As a WordPress Developer, I don’t work with jobs done by other developers and websites built on Page Builders. My previous experiences dealing with similar projects had been really really bad. As an SEO Specialist and custom WordPress Developer, I put quality and security as my top priorities.
This article is not a dig at outsourcing or developers abroad. I will rather focus on the common myths that people have when outsourcing. I will also highlight that hiring local developers doesn’t guarantee success either. So, I don’t have any bias towards outsourcing.
I have dealt and managed an offshore team, and it has worked like a charm in most of the cases. But my personal experience with freelance developers had been mixed - some good and some very bad. I have met some exceptionally talented developers too.
In this article I will cover some of the common myths about outsourcing.
Outsourcing is cheaper
I won’t be lying. I used to think the same. Outsourcing is cheaper. It used to be, but it ain’t cheaper anymore. Let me tell you why.
With the rise in remote work, Freelance WordPress Developers had the opportunity to work from home and from preferred locations. Well, why should location be important for result driven projects? Companies these days don’t mind remote work, provided quality work is delivered.
Developers who know their skill sets along with their unique selling points have been the ones rewarded with the shift in trends. And they have priced them to fit their skill sets and demands. This has given rise to quote higher. And they know their worth.
In short if you are looking for skilled and proven developers, outsourcing won’t be cheaper. I won’t be lying. I have got higher quotes from developers and SEO Specialists from abroad than from the locals. It is justifiable based on their skills and experience, but the old mindset of outsourcing can be cheaper isn’t legit anymore.
But if you aren’t worried about quality of work and getting your website live is only the priority, then outsourcing can be a lot cheaper. But, then again I have seen some jobs done by highly rated freelancers, which were below average.
It’s easy to find a good developer
If you outsource your jobs, finding a good developer at a reasonable budget is highly unlikely. Let me explain.
There are good freelance web developers out there. I have had chats with a few agencies who outsource their work, and they have built a reliable team around them. But, building a team of good developers takes a lot of picking and testing to assemble the right team. Generally, the statistics are out of every 5 outsourced developers, 1 will turn out good.
If you have patience and caliber to choose and assemble a team, outsourcing for a long time can be very rewarding. But it takes a fair bit of effort.
Communication won’t be an issue
Communication is critical for the success of any project. When it comes to outsourcing, communication is even important.
I have come across a fair bit of enquiries where communication has been a major issue for the project deliverables. This becomes an even bigger issue when you don’t have your wordpress web design finalized and trying to communicate with your developer based on the sample template or reference websites. You have to understand with sample templates, they have good images, videos, content strategy etc which in normal case without approved design is hard to explain and implement.
Local market knowledge isn’t a key
Local market knowledge is another key element when people don’t think about outsourcing.
If your website is part of your digital marketing strategy and brings some percentage of revenue to your business, hiring a developer with some of the local market is important. So make sure to ask this question when hiring your next developer.
Conclusion
Outsourcing can be rewarding. A lot of agencies do that and even the bigger companies.
But finding a good team or developer takes time. I have to admit that in most of the cases, there is a chance of making a wrong choice, but I have come across brilliant teams and developers, as good as or in some case even better than the local developers.
