When growing a business in 2022, you must at some point decide whether or not to outsource your web development. But it’s not an easy choice to make.
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This article will go over the pros and cons of outsourcing your web development so you can make an informed decision.
Let’s get started!
Advantages of Outsourcing Web Development
Here are some benefits of outsourcing your web development:
Less time and money
Web development agencies already have efficient processes in place from their years of experience in the industry. Instead of going through all that trial and error on your own, leverage their swift workflows.
Outsourcing also means you can spend less time and money on hiring, onboarding, and training an in-house team and paying for its office and equipment costs.
Hiring a web development agency can be done quickly. Get your project off the ground fast so you can focus on your core competencies and speed up your time-to-market.
And if you hire from countries like Poland or India, you’ll save lots of money on labor that you can put toward other parts of your business like product development and marketing.
Top talent
When you outsource web development, you also get access to top talent from around the world. You’re no longer limited to local hires. You can hire the professionals best for the job, no matter where they live.
Agencies will also have the latest technology, industry knowledge, and know-how to fulfill your web development needs. You don’t have to rely on your own talent.
Predictable billing
When you rely on an in-house team for web-development, it’s hard to predict costs. You don’t know exactly how long projects will take and what types of resources will be needed. Not so with agencies.
Most web development agencies provide straightforward and transparent pricing. So you know exactly what you’re paying and what for. As long as you have a good contract in place, you’ll only pay for what you order.
Better-quality work
Web development agencies tend to have a quality assurance (QA) teams. This means every project is reviewed and vetted to ensure flawless work. And if any mistakes or glitches slip through, the agency will fix them.
Don’t sacrifice quality by trying to do it all on your own. Use a trained professional who know’s what they’re doing. You won’t regret it.
Disadvantages of Outsourcing Web Development
Now that you know some of the benefits of outsourcing web development, here are some possible drawbacks:
Loss of control
Anytime you work with a third-party vendor, you give up some control. You won’t be managing the work as closely so you must trust the agency to do the job well.
This can be hard for young companies, but if you keep in regular contact with the web development agency and establish a system for providing updates, it’ll be much easier to give up some of that control.
Risk of a data leak
Outsourcing web development requires you to share business information. This creates data security challenges as you’re exposing sensitive data to more people.
To avoid a data leak, thoroughly vet the web development agency you’ll be working with and discuss data security with them early on. In fact, you should have them sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and ensure they have some business insurance if they cause you to incur any losses.
Poor communication
Working with another company also presents communication challenges. You may not be able to meet face to face. And if you live in different time zones, it may be difficult to schedule phone and video calls.
This means you might be limited to asynchronous communication like emails and messaging, which aren’t ideal when time-sensitive issues come up.
To mitigate these challenges, set communication expectations and follow up whenever something isn’t clear. It’s always better to over-communicate than to under-communicate.
Cultural differences
Lastly, web developers may come from other countries with different cultures, which means you might face language barriers or different norms and expectations about things like punctuality.
To minimize misunderstandings and the possibility of offending others, set clear standards from the outset and learn about each other’s cultures in advance. Ask questions, as this will prevent a lot of confusion.
The Final Verdict
Ultimately, choosing whether or not to outsource web development comes down to your company’s specific needs and preferences. Sure, there are some downsides to outsourcing, but you can overcome them by planning ahead.
Whatever you do, shop around for credible web development agencies first to see what they offer and at what price. Once you’ve done your due diligence, then make a decision.