Outsourcing web development involves hiring third-party experts to create secure and efficient web solutions.
It’s more cost-effective than hiring in-house teams and ensures faster time-to-market and access to a much wider pool of experts.
Let’s explore all about web development outsourcing, engagement models, benefits, factors affecting the outsourcing cost, and proven steps to make it work.
Also, discover how Distillery can be your best website development partner.
| Further Reading: Thinking about building a mobile app? Explore the Benefits of Outsourcing Mobile App Development. Get essential tips to make your Software Outsourcing journey a success. Want a more tailored solution? Discover the benefits of Custom Software Development. |
This Article Contains
- What Is Web Development Outsourcing?
- 3 Ways to Outsource Web Development Services: Onshoring, Nearshoring, Offshoring
- Types of Outsourcing Engagement Models
- 8 Convincing Reasons to Outsource Web Development Services
- 4 Key Challenges of Outsourcing Web Development
- Factors Affecting Web Development Outsourcing Cost
- 8 Proven Steps to Make Your Web Development Outsourcing Process a Success
- Outsource Web Development Easily with Distillery
What Is Web Development Outsourcing?
Web development outsourcing involves hiring third-party service providers to handle web design and development projects.
From crafting bespoke websites to developing intricate web applications, businesses can leverage external expertise for custom web development, eCommerce solutions, mobile app creation, and more.
It includes front-end and back-end development, engaging user experiences, and robust server-side functionalities. Services could even extend to API development, SaaS projects, quality assurance, and even digital marketing strategies to enhance online presence.
Outsourcing web development gives your business access to a vast global talent pool, offering cost savings and specialized expertise — without the commitment of full-time hires.
What are the Steps Involved in a Typical Web Development Project?
The development plan can vary depending on the software’s complexity, security requirements, etc. But here are the typical steps:
- Identifying target users, scope, and objectives of your web development project.
- Creating a web app development plan, including how it should work, the tech stack to use, project timeline, milestones, budget, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Crafting the visual elements, user interface, and user experience based on the project’s goals and target audience.
- Coding the website’s structure, features, and functionalities as per the design and project requirements.
- Developing and integrating the text, images, and other media content that will be displayed on the website.
- Running quality assurance tests to ensure the product meets industry standards.
- Launching the website on a live server and continuously evaluating and improving it for long-term reliability.
What Web Development Services Can You Outsource?
Some of the web development services you can outsource are:
- SaaS development
- eCommerce development
- Mobile app development
- Web development consulting
- Full-stack software development
- News and customer portals
- Web design and redesign
- Security audits and enhancements
- Migration and upgrades
When Should You Outsource Web Development?
Working with an outsourced web development company could be a total game changer for your company in the following cases:
- When you want to control costs by minimizing the expenses related to traditional/in-house hiring and training.
- When your in-house team lacks specialized expertise in current web design technologies or frameworks.
- When you need to meet tight deadlines or respond to market demands swiftly.
- When you need to scale development efforts rapidly due to business growth or web development project complexity.
- When you prefer to focus on core business functions, outsourcing can offload the web design and development workload.
- When you seek enhanced quality and reliability in your web projects through an advanced tech stack and innovative solutions.
- When you want to reduce scalability and maintenance risks by partnering with an outsourced web development company that has the necessary infrastructure.
Now, there are three geographical models you can choose from when outsourcing web design and development:
3 Ways to Outsource Web Development Services: Onshoring, Nearshoring, Offshoring
In web development outsourcing, you can work with service providers onshore, nearshore, or offshore.
Here’s a closer look:
1. Onshore Outsourcing
Onshore outsourcing involves hiring external development teams or outsourcing companies within the same country or geographic region.
Companies with large budgets wanting to prioritize real-time collaboration and local compliance frequently choose onshore web development.
2. Nearshore Outsourcing
Nearshore outsourcing involves outsourcing web development to a nearby country or a neighboring geographic region. For example, a US company outsourcing to Mexico.
This offers cost-effective solutions, cultural alignment, and easy collaboration with your outsourcing team.
