Web Agency vs Freelancer - which is right for you?
- Web Design & Development
- 21st March 2017
- Abigail
It's finally happening - after months of meetings, planning and negotiations you're finally ready to start your new website. You're armed with a clear brief, full specification and an approved budget, but who should you take it to?
Deciding whether to choose a web agency or a freelancer is a major step at the start of any project. Before you dive straight in, it's important to outline what you'll need from your developer, how you'll want to work together and how often you'll need their help once the initial project is complete.
Now, it's fair to say that we may be slightly bias being a web development, design & marketing agency ourselves, however agencies don't suit some clients and freelancers aren't the right choice for others. In this blog post, we'll look at the pros and cons of working with web agencies versus freelancers - hopefully making the decision easier for you. And hey, if you decide that a web agency is the best option for you we'd absolutely love to hear more about your project.
Web Agency - Pros
- Larger range of skills: Most web agencies are made up of multiple departments, giving you immediate access to designers, developers, marketers and more through a single agency. Having a variety of skills available through one agency means you won't need to spend time liaising between multiple parties, giving you more time to focus on other aspects of your business.
- More dependable: With multiple teams on had to help with your issues, agencies offer a high level of dependability. If your primary contact is on holiday, sick or leaves the company, you have the reassurance that an experienced team is ready to continue and maintain your work.
- More experience: The larger the team you have at your disposal, the higher the level of experience they bring with them. Whether it's deciding the best way to build a new feature or quickly resolving an error, an agency's experience gives you high quality results in hardly any time.
Web Agency - Cons
- Higher costs: Due to higher overhead costs, web agencies tend to be more expensive than freelancers - making them less appealing to smaller companies. However, although an agency's fees are usually higher, the majority of agencies will be able to recommend financial grants and offer staggered payment plans to help you spread the cost.
- Multiple possible contacts: As agencies take on more projects than freelancers and have more staff, you can have more than one person working on your website at a time. This can make knowing who to talk to quite confusing. To fix this, many agencies (including ourselves) will assign you a main point of contact for each stage of your project so that you always know exactly who to call for any updates or advice.
Freelancer - Pros
- Generally more affordable: On average you'll find that freelancers have lower rates than web agencies. As most freelancers won't have offices, salaries or bills to pay for, they can afford to provide services at a lower cost.
- Niche specialised skills: Although it may take you a while to find the right person for your project, most freelancers are specialised in their field. As most only work with one software, they're generally very skilled and knowledgeable with that system.
- Usually less lead time: As freelancers don't have as many clients as agencies, they're more likely to have the space available and get your work started sooner. However, as they'll be the only one working on the project, the over all time it takes for the project may be longer.
Freelancer - Cons
- Less dependable: An important factor to consider when hiring a freelance developer or freelancer designer is that you're reliant on a single person. If your freelancer goes on holiday or chooses to leave the project, you don't have any anyone who'll be able to continue the work in their absence.
- Have to work with multiple freelancers: If you require multiple services, it's unlikely that you'll be able to get all aspects of your project completed by a single freelancer. Working with more than one company can become very time consuming if you have to organise everything yourself.
Which is right for you?
Whether you should work with a web agency or a freelancer is a decision you and your team should take time to consider - every project and company is different.