How to Outsource Web Design: Tips and Tricks

Are you planning to outsource your web design project? Perhaps you are finding it hard to hire local website designers, or you are a startup that wants to build a dev team in the shortest time possible. 

The good news is getting the best web designers to work on your project is possible. However, you must diligently find the best web design outsourcing company. 

At Deazy, we understand the need for every business to hire the best dev to build their project; that is why we have written this article to provide tips on how to outsource web design work. 

Do you want to start your web design project right away? Find expert website designers from the best nearshore team to deliver your build. At Deazy, we make development easy by intelligently matching you with experienced, vetted designers.

Book a call. 

Key Points

• Outsourcing web design means hiring an external team to do all the tasks related to designing your web application. The cost of outsourcing website design depends on the designer's location, experience and your project's complexity.
• Some reasons businesses outsource web design include access to the global talent pool, reduced time to market, flexibility, reduced cost and access to the latest technologies.
• Before outsourcing to a web design company, you must consider their expertise, team size, how they communicate with clients and whether they deliver the project before the deadline.
• The steps to outsourcing web design work include defining your requirements, choosing an outsourcing model, searching for the designers and conducting interviews before signing a contract.

Why Outsource Web design - 10 Reasons To

Outsourcing web design is contracting out all the website design tasks (one-time or recurring) to an external agency. It can be arranged with an individual or a team and involve a partnership with someone in your neighbourhood or thousands of kilometres away. More businesses are outsourcing web design. Here are some reasons. 

Reach the market more quickly

Getting your software to the market quickly is necessary to stay ahead of the competition. However, the process can take months to complete if you decide to hire in-house web designers. 

From writing a job description to advertising on job portals and vetting the designers, hiring in-house will stress you and reduce focus on your business. 

If you go the easy way and outsource website designers, you will get the best experts working for you within two weeks. This means faster development and reduced time to market. 

Access to a large talent pool

One of the biggest advantages of outsourcing to a web design company is that you will have access to a large talent pool of designers. 

Since you are not limited to hiring from your location, getting a designer that has done something similar to your project is easy. 

More flexibility 

Outsourcing web designers gives you more flexibility and reduces the chance of abandoning a project. You can scale your team as your project grows, making it easy to finish tasks with an extra pair of hands. Also, you can reduce the team size after completing important tasks.

Aside from that, most web design outsourcing companies have flexible hiring options. You can hire designers on a project basis or hourly if it suits your payment plan. 

Reduce cost

Cost is another reason businesses outsource website design work. If you live in high-income locations like the United States of America, the United Kingdom or Western Europe, you will know that the hourly charges of web designers are high and can be between $75 and $100. 

Outsourcing to low living costs countries in Eastern Europe, Asia or Latin America guarantees that you hire the best talent while saving costs. 

Access to the latest technologies

Web design outsourcing companies take it upon themselves to keep up with trends by using the latest technologies and best practices when working with clients. This means that if you outsource your project, it will be developed using the latest tools and technologies. 

Quality assured

Since outsourcing companies work with only the best designers, partnering with an outsourced team means getting quality products that meet your business needs because your project will be assigned to experienced designers. 

How Much Does It Cost to Outsource Web Design? 

It depends on factors, including the vendor you outsource the work to, your project complexity and the designers' experience level. 

When outsourcing web design, price shouldn't be the only factor determining who you will hire. Cheap services can break your project and increase the time to market. 

However, suppose you outsource web designers from a country in Eastern Europe. In that case, you will enjoy cheap services compared to outsourcing from high-income locations like the US, the UK or Western Europe. 

The table below shows the hourly rates web designers in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia, Ukraine and Africa will charge. 

Your project complexity also affects the price. A simple web app with few pages and fewer features will cost less to design than a complex application with many pages and features. 

For example, a simple online store will be easier to design than a complex cryptocurrency web app that displays the latest coin prices and how prices change across different markets. 

Aside from that, the experience level of the designers affects how much it costs to outsource web design. If your project is complex, you need experienced senior designers to work on it. 

And since senior designers charge more than junior or mid-level, you will pay more for the services. 

What to Look for in a Web Design Outsourcing Company

How do you choose the right partner when outsourcing web design? Here are things to look for in a web design outsourcing company. 

Expertise

It would be best to outsource to an agency with a track record of delivering high-quality web design projects. 

One way to do that is by checking their portfolio and reading reviews. Portfolios will help you assess the vendor experience, while reviews will indicate if previous clients are satisfied with the services. 

When examining portfolios, pay attention to the technology used and if the outsourced team has done something similar to your project. 

Clear communication

The right web design outsourcing partner will be available to answer questions, clarify issues and discuss your project requirements. That is why communication is essential when outsourcing web designers. 

If the company creates an excellent product but doesn't communicate progress with you, it can cause confusion and friction between you and the team. Ensure the company offers good customer service and support.

Team size 

Another thing to look for in a web design outsourcing company is team size and capacity. This is important because it takes more than one expert to design and develop a web application. 

Ensure that the team has experts with skills across tech stacks who can help you handle your project. Also, you should ensure the company can scale your team according to the workload. 

Timely delivery

Outsource to a web design company with a track record of delivering projects before the deadline. This is important because missing deadlines will slow down the pace of development and increase the time to market. 

Cost-effective

This doesn't mean you should outsource designers based on how cheap they can work for you. That will be a big mistake because cheap services can translate to low-quality software products. 

Cost-effective outsourcing means hiring a web design partner that provides high-quality services within your budget. You can always look for top-quality web designers in Eastern Europe, Asia or Latin America. 

Web Design Outsourcing Models 

There are several models you can explore when outsourcing website design. You can engage onsite or onshore designers from within your country or outsource nearshore or offshore web designers.

