A compelling, interactive, and user-friendly website boosts your online visibility, leading to business conversions and overall success. The decision to build a website is easier than deciding who to rely on to get this job done. As an organisation, you can either do it yourself with the help of your in-house team or get it outsourced.
Some crucial factors while considering either option include the cost of website development, communication channels, expected timeline, skillsets, turnover, etc.
One wrong decision can make the entire process unnecessarily tricky; In order to develop a successful website, you must analyze every aspect and consider the importance of the website development process before coming to any conclusion. Continue reading to understand the pros and cons of outsourcing and getting an in-house web development team to know which is best suited for you.
Factors to help you decide on Outsourcing vs In-House Website Development
Here is a list of some of the factors that you must consider before deciding whether you want to build your website in-house or outsource it to a professional web development agency:
Factor to consider | In-house Team | Outsourcing |
---|---|---|
Expertise | An in-house team may have limited expertise depending upon the professional experience of your team members. | A professional web development company may be able to offer you a better expertise. They have a team of expert designers, developers, project managers, quality assurance, and others. |
Resources | An in-house team will require more allocation of resources and investment as everything has to be built from scratch here. | A professional outsourcing company will have more resources and access to technology than compared to a freelancer. This is because they manage the professional project of several clients like yours, which requires them to have access to such tools. |
Reliability | An in-house team will be more reliable and accountable to your project requirements. However, managing them will require you to have the professional skills and expertise to evaluate their work. | The reliability of an outsourced company or freelancer is always a question. However, this can be easily resolved if you hire a reputed website development company that has a good reputation in the market. Furthermore, the result of outsourcing your web development project may be more reliable as the in-house team may lack the skills and expertise that the outsourced agency has. |
Scalability | An in-house team may be able to offer you better chances of growth and scalability. This is because they will be dealing with the complex scale and sizes of projects and have to work on them on a daily basis. | Outsourcing, however, on the other hand, is a better option when the scope of your project is limited. Outsourcing hence works better for impromptu and limited project requirements and may not be feasible for projects that are required to be stretched over a long duration of time. |
Flexibility | An in-house team is more flexible to the changing scope and demands. They will work on even your last-minute changes and iterations. | Expecting such a level of flexibility with an outsourced company will not be fair. They have to align their resources and expertise basis on the scope of work. Hence they will not be able to offer as much flexibility as an in-house team. |
Outsourcing Website Development
Outsourcing means hiring another entity or organisation with experts in their field to get the work done efficiently. Numerous businesses outsource web development to increase scalability, free up their full-time staff to work on other essential company duties, or because they lack the necessary expertise. Read below to see if hiring a team of developers is a good option for your company.
Advantages of Outsourcing
1. Cost-Effective
Financially, outsourcing is indeed attractive. 70% of businesses who outsource their software development requirements do so to save costs, according to a 2020 Deloitte survey. You spend money on employing staff, educating them, and equipping them with resources for in-house development.
By outsourcing a website development project in 2023, you can save many of these costs as you are specifically paying for the services that you’re seeking. The cost of outsourcing services varies substantially due to variations in the cost of living in various nations, giving you a wide range of possibilities. Therefore, you can get your website built at much more reasonable rates.
2. Skilled Labour
Website development requires a plethora of skill sets due to multiple details and small nuances that go into the creation. You need a lot of experts to build a great website. You need a product manager to look at the development process, a keyword research expert, an SEO content writer, a copywriter who can add persuasion to your website, someone who understands design, a UI UX expert, and someone who knows how to translate a brand for consumers.
Having an expert by one’s side is the top reason companies prefer to outsource. Outsourcing thus helps you access top talents with relevant experience in their fields.
3. Flexibility
Another benefit of outsourcing work is that it gives you more service options. For instance, an outsourced team can provide you with professional expertise and a unique project outside your in-house team’s purview on a budget.
4. Quality Work
Outsourcing often guarantees the kind of work you want as the team doesn’t lack expertise or resources; hence, any possible risk is automatically reduced. Businesses can obtain resources and/or cutting-edge technologies through outsourcing that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to, which helps to ensure that operations go smoothly and boosts overall productivity.
