Sure, on the face of it, outsourcing your web design and development seems like a great idea:
- You�re not having to hire someone full-time to complete the project for you,
- In most cases, they�ll be working while you�re sleeping,
- The costs associated with the work are set to save you over 50% compared with paying someone locally, and
- They are offering a fast turnaround.
Really, why would you want to work with someone locally?
I�m sure you know where this is heading, but it�s time people faced the reality of the situation outsourcing has a lot of con�s associated with it and if you choose the wrong person to outsource to, you could be faced with more than just an unfinished website.
A WEB DESIGN Horror Story
This was recently highlighted to me when an acquaintance I know had decided to hire an outsourcer to apply some tweaks to her website she was going through a redesign and wanted to get things happening fast. She has used sites like oDesk and Elance before, so wasn�t worried about using someone from oDesk for her project.
Fast forward to the middle of the project and my friend started to notice a few subtle anomalies the previously prompt response times from the freelancer had started to drop, to the point where communication via email and Skype had almost stopped and then to the point where she woke up, a few days later, to find that her website had completed disappeared! 404 errors abounded!
My friend ended up having to pay for someone to get her site back up and running and she had to contact oDesk to have the freelancer removed.
What I�m trying to highlight here is that even if you�ve successfully used freelancers before, is it worth the risk to outsource your web development?
Personally, I think not.
What You Miss Out On
Let�s look at what you�re not getting if you choose to outsource your web development and design:
- A developer with a business head = no
- A developer with marketing expertise = no
- Good communication = questionable at times
- Consistency and quality = no
While outsourcing sounds good on the surface, it doesn�t take long, when you dig a little deeper, to uncover the horror stories. And there are plenty of horror stories.
Imagine coming into your office, logging into your computer and navigating to your eCommerce website, only to be presented with a 404 error message �site can�t be found�. How would you feel if you couldn�t get in touch with the freelancer you hired? Angry, sure, but you�d also be frantic and scrambling to find someone to help you fix this. You�d also be confused and left wondering, �how did this happen?�
Web design and development are not areas of your business that should be cost-cut consider the cost to your business of a delayed project, broken promises and the amount of time you�d waste if you went down the outsourcing track.
Of course, not all freelancers you find on outsourcing sites like oDesk and Elance are going to be bad, but are you willing to take the risk that it won�t happen to you?
Use an experienced website designer and developer who is local, so you can talk to them, communicate with regularly, and one that handles the whole job, from end to end so you can focus on what matters most running your business.
