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Typically, this is a particularly pressing issue for most companies no matter the size when building websites or other web products.
And we know one thing for sure: web development outsourcing is no doddle. That is why we’ve come up with a comprehensive guide that will educate you on how to outsource web development wisely. Among other things, this article will unveil its major benefits and prompt you to choose the best web development service provider.
Let’s get started.
4 Steps To Outsource Web Development Services
Venturing off into your own outsourcing journey from scratch may be intimidating. So how do you outsource web development? To avoid disappointment and set up the endeavor for success, make sure you follow the four steps curated by our web development services company:
1. Define your needs
Even before contacting a web outsourcing team, you should gain a clear vision of your needs and project scope. Just like a hairdresser, development teams do not read minds, that is why you should finalize the following points:
- Chart out the project tasks
- Get straight with the technologies, features, and estimated budget
- Sum up the pros and cons of choosing an in-house team or outsourced specialists
Overall, try to cloud your needs and preferences into as many words as possible, since upfront clear requirements are half the battle in the tech world.
2. Prepare for outsourcing
So you’ve set your mind on outsourcing. Web development outsourcing is brimming with opportunities and benefits ranging from cost savings to development speed-up. That is why you should clearly envision which wound outsourced services are going to aid-band.
Scarce talent pool? No development team? Tight budget? Or does your in-house team lack the capacity to build a product in a short time? Whatever your weak point is, you should identify it to successfully hand over your project.
3. Look for the partner
After you’ve defined your needs from both a business and a technical standpoint, the next step is to find your web dev outsourcing vendor. Make sure none of the following aspects skips your mind:
- Choose the type of outsourcing
There are three main types of outsourcing based on proximity – onshore, offshore, or nearshore. Onshore outsourcing facilitates easy communication, whereas offshore and nearshore offer convenient costs. - Pick your outsourcing destination
The most popular outsourcing powerhouses are located in Eastern Europe, Asia, Central, or South America. - Locate the country
Narrow down your search by monitoring the number of development specialists and average pricing. - Find your web development outsourcing vendor
Make sure you liaise with several web development companies to choose a well-suited partner. In order to evaluate a potential vendor check out his portfolio, tech specialization, and capabilities. We’ll get into the nitty-gritty of the selection process further in the article. - Define an outsourcing model
There are several IT services outsourcing models to choose from, based on your unique needs. The most popular engagement models include outsourcing, IT staffing, dedicated team, and staff augmentation. You can find out more about outsourcing models in our guide to software development outsourcing.
4. Create effective communication with an outsourcing team
Once you have successfully assembled your team, make sure to forge a stable contact with your specialists. In particular, you should decide on the Project Manager figure (it may be you, your in-house employee, or an outsourced PM). Also, you have to assign responsibilities and roles within your team, cherry-pick the methodology, and choose the person accountable for setting deadlines and priorities.
Now let’s focus on the major benefits that outsourced web development services help you to reap.
Outsourcing Web Development Cost
The cost of outsourcing website development depends on the type of website, team, and region. The project complexity greatly influences the development cost. eCommerce websites take more time to develop than news websites. The more complex the project and the more functionalities you need, the higher price you will pay.
The type of team is another crucial aspect when determining the development cost. The experienced outsourcing agency is the most effective solution for your web development.
Outsource web development price varies in different regions and countries. Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia, and the United States are the most popular outsourcing regions. It’s believed that cheap development services from East European countries are of low quality. But the hourly rate of IT engineers is tightly connected to the cost of living in these countries.
An average hourly rate is $50, but let’s take a closer look at how web development rates range in various countries.
So, website development may cost you from $20,000 to $90,000 with a $45 hourly rate. Eastern European countries are the best choice to outsource web development in terms of price, service quality, favorable business environment, a large talent pool of expert developers, a high level of English, and good communication skills.
Factors Influencing Outsourcing Web Development Price
Many factors impact outsourcing website development, including the timeline, the project complexity, the number of people involved, their expertise, and the region. And at the same time, certain crucial factors influence the web development price in each region. Let’s find out more about them!
Cost of Living
The country’s cost of living and purchasing power determine the website development price. Countries with low costs of living offer cheap development services. For example, let’s compare the average cost of living in Western and Eastern European countries. We will see that hiring IT engineers from Georgia, Ukraine, or Poland is more cost-efficient. Ukraine has a 30.70 cost of living index, while France has 65.55.
Taken from: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp
Supply and Demand
According to the statistics, the number of software developers in the US is expected to increase from 200,000 in 2022 to 230,000 by 2032. The number of engineers is rapidly growing in other countries as well. Thus, it’s better to hire talents from regions with lots of talents, as due to the unlimited supply, the labor cost is lower there.
