancer.com, with profile ratings, verified reviews, and Milestone Payments providing protection throughout the engagement. Whether you need a quick patch, a long-running maintenance contract, or a full migration roadmap, you can post a project on Freelancer.com and connect with qualified Silverlight consultants within hours.
Ready to keep your legacy application running or plan a clean migration path forward?
Hiring a Silverlight developer is straightforward when you approach it with a clear scope. Because Silverlight projects are usually maintenance or migration work on existing codebases, the brief should focus on what already exists, what needs to change, and what the end state looks like. The three steps below walk you through posting a project, reviewing bids, and awarding the work.
The quality of your project post directly determines the quality of bids you receive. For a Silverlight engagement, freelancers need to understand the version you are running, the surrounding stack, and whether the goal is maintenance, feature work, or migration. Head to the
Bids are short proposals, not just price quotes. A strong bid from a Silverlight programmer will reference your specific stack, ask sensible technical questions, and propose a realistic approach. Read each proposal carefully and shortlist freelancers whose interpretation of the work matches your brief.
The final decision combines proposal quality with profile evidence. Silverlight is a niche skill, so weight portfolio depth and consistency of past .NET work heavily, not just one strong sample. Verified reviews from clients with similar legacy or migration projects are the most reliable signal.
Microsoft ended support for Silverlight in October 2021, but many enterprise applications still run on it inside controlled environments. Hiring a Silverlight developer is worthwhile if you need to maintain a working system, fix critical bugs, or plan and execute a migration to a modern framework like Blazor or Angular.
Both work with XAML and the .NET framework, and the skill sets overlap heavily, but Silverlight runs in the browser as a plug-in while WPF builds desktop applications for Windows. Many freelancers on Freelancer.com offer both skills, which is useful if your migration path includes moving Silverlight code into a WPF or .NET MAUI desktop app.
Yes. Experienced Silverlight developers are often the best people to lead migrations because they understand the original architecture, business logic, and data bindings. Common migration targets include Blazor WebAssembly, Angular, React, and HTML5, and a good freelancer will scope the migration, port the code in phases, and validate behavior against the legacy application.
Maintenance and bug-fix engagements can be completed in days, while feature additions usually take a few weeks. Full migrations vary widely depending on the size of the codebase, the number of integrations, and the target framework, often ranging from one to several months.
For most maintenance, patching, and small-to-medium migration jobs, a single experienced freelancer is the most efficient choice. Agencies make sense only when the migration is enterprise-scale and requires parallel teams across backend, frontend, and DevOps.

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