In today’s highly competitive competitive digital marketplace a business can’t survive without a unique strong online presence. If you are into hiring an e-commerce development company, a custom web development company or any business website, the choice of right web development outsourcing company is going to decide whether or not your project succeeds. However, choosing the right partner key when you are outsourcing web development. The outsourcing partner should be familiar with your business goals and have the ability to produce high quality work.
There are so many outsourcing companies to choose from, how can you know you’ve selected the right outsourcing partner for your business? In this my blog post let’s walk through to help you choose the right web development outsourcing company and make your project successful.
- Now define the requirements of your project.
When it comes to finding the best web development outsourcing company, you need to know what you’re searching in the first place. Narrowing outsourcing partners down, will help you define the project scope, objectives and timeline that you are looking for.
Questions to Answer:
What problem or need your website or application solve. Is it e-commerce platform, a content management system (CMS), a blog or custom application?
Which features or functionalities are necessary (e.g., high performance, SEO optimization, integration with a payment gateway, responsive design)?
Do you need your website to be localized or optimized for multiple languages and regions, and who is your audience you are targeting?
How much can you spend, and how quickly do you want it finished?
The more clarity in these details the better to evaluate potential companies to outsource to and what their capacity is to meet your specific needs.
- The next thing to look for is Relevant Experience.
Experience and expertise in the type of web development you outsource are one of the most critical facts to consider when you are looking for an outsourcing company. Each company has a different area of specialty: some might be really good at building e-commerce sites, others — mobile first design, SaaS solutions, custom enterprise application, etc.
What to Look For:
Industry Experience: In finding a company to work for, look for a company that has worked on similar projects to yours, or even within your industry. Say, if you are building e-commerce site, then you do need a partner which knows the ins and outs of shopping cart integrations, payment processings, product catalog management, etc.
Technology Stack: Check that the company has expertise in the same technologies and programming languages that would work for your project. A couple of common web development technologies include HTML, CSS, JavaScript (React, Angular, Vue), PHP, Ruby on Rails, Python, and libraries like Laravel, and Django. So, if you want a mobile app to be built, see what they know when it comes to React Native, Swift or Kotlin.
Portfolio of Past Projects: The company’s portfolio needs to be reviewed. Their work quality, their design, and the fact that they can execute your project or something very close to it is reflected from a strong portfolio. It also gives you an insight into how creative and or problem solving these people are.
Client Testimonials and Case Studies: Don’t blindly go by the portfolio only: look for some client testimonial, review or case study. Get in touch with the past clients to find out more about the outsourcing company’s delivery quality, communication and project management.
- Communications and Collaborations Skills to Evaluate
Any web development project is in need of effective communication to be fully successful. However, poor communication can result in mistaken information, delays, and costly mistakes. When it comes to outsourcing, you will most likely be working with teams in different time zones and cultures, so you need to be able to assess your potential partner’s capabilities of communication.
What to Consider:
Response Time: How long does it take for the company to reply to your initial question? If you get a timely response, it is a good indication that they really know what they’re doing and they’re committed.
Communication Channels: Make sure the company uses communication tools (Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, email — you get it) that fits with what you like. Feedback sessions, check ins and updates are highly important to keep the project on track.
Language Proficiency: Make sure you can speak your team’s language fluently, so that they clearly understand your requirements. Language barriers can lead to miscommunication and slow down progress on the project.
Project Management: Does the company have organised project management tools instead (Jira, Trello or Asana) ? Using a transparent projekt management system means you are able to track progress, timelines, and deliverables from the beginning of the development process.
- Has the ability to Assess Technical and Security Capabilities.
Security is an increasing concern within web development projects, and they therefore require a high level of technical expertise. No matter if you are dealing with sensitive customer data, you have to connect with payments systems or you need to make sure your business is compliant with the regulations such as GDPR, the outsourcing company has to have a very effective security policy and technical resources.
What to Look For:
Security Practices: Make sure the outsourcing company is utilizing best practices for web security for example, use of the SSL certificate, data encryption, secure login mechanisms, etc. Ask them how they test for security and how they deal with vulnerabilities.
Code Quality and Testing: Ask them about their coding standards and their testing processes. Web development companies with good reputation perform a comprehensive testing (unit tests, QA testing, performance testing) to deliver a bug free, highly scalable and high performing website or application.
Scalability and Performance: Find out how the company handles scalability when growth comes. Is the web site able to deal with a lot more visitors? And are they using performance optimization techniques like image compression, caching, and CDN implementation?
Compliance: If you have regulations (for example GDPR and HIPAA) to follow with your website or app, make sure that the outsourcing company has some experience working with these requirements and can add the necessary compliance features to your project.
- Additionally, Have a look at Their Approach to Project Management and Timelines
Web development projects grow larger and turn more complex, requiring greater thought, more planning, management and quicker delivery of results. If you work with an outsourcing company that uses a structured approach to project management, you can trust they’ll keep your project on schedule by meeting the deadlines.
Key Factors to Consider:
Agile Methodology: Agile development practices that steer development on an iterative basis coupled with frequent feedback loops are adopted by many of the top outsourcing companies. With this approach, you get flexibility and can be sure that the final product is build according to your needs.
Clear Milestones and Deadlines: A reliable firm will supply you with a timeline that explains what occurs in each stage of the assignment (discovery, design, development, testing, launch). You will have updates regularly and a transparent process on how you will keep being informed on the project.
Post-Launch Support: Ask what kind of post launch support and maintenance are offered. Will they keep on updating the website with hosting cost, bug fixes and with technical support after the website is live? Ensure you are provided with a comprehensive, post launch plan, that can be used to monitor how the work scales in performance and resolve any issues, plus consider how it could be updated in the future.
- Evaluate Value for money v. Cost
An important factor for choosing an outsourcing partner is cost, however, that should not be the only reason. You often can’t just go for the cheapest option, but that doesn’t mean spending more means you will get more. Instead, you would be thinking about partnering with someone who will give you the best value for your money.
Considerations:
Pricing Model: Find out how the company works with their pricing. Outsourcing companies charge either by the hour or by project scope – at a fixed price. Always be sure that you understand how they price and how you pay before signing on the dotted line.
Transparent Billing: Make sure you aren’t paying fees you don’t know about or an unexpected cost. The outsourcing company you rely on will provide transparent pricing and will outline precisely what is included in the contract (i.e. development hours, testing, post launch support).
Return on Investment (ROI): Outsourcing can save costs, but this does not mean that it should not also be evaluated for its long term value to the project. A well built website can make your business money faster through better user engagement, better SEO rankings and increased conversions.
- You have to start small and build a relationship.
After you’ve narrowed down your candidates of the web development outsourcing companies to collaborate with, it’s a good idea to start small with a smaller project or a pilot phase. This makes it easy for you to assess their quality of work, communication, and their ability to meet deadlines before embarking on a full blown project.
Starting small helps you to test the waters and can help you build a relationship with the outsourcing company too. This can help set you up for future large and complex web development endeavours, if you are successful with the smaller project.
Conclusion
Picking the right web development outsourcing company is a crucial one that can make or break your digital strategy. How to find a project partner? That depends on your project requirements, what the company specializes in, communication and security practices, as well as the approach to project management.
Outsourcing web development isn’t about saving on the costs; It’s about hiring someone who can help your team bring value, expertise and reliability to the project. If you follow the above guidelines, you are certainly on your way in choosing the right web development outsourcing company that will elevate your business, and deliver you a top-notch website or application, which delivers you results.