Salary Range
Another crucial factor influencing the outsourcing website development price is the salary range. It depends on the average and median salaries in the outsource country you choose for collaboration. Compare salaries in different regions and countries and convert them into dollars. Web developers in North America get $6,500 per month, while Polish developers earn $4,500.
Taxation System
To outsource web development effectively, you should have at least four major experts on your team. Let’s find what they should specialize in to ensure the best web development results.
- Project Manager: This person is your team’s head, planning and monitoring the project’s success. The PM is responsible for deadlines, budget, and communication with the team and the client. They analyze and manage project risks to avoid them and minimize their impact.
- Backend Developer: A backend developer is another important position in your team. These specialists are responsible for the server side of our web applications. Their primary concerns are coding and debugging for high performance and scalability. A back-end developer should collaborate with a front-end developer to generate functional codes.
- Front-End Developer: The main job responsibility of this specialist is to ensure flawless user experience, building the client side of the project. A front-end developer determines the structure and design of web pages. They will optimize the web website and ensure its high speed. This expert helps backend developers with coding and troubleshooting.
- Designer: It’s another crucial role in your team. A designer is in charge of creating an appealing product look and attracting customers. They will make your project look the way you plan it in your mind. This person nurtures creativity and determines the success of your project.
Best Outsourcing Software Development Countries
Hiring a web developer from an outsourcing country, you should consider their command of English, level of tech education, soft skills, mentality, experiences, cost of services, time zone differences, cultural differences, and resource availability. It sounds challenging for starters, but if you wonder how to outsource web development successfully, here is a list of top countries you can hire specialists.
Poland
Poland is at the top of our list of IT outsourcing countries because many developers have advanced tech skills. A lot of international companies collaborate with Polish specialists, like Samsung and Intel. The most popular programming languages are Java, Ruby, and Python. Polish developers have a good command of English, and you will have no problems communicating with them due to cultural differences.
Ukraine
If you plan to outsource website development, Ukraine is a great option, thanks to 170,000 web developers and 750 IT services companies. In Ukraine, popular programming languages are JavaScript, Java, C#, and Python. Developers specialize in blockchain technologies, AI, and cryptocurrency. The command in English is sufficient for communication but not advanced.
Georgia
It’s easy to outsource in Georgia due to the ease of doing business in this country and the high human development index. The country’s population has moderate English proficiency. You will save money on taxes and create a company with minimal requirements.
Azerbaijan
Though the talent pool of web developers in Azerbaijan is much smaller than in Poland or Ukraine, it is growing at a fast pace. Besides, the competition among employers is lower here than in those outsourcing hubs. The governmental initiatives aimed at the IT sphere development boost the availability of state-of-the-art hardware and skilled engineers.
Devox Software has software development centers in each of those four countries. Thus, we have access to a talent pool of around 1,000,000 software developers, including web development professionals. Therefore, we can swiftly find the specialists you need. Thanks to the socio-economic peculiarities of the region, we can hire knowledgeable and experienced specialists at affordable hourly rates of around $40-55.
Outsourcing, Outstaffing, and In-House Team Work Models
If you plan to outsource web development, it is vital to analyze the main work models. Each model has its pros and cons, so we’ll try to find which is the best for you.
The Outsourcing Model
This working model is great in terms of cost-effectiveness and the development process organization. You will have a fully staffed team of experts working on your project. It’s perfect for web development from scratch as the client entrusts the development process with the outsourced agency. You may face remote collaboration challenges because of limited control and lack of transparency.
The Outstaffing Model
Outstaffing is the cheapest solution that is perfect for short-term projects. The hiring process is easy and flexible. Clients will have full-time access to the team and completely control the development process. Outstaffing has some cons, including communication issues. Moreover, you have to deal with project management.
The In-House Team Model
When choosing this work model, you can benefit from high security, smooth communication, and full control over the web development process. All your developers will work in one place, pursuing a common goal. However, the cost of hiring an in-house team is high. It’s not a good solution for short-term projects.
Each project is unique, and we cannot give a universal answer for everyone which model is the best. Analyze the pros and cons of these work models and decide which one will work the best for you.
Devox Software teams have experience working with all these models. We can gladly advise you on choosing the best option for your business needs.
10 Benefits Of Web Development Outsourcing
Outsource web development may pay off in many ways, including cutting the costs, tapping into the cream-off-the-top talent, or making your team scalable. However, potential benefits usually stem from the gaps that outsourcing services are expected to fill.
