Outsourcing web design

The trend of outsourcing web design, software development and Internet marketing projects or part of IT departments activities gained an extreme popularity in the e-commerce domain – even if you are a small or middle size company you can easily gain benefits outsourcing.

Case: A customer want your proposal on a web site development and that’s what you do best – except for an element of the project – you are not proficient in this specific web technology. But this element is required to win this contract. What should you do in this case? A dead end: you can’t lose this contract but its unacceptable for you to hire a new employee. Or another scenario, when you need some programming for your own site but can’t spare any time to it at all. Its best for you to focus on your core competencies that generate revenue for you.

So much technology, so much competition.

Web development is an immense domain with multiple technologies involved – hardly a small development company is able to encompass everything. However, without qualified designers and developers ensuring omni-faceted expertise, it will be almost impossible for small firms to win contracts due to a lack of required expertise.

The very idea of outsourcing projects or project components may be formidable for the bulk of small operators, but consider this opportunity as a ticket to the bright future of your company.

What should be outsourced?

A small web design and development company can get seasoned in particular areas – and these are your strong suit that should be operated, the rest can be outsourced.

How to point out the tight spots in your development processes? If graphics and design for web sites is one of your challenges, then to outsource that work may be the sole way out. But paying $80 per hour to graphic artist is too much taking into account that you charge only $50 an hour, but you should look at it from the other side:

Customer wishes a Flash element created and Flash isn’t your shot and you don’t know how long the implementation will take, even approximately, and you have agreed the total project price. You stipulated 6 man-hours for Flash animation – so at a rate of $50 per hour, it will cost you $300 to implement. Even if third party designer charges $80 per hour, it can take him only 2 hours to develop, plus consultation with external designer and total $210. So, you saved almost a hundred dollars and stayed ahead saving time for other projects or elements.

If you are dedicated to web design but also responsible for accounting of your business, then you are probably lose your money. Its much cheaper to contract bookkeepers’ services. If you have free time to manage your finances it would be better and more efficient to spend it submitting tenders and marketing your business.

About the Author:
Freelancer, copywritter