So at 60k you can't find devs maybe that's not high enough. Try offering 100k, see how many applicants you get. If you can get lots of CV then you've found the market price.
Remember, to attract people you'll also need to attract people who are in jobs already. For that you'll have to offer something better than what they have.
Yes, I understand this, although I don't see any difference in number of applicants when I mention the salary and when I don't (I usually don't). I'm not seeing many good people who would be ready to join if I paid them more (it happens occasionally and we usually find a compromise). My recruiters are telling me that increasing the offer wouldn't give me more applicants.
However, if the harsh reality is that I must be paying more to devs, then how come there are so many devs (about 200) in this poll indicating they are getting under 50K? Why these two hundred people don't talk to me and many other companies desperate to hire developers on much better terms?
I don't see any difference in number of applicants when I mention the salary and when I don't (I usually don't).
Perhaps potential applicants think that you, like all companies, are going to pay what everyone else is. If you don't mention salary, they presume (correctly) you're paying about the average. You don't have an opportunity to "wow" them.
if the harsh reality is that I must be paying more to devs, then how come there are so many devs (about 200) in this poll indicating they are getting under 50K? Why these two hundred people don't talk to me and many other companies desperate to hire developers on much better terms?
One potential reason: Fear of the unknown.
Someone in a job for £45K knows what the job is. They know what their co-workers are like, they know how stressful/relaxed it is. They know what their boss is like, they know what the commute is like. Your new job is a big unknown. It's risky. It might be just as good, or it might be crap, the boss might be an asshole, you might be working for a client from hell, it might be very stressful, the technology stack might be horrible.
If someone changes job to you, they are taking a risk. A £15K raise (£45K → £60K) is only about ~ £7K after taxes (right?), which is about £500 per month extra in their pocket. If they have a decent salary already, it might not be worth changing to a potentially crappy job for only that. However if you offer a large salary increase (£100K), then suddenly the equation looks better, maybe that risk might pay off.
The "risk pay off" doesn't have to be salary. Why not offer 40 days annual leave, and a 4 day week for £60K. Again, reward the risk. Applicants might think "Oh the job could be boring and the boss could be an asshole, but it's only a 4 day week, and double the amount of holidays!"
Personally, I get a little bit turned off by offers around £60k-£100k because I associate them with working in finance, which is something I don't want to do and I know a lot of folks I know also don't want to do that. Making subject lines or ads a bit more explicit and descriptive as well as offering those large sums might work just fine.
How are you describing the company and the current growth of the company?
I am receiving letters from recruiters every day. Salaries rarely exceed 55-60k. Why should I bother if I am already getting that? And that's a mainstream enterprise skill set. Also your recruiters are likely to filter out people you might like. Did you tell them that github repo trumps a degree?
Remember, to attract people you'll also need to attract people who are in jobs already. For that you'll have to offer something better than what they have.