Let’s say, you are based in a small European country where local developers predominantly work with a limited tech stack. It means that outside services will allow you to ramp up your team with additional technological expertise, which turns out to be the main benefit for your particular company. Therefore, you should provide your outsourcing vendor with clear objectives.
1. Access to top talents
Outsourcing grants you entrance to a team of knowledgeable web developers who can make your life easier and contribute to your project’s success. And unlike the traditional recruitment process that may take up to 48 days, the outsourced option gets a move on the process.
Access to this broader skillset means you can farm out the functions to various specialists, such as:
- Front-end and back-end web developers
- UI/UX designers
- Project managers, and so on.
Regardless of your business needs, outsource web development will open up new recruiting opportunities to help you succeed.
2. Jump-start the development project
Who rules the (tech) world? Time. Outsourcing gives you the opportunity to scale up and down your team as needed and implement a project quickly. Of course, this is possible only if you already have an in-house team ready to go once you fill in the tech gap. This way, you can validate your business idea, work faster, and elevate your project in no time.
3. Simplified and supersonic hiring process
Unlike the lengthy and document-heavy traditional in-house hiring, outsource web development features job-specific hiring options within the shortest possible time frame. The whole recruitment process usually takes around a few weeks compared to months of seeking the perfect candidate in house. On top of it, outsourcing exempts companies from numerous miscellaneous, hidden, and not so obvious expenses.
4. Maximized flexibility
Third-party services allow businesses to become more flexible in their recruiting policy and overall business workflow. Even the most thought-out projects may end up behind schedule, need some change of plan, or other additional activities. Thus, you can staff up and down your team on demand, even if you need a couple or two of on-call experts like QAs and DevOps.
5. Cost-cutting
Hiring extra employees for short-term or secondary projects can be very onerous, besides, temporary employees often fall short of your expectations. Outsourcing lets you concentrate your human forces where you need them most. Among other things, you will get quality services that are offered at affordable costs.
It is not only the lower salaries that are reducing expenses but various other factors like lower rental offices, electricity rates, and different Internet bills. Also, you don’t have to invest in infrastructure as the vendor takes over the business processes and hence builds infrastructure for the same.
6. Expertise
It is faster and less time-consuming to hand over a job to an established professional than having to look for, recruit, and train a newly-hired. You can also tap into a diverse candidate pool with all levels of development experiences, well-versed in rare tech stacks and cross-field projects.
7. Hands-on experience
Outsourced specialists possess profound knowledge and acumen of the web development work and have vast experience in that field. So instead of training your in-house worker on a specific skill they don’t know a thing about, access a higher level of skill with outsource web development services. These developers have years of experience in their area, exposing you to insights a fresh hire wouldn’t be able to provide for the price. Thus, you can raise the bar and get the work done in a fast and efficient way.
8. Focus on core business activities
Outsourcing allows you to keep your attention where it matters the most without getting sidetracked with add-on tasks. When management farms out non-core activities, the company can lay value on the core competency and deliver high-quality products into the market. You get to choose your agenda, instead of spending time on routine complaints.
9. Scale-up without overhiring
Overhiring is a mortal blow that can derail even previously successful businesses. Aside from expenses, when you’ve employed out of ego rather than demand, unwelcome aftermaths will start to surface. Outsourcing is your hocus-pocus that augments your team when needed and makes pain-free cutbacks once the project is over.
10. Increased time to market
Using outsource web development services to fulfill your business needs significantly reduces the time needed for the product to hit the market. Outsourced developers already follow bulletproof practices and well-defined workflow, while possessing the needed equipment for your project to run at full throttle.
Now let’s go over to the practical tips on how to pick a perfect web development provider.
7 Criteria To Choose The Best Outsource Web Development Company
Before making the call, you should put your choice under the microscope and run every potential vendor through the following check-list:
1. Subject-matter expertise
Looking for an outsourcing team requires a big chunk of time and resources. Wasting months and hours of filling a development house in, only to discover that the team lacks the necessary skills to deliver, represents a low kick for performance.
That is why when you have shortlisted a few companies, start by meticulously studying the essence of their expertise and the exact sets of skills they put forward. The main point is to choose a partner that is confident about delivering on time and can contribute to your project by filling it up with prowess.
2. Development experience
You should also consider how long the outsourcing development team has been in the tech game and whether it has actual experience to deliver a specific product or service to your company. It’d be perfect if the offshore software development company will be more knowledgeable than anyone in your team when it comes to the outsourced matter. Otherwise, there’s no real value in hiring the vendor — your in-house specialists can take over the project themselves.