3. Offshore Outsourcing
Offshore outsourcing involves hiring the development services of a third-party service provider located in a different country (e.g. Poland in Eastern Europe).
Companies often opt for offshoring to save costs, especially for complex, long-term projects.
Let’s compare the benefits and drawbacks of each outsourcing website development model.
Pros and Cons of the Three Web Development Outsourcing Models
| Model | Pros | Cons |
| Onshore Web Development | Ease of communication and understanding due to shared culture and language. No time difference fosters real-time collaboration and updates between teams. Ensures legal compliance as teams have a better understanding of local laws. | Labor and operational costs are higher due to the high costs of living. Economic fluctuations in the US market can impact business costs and stability. Limited talent pool since you’re solely relying on local experts. Fierce local competition for top talent makes it difficult to retain skilled professionals. |
| Nearshore Web Development | Lower labor and operational costs than onshoring Ease of travel allows for in-person meetings and better relationship building. Similar time zones and cultural compatibility foster real-time communication and a shared understanding of work ethics. | You get access to a limited talent pool of professionals compared to offshore hubs like India or China. Language barriers may cause communication challenges and delays. |
| Offshore Web Development | Offshore hubs (like China and India) have a large pool of skilled tech experts. Time zone differences allow for round-the-clock productivity and support. Greater cost savings due to lower utility and infrastructure expenses in developing countries like the Philippines and India. | Communication issues due to limited English proficiency Time zone differences can complicate shift scheduling and cause disruptions for both parties. Cultural disparities and varying work ethics can affect work quality and project alignment with business goals. |
Clearly, nearshoring offers not only cost-effectiveness but also a cultural synergy with the US and better collaboration, making it the go-to outsourcing choice for many companies.
So, what’s the easiest way to nearshore your web development services?
Choose the Best Nearshore Web Development Partner – Distillery
Distillery is a trusted and reputed software development company that offers you the top-tier technical talent and engineering firepower you need to scale your teams.
We support our client’s growth by offering scalable software development services with a team of experienced senior engineers experienced in a range of programming languages, tools, databases, and frameworks.
So, what would a web outsourcing team look like?
A typical web development team may consist of a:
- Project manager
- Business analyst
- Software architect
- UX and UI designer
- Web developer
- Quality assurance and testing specialist
- DevOps engineer
How do we deliver?
Here’s our approach to delivering high-quality software development solutions:
- Tailored Service Delivery Approach (SDA): Our SDA ensures swift delivery of outsourcing web development services tailored to your business demands.
- Expert technical team: Our rigorous hiring process guarantees a team of experts with advanced skill sets — similar to local specialists.
- Scalability and flexibility: Flexibly scale your development team up or down based on your project requirement.
- Cross-functional expertise: Our teams possess diverse skill sets, including cloud computing, QA, project management, and UX/UI design services.
- Client collaboration: We maintain open and consistent communication with our software outsourcing clients to ensure seamless operations.
Ready to explore nearshoring?
Contact us today to get started!
Next, we’ll delve into the various engagement models you can use when outsourcing web development to vendors.
3 Types of Outsourcing Engagement Models
When outsourcing web design and development projects, you can choose from three engagement models that differ based on their terms, team responsibilities, and processes.
1. Staff Augmentation
In the staff augmentation model, you augment your in-house development team with external professionals to bridge skill gaps or alleviate workloads. It helps, especially if there’s a need for specialized skills that your current team lacks.
This model is ideal for short-term projects since payment is based on the time spent on your web development project. It is a flexible way to scale your team up or down as needed.
2. Dedicated teams
The dedicated team model involves hiring an entire remote web development team to work exclusively on your web project, functioning as an extension of your in-house staff.
It’s suitable for continuous long-term projects and companies lacking time or resources to hire specialists internally.
3. Full Cycle, End-to-End Custom Web Development
In a project-based model, you hire an external team to carry out the entire development process from start to end.
This model works best for businesses that need highly tailored web solutions, often in complex industries like fintech and healthcare.