• Onsite. Onsite designers are like your permanent employees because they work from your office. However, they are managed by an external outsourcing agency. Like hiring in-house designers, onsite website designers can easily collaborate with your team and complete tasks. You can outsource onsite if you want more control over the project. But you have to consider the high hourly rates. 
• Onshore. Onshore web design outsourcing is when you engage designers located in your country who will work remotely. Since you and the designers are in the same country and time zones, you will share the same work culture. Aside from that, the designers will understand your language and be able to communicate with you on your project. One setback of outsourcing onshore is the cost. Since you and the designers share the same living costs, they will charge a higher hourly rate than nearshore or offshore designers. 
• Nearshore. Nearshore website designers are managed by an external agency in a nearby country. Nearshoring allows you to hire designers in a similar time zone at a much cheaper hourly rate. Businesses can collaborate with a nearshore team since they are a few hours ahead and finish tasks without waiting hours before team members reply to emails.
• Offshore. In offshore web design outsourcing, you engage designers in a team thousands of miles away. Offshoring makes it easy for firms in the USA or the UK to hire designers from countries in Asia or Eastern Europe. The advantage of offshoring is that you will pay less since the designers are in low-income countries. But the setback of engaging offshore web designers is the time zone difference. They can be seven or eight hours ahead, making it difficult for you to collaborate with the designers in real-time. 

Mistakes to Avoid When Outsourcing Web Design

To get the best quality software product, you must ensure you don't make mistakes when choosing an outsourcing company to work with. That is why it is crucial to consider some mistakes to avoid when outsourcing web design. 

Most businesses will settle for the cheapest web designers to cut costs and save money. However, that is not the best thing to do if you want the best web application that meets your business requirements and exceeds your customers' expectations. We understand that these are tough financial times for many businesses, but when you outsource cheap web designers, you pay for what you get; basic design with little functionality. 

This is another mistake most businesses make when outsourcing web design. You must research the web design outsourcing company to ensure you work with the best. Also, doing thorough research by reading reviews from past clients will help you avoid agencies with poor customer service and substandard web design. 

While hiring designers based on cheap hourly rates is not an option, you should ensure you pay the right amount for the project. Not every business needs a $75,000 website. Just because the outsourcing agency quotes a high price doesn't mean they will do the best work. Most agencies inflate their prices to appear as if they are better than they are. Knowing what to expect when outsourcing is a good way to avoid paying too much. 

Most startups make the mistake of engaging web designers without understanding their needs. Your business needs should determine your website design and its functionality. Not knowing your specific needs will make it difficult to get the functionality and design elements you hope for. 

How to Outsource Web Design Work Step-by-Step

Outsourcing web design isn't simple, especially if you want to work with the best team. That is why you should follow these steps to get it done correctly.

Know Your Requirements 

Before you start searching for web designers, you must know your requirements. What kind of web app do you want? Do you want a business website or an e-commerce platform to sell thousands of products? Will your website have custom features such as chats? Will you integrate a payment gateway? 

When you know the kind of web app you want, you can then define your expectations. List all your project's deliverables so you would know how much to pay for the work. 

Choose a Hiring Model

Now that you know the different hiring models, you can choose the best that suits you. You can choose onsite or onshore outsourcing if you want to outsource designers from your country. But if you want to outsource web designers from another country, nearshore and offshore outsourcing are two options. 

Search for Web Designers

If you want to outsource freelance web designers, you can search for them using any freelance platform. However, businesses prefer to outsource web designers from an agency. 

Hiring from an outsourced team is the best option because you don't have to waste time vetting. Aside from that, outsourcing companies like Deazy will intelligently match the right expert with your project. 

Check Expertise and Social Proof

Check the designers' portfolios and ensure that past projects match your requirements. Aside from that, read their case study to understand their work methodology. This will help you know their design process and deliverables standards. 

Read the references on their site and social media accounts, and if possible, verify the identity of the individuals. 

Conduct Interviews

If you outsource freelance website designers, you must conduct interviews to confirm their technical and soft skills. During the interview, ask questions that are relevant to your project. 

Note the designers’ tones, attitudes and views on deadlines. You can give the web designers a test project to confirm their technical skills if possible. You should check the web designers’ experiences, skills and past projects if you outsource from an agency. 

Also, ensure the agency has the same work culture as your business and is open to feedback. Some outsourcing agencies prefer to work independently, so if you intend to be in control of your project, you should let them know at this stage. 

Sign a Contract

A contract prevents conflict, mitigates risks and serves as a record of commitment for you and the outsourced designers. The contract should contain the depth of work, the deliverables, deadlines and the resources you will provide to help get the work done. 

Also, it should include how you will communicate with the team and how often you will provide updates. You should clarify the payment mode and the total amount for the job, and when you will pay it. Also, specify the date you expect to receive all the deliverables in the contract. 

Outsource Web Design from Deazy

Ready to outsource web design work? Get started today by partnering with the best web design outsourcing company. 

At Deazy, we have an ecosystem of vetted experts. From hiring pre-vetted web designers to developers, project managers, quality assurance engineers and software testers, we help businesses quickly find all the needed experts. 

We offer flexibility, so you can explore different engagement models and choose one that seamlessly integrates with your business at every stage. 

And to ensure high-quality service, our experienced account managers will support your team and oversee the project at every step. Book a call today!

Conclusion 

Outsourcing web design work is one method businesses can use to hire designers without going through the laborious process of hiring permanent employees. But when outsourcing website design, you should ensure you apply due diligence and vet the designers before you sign a contract. 

To do that, you must define your project requirements, choose a hiring model, search for designers and conduct interviews. Don't have the time to go through all those steps? Why not let the experts help you out? Book a call and tell us your project requirements!