Besides, one of the major advantages of the outsourcing model is the opportunity to hire extra specialists anytime. That is why your partner should possess solid experience in a specific niche and a variety of technology stacks.
3. Portfolio
Although some strong vendors might lack a marketing budget to get their names out there, a portfolio is what can showcase a standout vendor’s experience and its proven record of services rendered. Additionally, a selection of projects can give you a clear understanding of your partner’s domain expertise in your specific field. You can learn a lot about the vendor’s previous clients, hence you’ll be able to fetch valuable first-hand feedback.
4. Legal technicality
Vendor agreements are also important, as they act as a failsafe, outline payment arrangements, set privacy expectations, and permit an exit in case of emergency. Also, you should have a non-disclosure agreement in place which serves as the best legal tool to protect your confidential information. An NDA also allows your company to share its intellectual property with a vendor without jeopardizing that information.
Therefore, make sure that all services and products rendered are subject to intellectual property protection. Apart from this, you should also choose a vendor who conducts network and security audits on a regular basis.
5. Effective communication
Communication is the holy grail of outsourcing collaboration. Just as hard as poor communication techniques can hit your project, effective communication can set it in full gear. Articulating the new process with your vendors will eliminate speed bumps, unnecessary phone calls, and headaches. Therefore, you should plan for continuous communication right from the very beginning. Pay your attention to the vendor’s response times and assess the quality of the answers provided.
6. Established workflow
Before signing the agreement, it is important to discuss communication channels and platforms used for collaboration. Again, close contact with the outsource web development team ensures you both are on the same page and all changes are implemented in time. Also, it is also important to focus on a vendor’s repeatable pattern of development activity, including the implemented methodology. It is recommended to choose a methodology that offers a highly-collaborative environment and gives quick results.
7. Service quality
Last but not least goes the quality of the outsourced functions and products. The product or service must be delivered at a level of quality that is outlined by your business, passed on to your vendor, and used to evaluate their performance. Before outsourcing web development, find out whether the vendor provides testing and project maintenance.
Why Consider Web Development Outsourcing with Devox Software?
For your business to thrive, it is essential to opt for the best technology. Web development outsourcing is the easiest way to guarantee that you are benefiting from IT services, boosting sales, and staying ahead of the curve. Here is what sets our company apart from the competition:
Web development is our strong suit
Our experienced team of designers and developers gives your company a leg up with beautifully designed, customized, and fully functional websites equipped with user-friendly features. We use modern programming practices to craft unique web applications, providing qualitative solutions for any business target.
We understand the importance of business portfolio and testimonials
You shouldn’t accept all claims at face value, we have an impressive web development portfolio to demonstrate our skills. All customers can also glean information on our previous projects and services rendered from customer testimonials. This way, you can peek at a number of projects delivered, types of businesses assisted, and domain expertise.
A variety of engagement models suited to your preferences
Our software development company engages with clients in a number of ways, including part-time coders, dedicated team members, and offshore R&D centers. We can also offer a cohesive team ready to kick-start your project or our specialist can hand-pick required employees based on a client’s job description. Whatever your needs are, you can always request a tailor-made solution from our company.
Convenient billing schemes
Every company allocates a particular budget for outsourcing services and wants the most cost-effective option suitable for a particular project. For this reason, we offer a variety of pricing models, including Time & Material, Fixed Price, and Monthly Salary + Fee schemes. You can find out more about billing schemes here and choose the well-suited option for your particular case.
Individual approach
Web development projects are like fingerprints – no people have ever been found to have identical ones. Therefore, we never preach a one-size-fits-all approach, however, we do lean on well-established and battle-proven methodologies like Agile and Scrum. In any case, we always start the development process from a profound study of your business, project goals, and requirements. A thorough understanding of your demands helps us to recommend the optimal outsourcing model and fine-tune it to your particular case.
Transparency and accountability
Our company values transparency and connectivity, operating in a more multi-functional manner that is blurring the boundaries between business and technology. No successful and mutually satisfying experience is possible if the outsource development is not fully transparent for the clients.
Our customers are more than welcome to participate in the development project and are always kept informed, so they can make different decisions based on the current progress. Self-explanatory, our developers make use of project management tools and keep up regular communication with our customers.
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Web development can be a bother, which makes farming out the mission to a vendor sound attractive. Indeed, outsourcing can become your go-to lifesaver in swamped work times and help you go into orbit, provided you pick the right outsourcing provider. Make sure you compare chosen candidates against our checklist mentioned above, placing the biggest emphasis on domain expertise and experience, transparency, and regular communication.
