When businesses cement their brand and begin considering their online presence, it’s natural for the topic of web development to come up at some point or another. Websites need to clarify to consumers everything a company has to offer and factor in the user experience. Services need to be clear and company culture should be apparent within a website that provides a thorough overview of everything a consumer needs to know. This is why website development is so crucial, and leads many businesses to outsource their web development products to ensure that everything is created in an optimized manner. But what is web development outsourcing, and should a company rely on outsourcing rather than completing these tasks in-house?

In this article, Ecliptic Ideas explores the benefits of sourcing web development products to ensure your website is everything you need to support growth and long-term profits. With Ecliptic Idea’s helpful guide, you’ll be closer to understanding how to outsource web development to create a successful and effective website.

While some companies that are first considering whether or not to outsource web development projects might be hesitant to choose this path, outsourcing has only increased in popularity. The majority of large companies outsource their web development tasks because the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. One of the biggest reasons companies both large and small have begun outsourcing web development is because they gain access to many technologies without needing to build them from the ground up. Compared to the hefty costs of paying in-house developers, outsourcing web development can be a cost-effective solution. Some of the most attractive benefits of outsourcing web development include:

• Save Money: It can take a village to tackle all of the tasks involved in a full-scale web development project, and hiring all of the helping hands can be incredibly expensive . Especially when considering the overall budget and the time and resources needed to train a web development team, companies can restore a substantial portion of their budget by simply outsourcing their web development.
• More time to focus on other functions: Web development can be a time-consuming project, and by outsourcing web development needs companies can spend less time on creating a functional website and more time optimizing the functions created by an outsourced web developer. Companies can take their websites one step further within a reliable infrastructure set in motion from the outsourced team.
• Get expert help: When outsourcing web development projects, companies gain access to an expansive selection of experts that can listen to their needs and deliver a website that surpasses expectations. Searching for an in-house developer not only costs more time and money, but can also limit a company’s experience by receiving only one team’s input and insight.
• Up-to-date Practices: When a company hires a web development team, that team won’t need to be trained on new systems, they likely are already implementing all modern web development processes. The best web development practices can change drastically over time, and companies need to stay up to date to ensure their website doesn’t become dated, or worse, lacking functionality.
• Get projects done faster: Web development can be a hefty project, and by outsourcing a web development team, you can rely on a speedy and efficient workflow. These teams are expected to complete the project in a timely manner, which is valuable when considering the full-scale of work that needs to be completed.
• Mitigate Risk: Outsourcing web development is perfect for companies that would like to avoid the many risks with the developmental stages. The development team has a defined contract of tasks, which effectively eliminates the headaches involved with missed deadlines, website restrictions, and faulty project building.

Now that we’ve explored some of the major benefits of outsourcing web development projects, let’s cover how to actually outsource. For those that haven’t outsourced web development projects before this might seem like an overwhelming task, but in actuality outsourcing eliminates many of the hassles of web development by handing over the project to an external team of experts. Here are some of the best practices when outsourcing web development so that you can guarantee your project is successfully executed.

Before outsourcing a web development project, make sure you clearly know everything that needs to be done before you look for a vendor to handle your project. By having established goals, companies can be better prepared for any potential problems that arise during the development phases. Companies should have a clear picture of their desired time frame and budget of the project before going out to vendors.

When exploring vendor options for outsourcing, it’s important to do your research first. There is a wide variety of web development teams out there, and with all those options it’s crucial to know who you’ll be working with to properly anticipate the project’s outcome. You need to make sure the web development company chosen can properly accommodate and handle your project to operate within your current systems.

When it comes to completing any web development project, healthy communication should always be at the core of each stage. Companies need to understand how incredibly important it is to be clear with the web development team regarding the full-scale of work that needs to be done and how it should be completed. By leaving things open to interpretation, companies can experience a wide variety of unwanted issues that could be easily avoided.

Within the same thought of communicating project goals to your web development team, it’s equally important that those goals are actually attainable. By establishing goals that have clear beginning, midding, and end phases, companies are more likely to receive a project that aligns with their needs. Don’t set up your outsourced web development team up for failure, as rectifying those mistakes is likely more work than is necessary.

Communication is key when it comes to working with any web development team, and just because you were great at communicating attainable goals and project needs with the developer doesn’t mean that they should be left on an island to get the job done. Companies need to stay in constant communication with the development team to make sure the project is on track and any issues are handled. This is a simple way to make sure the project is not only completed, but can be modified based on any ongoing issues addressed along the way.

Some companies might think that once an outsourced web development team has wrapped up a project that their relationship is complete. This shouldn’t be the case because the development team is still the mind behind many functions of the website, so it’s highly valuable to continue working with the same company after the project is completed to ensure the project is functioning correctly. If any issues arise after the project has been completed, the development team is the best source of a speedy solution, and these teams can likely handle many maintenance issues as well.

Lastly, when it comes to approaching an outsourced web development project, it’s important to understand the difference between offshoring and nearshoring. As we mentioned, there is a large variety of options for companies to utilize when choosing a web developer, and offshoring and nearshoring are two camps of thought when selecting a team. Many companies will prefer to save as much money as possible when establishing a web development budget, which is why offshoring has become so common. Offshoring is a cost-effective choice to outsourcing which involves choosing a web development team to a vendor in a distant country, most commonly China, India, or the Philippines. The talent pool for these countries tend to be more affordable, which is great for companies looking to keep expenses low. The only drawback to offshoring is the difference in time zones and potential language barriers, but offshoring remains one of the most attractive options.

Nearshoring is similar to offshoring, but involves choosing a web developer from a nearby country, most commonly a neighboring country that is within the same continent. Nearshoring is a great option for companies that may wish to have face-to-face contact with the web development team, or even travel to the web developer’s country at a lower cost than offshoring. Nearshoring is incredibly valuable to those who have more hands-on control over the web development project while still saving on cost by outsourcing to a more affordable location.

When beginning a web development project, it’s important to consider the many advantages of choosing to outsource the process. Especially for companies that would like to maintain control over a project while focusing on other functions at the same time, outsourcing a vendor is highly recommended. Ecliptic Ideas is a great resource for web development projects, with a large selection of services that can elevate the way companies approach their web development. Our experienced team of experts is ready and equipped to handle web development tasks, with our customers able to trust we’ll get the job done every time. Contact Ecliptic Ideas today to learn more!