In today’s digital world, having an online presence is a must. So, whether you already have a website that needs a revamp or you’re planning to create one from scratch, you should know your options. When it comes to web development projects, you have two options: do it in-house or outsource it. But how do you decide which one is better for you? In this post, we’re looking into the benefits of outsourcing your web development project and how to do it the right way.
In-House vs. Outsourced Web Development: Which One is Better?
Outsourcing your web development project is much better than putting together an in-house team, and here is why.
1. Save Money
With the first option, the price is an obvious issue. In-house development is much more expensive than delegating your web project development. The final price is made up of many expenses such as hardware, software, taxes, rent, etc. Not to mention the fact that the ever-rising IT market makes it really difficult to hire the right person who has the skills and fits into the planned budget.
Businesses can save up to 20% of total development costs when working with remote teams or individuals instead of relying on in-house developers. Hiring in-house developers includes fixed expenses like a monthly salary, as well as expenses related to the hardware they need to use to do their job or to the recruitment process. In the end, they can always quit, so you will have to start the process all over again.
Working with platforms like Lemon.io makes things a lot easier as all these issues are no longer your concern. You can use it to hire experienced developers and rest assured that they will deliver a cutting-edge, awesome-looking digital product on time. Check out this Lemon.io review to learn more about this platform and make the first step to finding your developers.
2. Focus on Running Your Business
Also, think of all the hours it will take to manage an in-house team. Outsourcing your web development project will allow you to focus on what truly matters: running your company. Instead of worrying about the web development project, you can concentrate on core business processes and networking.
If you decide to outsource, you won’t have to deal with typical headaches associated with recruiting (which usually takes lots of time), overseeing, and retaining staff. You also won’t have to worry about how new team members will get accustomed.
Of course, if you have a budget and the time, you can always build a great in-house team, but why should you? Outsourcing allows you to take advantage of the whole dev team’s knowledge while working on the best solutions or solving problems.
However, it can’t be denied that outsourcing a web development project comes with certain risks. How can you be sure that you won’t be fooled by fake web developers? This is especially true for people who don’t have the technical knowledge to assess whether a web developer is genuine or not.
Luckily, there are a few steps you need to take in order to protect yourself and make sure that your remote cooperation is effective.
Guide to Successfully Outsourcing a Web-Developing Project
In order to make sure the job is done without any glitches, you need to start by asking yourself how to prepare. If planned properly, remote cooperation can bring you numerous benefits. To help you out, we’ve compiled this simple checklist. Cross off these 5 items to make sure you’re ready to outsource your web development project.
1. Consider Getting a Project Manager
One of the best ways to make sure that your outsourcing project goes as smoothly as possible is to hire a project manager.
This is especially important if you lack technical knowledge related to web development. If you can’t tell the difference between web development and web design, you simply have to assign someone with technical expertise to oversee the entire development process and make sure that all goals are achieved on time.
Of course, this means additional costs, but it definitely costs a lot less than putting together an in-house development team. In addition, if your outsourced web development project gets mishandled, it will cost you much more, so think of this as a necessary investment.
2. Know What You Want to Achieve
Having a project manager doesn’t mean your responsibilities are over and that your new website will miraculously appear out of nowhere. In order to ensure that the final product is exactly what you want, you need to be actively involved in the process.
Think about what you want to achieve and, together with your project manager, set clear goals and expectations. For instance, some developers offer value-added services like web usability testing, blog customization, and web hosting. Do you want web hosting as well, or will you be working with a separate, cheap web hosting provider?
Outlining the key steps of the project will help you assess the work based on its successful completion. In addition, have your project manager help you learn the basics of web development so that you can get a general idea of how things work.
3. Make Sure You Work with a Genuine Developer
Of course, none of the planning or organization will matter if you end up working with an incompetent web developer. So, how do you ensure that your web developer is the real deal?
First of all, never take the developer’s word for granted, and do your research to verify their credentials and standards. Start by checking reviews from their former clients, and even reach out to some of these clients to see why they recommended their services.
If you haven’t tried web development outsourcing before, start by outsourcing a small task. This will allow you to check the capabilities of the developer. Then, if you like the final result, you’ll be confident to order a bigger project.
4. Set Realistic Deadlines
Setting tight deadlines is a good idea, but make sure they are not unreasonable. You should definitely remain involved in the project even if you don’t have enough technical knowledge, but avoid micromanagement. Once you have that list of fundamental steps we mentioned earlier, allow your project manager to set realistic deadlines for achieving them.
Instead of one ultimate deadline, it’s better to have multiple short-term deadlines. This will ensure the project is completed more efficiently and on time. Short-term milestones are easier to achieve than one deadline, which requires completing a huge volume of work. Not to mention, short-term milestones are easier to monitor, modify, and evaluate.
5. Determine a Price for Your Web Development Project
Finally, fix a price for your web development project based on the volume of the work to be done. If you have no idea where to start, reach out to other business owners who have hired web developers before.
In general, freelance web developers prefer to be paid per hour but you could also consider the possibility of offering a total price for the whole project. This could be a better option for you, as you’ll be paying for the work done and not the hours the developer spent on it. Form your price in accordance with your budget and market standards in order to make sure you get good quality service.
Final Thoughts
Outsourcing web development is one of the possible solutions for building a website. Whether you can’t afford to hire your own team or you’re not ready to do it yet, outsourcing gives you access to experienced developers. Achieving high-quality, affordable web development services is possible if you are careful and well-prepared.
