First impressions of your website, and therefore your company, are 94% design-related, research has found, which shows why it’s so important to get your web design right. The next question is whether you should outsource this job or keep it in-house. There are many pros and cons to both of these so your decision will largely come down to how regularly you’ll want your website updated and how much control you like to have.
The positives of outsourcing
An obvious positive of outsourcing web design work is that it’s usually very cost-effective. You need someone who is skilled and experienced and hiring someone to do this in-house can be expensive. This is particularly good if you have a short-term project where you want quality work that’s delivered on time without any additional investments. You also won’t have to worry about going through recruiting and training someone, which can be time-consuming and stressful if you’re working on a deadline. Outsourcing also means that you can take your pick from a diverse talent pool of people from anywhere in the world who all want to do the work for you.
Keeping it in-house when you’re a small business
Hiring someone to take responsibility of your web design can be a good thing, even if you’re a small business still finding its feet. Choosing someone flexible with an array of skills gives you an employee who can do other things within your business, while still taking sole responsibility for any web design projects. However, don’t forget important details, like insurance. According to Cerity.com, it’s important for small business owners to protect all elements of their company, including employees, which is why it would be a smart step to get insurance and look into some of the other costs and requirements when expanding your business.
The downside of outsourcing
Outsourcing means that the headache of your project effectively goes to someone else, which may seem like a good thing but it also means that you’ll have less control over it. This isn’t always a bad thing as it means the web designers are left to do what they think is best based on their experience and skills and, of course, your guidelines. However, this lack of control can be frustrating, especially if you think of things along the way or want regular updates as they happen. Outsourcing to a different country can mean that getting updates can be slow due to time differences and there’s potential for language barriers to cause problems.
Outsourcing web design work will really depend on how much control you want to have over your project, how much money you have, and if you’re ready to invest in hiring someone to take sole responsibility for it within your business.