Web development is an essential need for practically any business. After all, your online presence is often the first thing people will see when looking into your business. Whether you’re looking to build a website or web application or want some upkeep and maintenance, outsourcing is a great solution, especially if you don’t need full-time, round-the-clock services.

But all too frequently, businesses make fatal errors when outsourcing — errors that could be avoided. So, what are common pitfalls when you outsource web development, and how can you make sure you don’t fall into their trap?

For marketing and digital advertising agencies, offering Web development services is one of the best ways to stand out in a crowded field. A well designed, good working website with quality content that is regularly updated is often a starting point for any business's online success. If you are unfamiliar with working with web development companies, you may fall prey to some of the common mistakes made by many agencies.

Picking the Cheapest Option

From the tiniest startup to the most massive multinational firms, every company needs a website for their customers to find them and do business with them. Web development services are highly sought after skill these days. While it might seem like a pleasant surprise to receive a bid lower than you expected, you should also be a bit wary.

Offering a low bid may signify that your potential partner is inexperienced or isn't familiar with the market. It might also be a clue that they use developers overseas to cut costs, which can produce variable or shoddy quality work.

You compromise quality for price: When you first start to source your outsource projects, you’ll collect a variety of quotes with a variety of ranges. You may get a fixed price quote, you may get an hourly rate with a projected timeline. Whatever you receive, undoubtedly the price that will stand out will be the cheapest. You’ve probably heard this before, but do not compromise quality for price, get reviews, requests portfolios, lean towards developers who are experts/specialize in the type of development you need. There is no value, in under par work.

Instead of doing one-offs for every single deal, you land, do some due diligence, and pick a long-term partner that fits with your agency's philosophy and vision. Do a test project eventually to understand the quality and the capabilities of the partner of choice.

Using Freelancers

Using freelancers isn't necessarily bad; many of them are quite talented and produce quality work. However, it's also fair to say that you'll be taking a much more significant risk by going with a freelancer, especially one without a robust portfolio and references.

Freelancers tend to overpromise and underdeliver in terms of their skillset and capabilities. If your freelancer doesn't meet your expectations, you aren't able to meet your clients' expectations—and that's what matters for the bottom line. In other words, going with the wrong freelancers could harm your own company's reputation.

Outsourcing development to freelancers is also a risk because there's usually only a single person at the other end of the line. If your freelancer goes on vacation or gets sick, then you're left without options for the time being.

Not Doing Research

Choosing a custom web development partner is a significant business decision, so you need to do your research well in advance. Start by looking into each firm under consideration:

• What do they do? What technologies do they use, and what kind of clients do they usually work for in terms of industry, size, etc.?
• How do previous clients feel about their work? Do they have reviews, testimonials, or case studies that can demonstrate their success with similar projects?
• Are they able to scale to meet growing levels of demand as necessary? Can they provide ongoing support and maintenance after the project is complete?

By asking the right questions beforehand, you can get a clear idea of how each potential partner operates and how trustworthy and reliable they are. Be sure to ask them for references for similar projects.

Not Hammering Out the Terms of Your Contract

If you haven’t laid out service level agreements, the requirements for the project, and other factors in your contract, you could be looking at disappointment and a failure to meet expectations down the road. Make sure you have this and other important information explained in a contract signed by both parties.

For example, if you encounter hiccups that lengthen the timeline, as is a common occurrence, how will that extension affect the pricing of your project? That’s something that should be clearly stated in your contract to avoid surprises later on. 

Ignoring the importance of project objective and requirements elicitation

If you haven’t established clear goals for the project, you should wait until you have nailed down objectives that you can articulate to the web development team. Otherwise, you’re bound to be dissatisfied with the results since you won’t be able to give your developers clear directions.

A web development project needs to have an end goal. How do you want your audience to use it? What takeaways do you hope that they have from the experience? How will you determine and measure outcomes?

Think in terms of both short and long terms. Not only will this allow you to evaluate the product in the end, but it will also guide your strategy and collaboration with the outsourcing team. The goals should also complement your overall business strategy — they shouldn’t be confined to the specific project itself. 

Thinking of the Project as a One-Off

You may be outsourcing a single website or app right now, but who knows what you’ll need in the future? Rather than dismissing this project as a one-time occurrence, try to lay the foundation for a potentially longer-term partnership. If you build a solid working relationship now, the web development provider could become your go-to vendor, which will be beneficial for both of you — for one, you won’t have to search for the right fit again.

Taking strides to avoid these pitfalls will allow you, your team, and your outsourcing partner to work better together and complete your project more successfully. Ultimately, that’s the goal of any web development undertaking.

Partners with No Agency Experience

Working with a marketing agency and helping them execute campaigns is an entirely different experience than projects such as creating an e-commerce website. It's vital to prioritize partners that have already worked with marketing agencies in the past, for the following reasons.

• If your partner isn't aware that working with a marketing agency will be different than usual, they'll likely have a harder time adapting to the changes. You need an outsourcing partner who can seamlessly fit into your organization.
• From PPC to ROI, there's a lot of marketing jargon and terminology that can pass over an outsider's head. Choosing an experienced marketing partner helps avoid these issues.
• Marketing agencies often have faster turnaround times—they need a campaign finished ASAP to capitalize on a recent event. Your partner needs to be aware of these needs and willing to help you meet these tight deadlines.

As a result, it's common for marketing agencies to have some "fires" that they need to put out and projects that need rescuing. Development partners need to be comfortable with a certain degree of spontaneity and unpredictability.'

Partners Who Don't Ask Questions

One major red flag is a web development company that asks very few questions during the negotiation process. Two causes: they're inexperienced and don't know the right questions to ask, or they simply don't care about what you need from the partnership.

If a partner accepts your offer right off the bat, you might not be able to share your clients' expectations for the final product. Without understanding your requirements during the sales process, how can you hope for your partner to deliver a satisfactory final product?

Final Thoughts

While the 5 issues above are all too common when it comes to finding a web development partner, the good news is that they’re largely avoidable. By taking the time to do your research and thoroughly vet the development companies on your list, you’ll be much more likely to find a partner that fits well with your business needs and objectives.