Now, let’s see how outsourcing web development can benefit your business.
8 Convincing Reasons to Outsource Web Development Services
From access to top tech talent to cutting-edge web technologies, outsourcing web development definitely has its perks.
Here are all of them:
1. Cost and Time Savings
Outsourcing web development reduces labor, operational, and overhead costs, especially when leveraging talent from countries with lower living expenses, like Argentina or Mexico.
For instance, the cost of hiring an experienced web application developer in Argentina ranges between $2 to $4 per hour, whereas in the US, it can cost $32 to $56.
Additionally, since you’ve outsourced specific web development tasks, your internal team has more time to focus on core business tasks.
2. Access to Expert Talent
Outsourcing web development lets you access a broader talent pool of professionals, offering diverse perspectives and expertise that may not be available in-house.
For example, the Latin American region is well known for its skilled IT workforce, with close to 1 million software developers involved in offshore development.
3. Flexible Team Scaling
Outsourcing web development services allows businesses to scale their development teams based on project needs.
For instance, an e-commerce company preparing for a holiday sales rush can outsource extra web developers from a web development company to manage the heightened traffic. They can then scale down during the off-season to optimize costs.
4. Streamlined Workflows
Outsourcing partners streamline workflows by implementing efficient processes, such as precise planning, systematic development, rigorous software testing, and continuous communication.
These measures accelerate web development project timelines, reduce costs, and boost overall productivity for the outsourcing company.
5. Access to the Latest Technology
Outsourced teams invest in and keep up with the latest web technologies, frameworks, and libraries. So, your projects will benefit from cutting-edge tools without having to invest in them.
The result?
This will speed up the web app development process and improve the efficiency and quality of your final product, giving you a competitive edge.
6. Enhanced Security
Outsourcing companies implement stringent security protocols to reduce the risks of cyberattacks and IP (intellectual property) theft. This includes data encryption, secure coding practices, and regular security audits.
This way, you can rest assured that your confidential data is protected and instill trust and confidence among all stakeholders.
7. 24/7 Support
Outsourcing companies usually offer 24/7 support, ensuring timely assistance and issue resolution regardless of time zones.
This not only helps you put out fires swiftly but also ensures your users have a seamless experience.
8. Faster Time-to-Market
Outsourcing web development can help you launch your product faster because:
- You can avoid lengthy recruitment processes.
- You can side-step learning curves since the external development team is highly experienced with the required tools, technologies, and processes.
- Your in-house development team can work in tandem with the external one, picking up where the other left off on a working day.
Now, let’s take a look at the other side of the coin — the potential drawbacks of outsourcing.
4 Key Challenges of Outsourcing Web Development
Outsourcing web development presents challenges such as communication barriers, data security concerns, hidden costs, and more.
1. Hidden Costs
Hidden costs from outsourcing might arise from unforeseen scope adjustments, software licenses, additional feature changes, and ongoing maintenance charges.
A few others could be communication barriers, time zone differences, and security breaches.
2. Lack of Control
When outsourcing web development tasks to an outsourcing company, you may lose visibility and control over projects, especially in offshore models.
This can affect decision-making, project alignment, and timelines. Plus, mismanaged projects can lead to quality issues and deviations from industry standards.
3. Data Security Issues
Whenever you disclose confidential details about your IT systems to outsourcing companies, you inherently compromise security.
If your web development outsourcing company doesn’t have stringent security measures in place, a resulting cyberattack or data breach can result in major financial losses and damage to your company’s reputation.
Learn about the benefits of Outsourcing IT Services.
4. Cultural and Communication Barriers
Differences in work culture and language can hinder communication between your team and the outsourced web development company, especially in offshore models.
For example, language barriers may lead to the misinterpretation of instructions, potentially leading to costly mistakes and delays.
Now, let’s take a look at the factors that can influence your web application development costs.
Factors Affecting Web Development Outsourcing Cost
The cost of outsourcing website development depends on many factors, such as the location, web app development features, and the complexity of the web design services.