5. Time-Efficient
You save time on hiring and training the development team when you outsource. Besides this, time-to-market and all other aspects of website development are also reduced. You can focus on your business through outsourcing, which is of prime importance.
Further, your in-house team will need time to learn new technologies and developers who you can outsource and swiftly produce the finished project. Therefore, you can save a lot of time by outsourcing.
Disadvantage of Outsourcing
1. Lack of Control
While outsourcing ensures quality work, you usually receive the final product in hand, and you need to be thoroughly updated with the microscopic details in the process. This also limits the number of changes you can make to the product, unlike the one done with the in-house team of web developers. Hence, you don’t get to micro-manage the entire development process.
2. Security Issues
Taking care of the organization’s data security is one of the biggest concerns for any company. During the process, you might have to share internal information, which, if leaked, can cost you tremendously. One way to deal with it is to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) to secure confidential information and intellectual property.
3. Miscommunication
In addition to geographical and linguistic limitations, there can be variations in organizational cultures, leading to a great deal of miscommunication and obstructions in the workflow process. When using the outsourcing method, you typically communicate with a project coordinator or manager who might not be as familiar with the technical details as a developer.
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Further, there are other challenges to outsourcing your website development project through a freelancer.
In-House Website Development
Here you delegate the work of website development to your internal employees. You don’t receive any outside assistance and utilise resources created within your business. If you select this option, you will be in charge of the complete pipeline for development and deployment. If you don’t already have an IT team, you will also be responsible for finding tech experts with the necessary experience. Some of the benefits and downsides of building an in-house web development team are listed below.
Advantages of an In-house Web Development Team
1. Face-To-Face Communication
This allows efficiency in channeling information from the employer to the developers. Any confusion can be resolved quickly as the employer closely monitors the work. This eliminates any potential mistake that is likely to happen due to miscommunication.
2. Micromanagement
Since you can easily keep track of what’s happening around you, you can thoroughly guide your employees about the micro details like the process and needs of your company. Your employees will have the upper hand as they will have prior knowledge of the company’s vision, goals, and insider knowledge.
3. Talent Development and 24/7 Support
While working closely on web development, your internal employees also develop multiple skill sets that allow you to leverage in the future.
Further, if you are getting your website developed by in-house employees, they’ll handle all the issues in the future. This means that if anything goes wrong, be it in the interface, design, performance, etc., of the website, you’ll get that urgent support from your internal developers’ team.
Disadvantages of an In-house Web Development Team
1. Keeping Employees Motivated
It doesn’t matter how good it sounds to have an in-house team; managing them and keeping them motivated is a task. A properly created environment where people feel motivated takes time, and effort is vital to ensure high-quality work and deliver the best results.
2. More Hidden Cost
This could be in the form of both human and technical resources. Sick days, health insurance, paid holidays, social security, retention cost, training cost, and other expenses are hidden expenditures. Additionally, even if the development team is not actively working post-web development, you’ll still have to pay them and can’t fire them.
3. Time-Consuming
A lack of experts in your web development team often makes the project stretch longer than required. Moreover, you also lack flexibility as the number of people gets limited. Believe it or not, relying on an internal team to develop a website is a long process, as you need to get things done from scratch. Sometimes, it entails a drawn-out procedure of posting jobs, reviewing applications, screening the applications, setting up and conducting interviews, and selecting qualified individuals.
4. Increase In Workload
The burden of present employees will surely rise if you decide to delegate additional work to them. Ultimately, you might end up compromising the quality of the website. Further, you might have to shift your focus to the web development team, thus, curbing the scope of the organization’s expansion.
Therefore, building an internal development team takes effort, time, and money.
Which one to go for – Outsourcing or In-house Website Development?
The final decision depends on your requirements and budget. Consider an in-house website development team if you wish to carry out the project long-term. On the contrary, outsourcing can be the best option if you are strict with your budget but want the best team of experts to assist you with web development.
Companies that outsource website development to a third party can get various advantages, including flexibility, scalability, cost savings, risk reduction, broader skill sets, and talent availability.
At EMB Global, we help you with website development support and other digital needs. Feel free to connect with us to get in touch with the right team of experts.