For example, depending on its complexity, a customized real estate website can vary quite a bit – between $1,000 and $15,000 or more.
Similarly, an e-commerce website can cost anywhere between $10,000— $250,000, while a custom medical website can range from $5,000—$10,000.
Other factors that affect the cost of web development include:
- Type of advanced technology used
- Non-functional web app requirements, like security and scalability
- Duration of the development process
- Number of team members involved
- The skill level and expertise of the web designer or web developer
To get the best value for money, it’s essential to follow a few outsourcing best practices.
We’ll share some helpful tips next.
8 Proven Steps to Make Your Web Development Outsourcing Process a Success
From signing NDAs to partnering with top-notch outsourcing providers, here are eight invaluable tips to keep in mind:
1. Define Services Based on Project Complexity and Needs
Outline the development services required for your web project, including website design, backend integration, software testing, and ongoing maintenance.
Understanding your business goals and project scope lets you communicate your expectations to potential outsourcing partners.
2. Thoroughly Research the Potential Outsourcing Partner
Conduct thorough research on the web development outsourcing company and its industry reputation by reviewing its portfolio, client testimonials, case studies, and online reviews.
Also, evaluate their certifications and industry experience for credibility. Chat with previous clients to better understand their track record, specifically inquiring about the technical challenges faced and how they were overcome.
Inquire about the technologies, tools, and methodologies the partner uses and how they stay updated with the latest trends in web development.
3. Conduct a Discovery Call and Interview the Team
Schedule a discovery call with the potential outsourcing partner to discuss your web project requirements.
During the call, assess their:
- Understanding of your web project
- Quality assurance protocols (Ask about their process for quality assurance, testing, and handling project hurdles)
- Clarity and effectiveness in communication
- Technical expertise and relevant experience (Propose a technical challenge or problem and ask for their approach to solving it, and discussing the technical stack they recommend for your project and why.)
- Cultural fit and alignment with your company values
4. Select the Right Model and Type for Your Project Needs
Choose an outsourcing model that aligns with your web project requirements.
For instance, you may want to choose a dedicated web development team for projects like creating custom WordPress plugins.
Also, consider the geographical location of the outsourcing team based on your time zone, project scope, and budget.
5. Sign an NDA to Prevent Data Leaks and IP Issues
It’s crucial to communicate and document security expectations with your outsourcing development partner to avoid any ambiguity.
Ask about their data security measures, including encryption practices, data storage, and access protocols.
Always sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) with your outsourcing vendor prior to sharing sensitive information. This way, both parties can only use confidential information for what’s specified in the agreement.
6. Outline the Time Frame and Budget
Be realistic and clearly define the expected web development project timeline.
Also, develop a thorough budget accounting for hidden costs and encompassing all web development project elements, from the development process to testing and contingencies.
This way, you can avoid potential project overruns and unforeseen expenses.
7. Establish Clear Communication and Project Management Frameworks
Ask your remote team to use project management software that allows you to track tasks, monitor progress, and collaborate.
Establish regular communication schedules and feedback loops, such as daily or weekly status meetings, to review progress and address concerns.
8. Implement SLAs to Enhance Accountability
Service-level agreements (SLAs) define web development project scope, deliverables, quality standards, and timelines.
Be sure to clearly outline the penalties for contract breaches, how you’ll sort out disagreements, and ways to tweak the agreement if needed.
9. Include Post-Launch Support Terms in Your Agreement
The agreement with your outsourcing partner should include ongoing maintenance and updates ensuring your website remains competitive, secure, and functional. This includes regular security patches, feature updates, and performance optimizations.
Establish a clear framework for support, detailing response times, maintenance schedules, and update procedures.
Outsource Web Development Easily with Distillery
By outsourcing web development, you gain access to a large pool of skilled website development professionals easily.
It also helps you save time, reduce risks, and focus on your core business activities.
Nearshore outsourcing is a standout choice. It’s a cost-effective way to access a huge pool of talented experts.
Want to nearshore your web development services?Contact Distillery right away for a smooth and top-notch nearshoring experience!