5 Rules for Picking the Right Offshore Web Development Company
Offshore web development services come with their benefits and risks. Outsourcing web design to India remains a top choice for businesses in high and upper-middle income economies. Cost efficiency is the prime motive for web design outsourcing. However, there are plenty more aspects that define the offshoring of web development services.
To make the most of offshore web development, you need to acquaint yourself with some realities of outsourcing. Moreover, to reduce risks, you would need to follow some simple steps while outsourcing web design overseas.
There are hundreds of thousands of web design outsourcing companies. Not every company can offer reliable services. Do some homework to choose the right company. These rules could be helpful.
#1. Background Checking
No one would want to work with an offshore company that lacks proper credentials. More importantly, background checking is not just about ensuring that the company is reliable. It is more than that.
- Check the Reviews
It is easy to be misled or even get duped. The offshore company you are seeking to hire would most likely not be covered by your country’s law. It is very easy for an amateur to win your trust by publishing flashy details. Do not believe in the testimonials! Even worse, there are people out to trick you by projecting themselves as web design outsourcing company. Beware!
The best way to avoid this is by checking company reviews from the online community. Real companies post regularly on their blogs. Accreditations are a bonus. Check the social media pages to get further idea. Try to contact the company office to check that they are a genuine company. This alone would not be enough, though!
- Past Work Samples and Experience
Asking the company for samples of past work and references has a dual motive. First, it is a part of ascertaining that the company is genuine. Second, it gives you the idea of the kind of projects that it has handled in the past.
You might be zeroing-in on the wrong company if the services they provide are not what you need. Besides, their work could be below the standards you are expecting. If the company claims to have designed some websites, you may simply drop emails to cross-check with them. It may take a few weeks, but it is better than making a wrong decision.
Take away: Check their portfolio to figure out if they have handled similar projects.
#2. Cost Efficiency
That’s the main reason why most businesses choose website design outsourcing companies. Note that it does not matter how much they charge. What matters is the quality of services, on-time delivery and the willingness to understand your business. These advantages or the lack of it has to be compared with the charges to measure cost efficiency.
Always check the average outsourcing rates in a country. It is a smart idea to opt for an offshoring location that has lots of competing companies for outsourcing web design. India is an example, where tremendous competition among web development services comes as a blessing to businesses. They are ensured of high-quality services at very competitive rates.
Take away: compare cost of the services, but do not forget the quality of work.
#3. Tools
Do not get into hiring an offshore company without knowing the basics of web development. It’s not that tough with so many informational blogs! It helps in striking the right deal and communicating your needs.
Prepare a questionnaire regarding the technical aspects of the project you are going to outsource. Ask the company about the tools it is going to use. How are they going to be beneficial for the results you desire?
Take away: Make sure that the methods and techniques they use are the latest.
#4. Language Matters
Distances are not physical when it comes to outsourcing. Rather, they are cultural and most importantly, linguistic. Many businesses suffer in their offshore partnerships because of vague communication. That seems to be a very trivial reason, but it’s true.
The level of proficiency in your language goes a long way in establishing clear communication. It is pertinent for dealing professionally and cutting the work-culture gap too.
Take away: A majority of businesses looking for outsourcing services are located in developed English speaking world. Clarity of the accent is an important factor that makes India the leading outsourcing destination over China.
#5. Dynamic Requests
Web development is an ongoing process, more so with the SEO component becoming a very important component of late. It can be a nuisance to keep changing the web development company every now and then. It is always better to stick to one company. You would just need to make a wise decision when you start.
The website might require changes in the design, website architecture or content while the process is underway. You may need a new host or an upgrade after some time. It is wise to choose a company that caters to your requests for changes whenever you like.
Take away: If a company does not respect your change requests, or is lazy in handling them, avoid choosing them.
You might want to avoid Putting all your Eggs in one Basket!
Choosing the right offshore web development company might seem a daunting task when you start. However, its fruits are worth the effort once you make the right choice.
If your project is complex and involves huge sums, you may try the services by assigning a small task. Finalize outsourcing only when you are satisfied. Also, be prepared and remain sensitive to the time-zone differences to maintain good professional relations. That goes a long way in getting the best out of an offshore web development company.
Try outsourcing your website design, web development, content writing, SEO or data entry work to ICO. Here are the answers to the FAQs on offshore outsourcing with us.
FAQs on Offshore Outsourcing of Web Designing work to ICO Webtech
What are the benefits of Offshore Outsourcing or Dedicated Offshore Employment with ICO?
- Save 50% of in-house hiring cost of a professional & experienced employee
- Hire Dedicated Employees as per your project needs
- Flexible option of Part-time or Full-time hiring
- The employee you hire will work as per your Time-zone.
- Full control on the employee you hire via email or Skype
I am new to Offshore Outsourcing, how does it work here?
We understand your dilemma when it comes to offshore outsourcing. To help you understand the work process of offshore outsourcing companies in India, here is a flowchart.
Client’s Requirement – we get the requirement from client in detail about the website design and development work.
Homepage Mock-up – if you are a new client you can test our services here. We will create few homepage mock-ups as per your requirement and you can finalize any one of them or suggest us further changes.
50% Advance – before we move any further kindly pay 50% of total payment in advance.
Project Development Initial Phase – we start developing the website and complete it by 70%.
Client Feedback – ask for the feedback of the client and if he suggests some revisions.
Project Development Final Phase – finish the rest of the development and design work.
Review – our quality department reviews the website of any bugs.
Complete Payment – show the website on our server to the client and ask for complete payment due.
Deliver Project – deliver the project along with the source code.
Do you offer any trial service?
If you are new to offshore outsourcing then we can help you get comfortable with the concept. For this we can design one page mock up and when you are alright with our working process we can go ahead and complete the website designing project for you.
What about Data Security & Confidentiality?
At ICO we completely understand and agree that the Data or information of any company is crucial. We do not compromise on the security & confidentiality of our client’s data and take strict actions to guarantee security at every stage of outsourcing.
Some major security and privacy measures we follow are:
- We sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with our clients and a Non-Disclosure bond with our employees before any project.
- We have firewalls in place for incoming and outgoing traffic
- The systems on which our employees work do not have external storage (floppy/cd drive/USB ports) devices active.
- The activities on our systems are monitored by a dedicated IT professional
- All our systems restrict access to social networking sites or personal email accounts
- Authorization is required to access the system
- Fully updated Anti-virus software are implemented
- We have CCTVs fixed all the way through our office premises
Do you have satisfactory infrastructure to support my Website Designing projects?
Yes. We tune in to the most updated versions of the technology for all our website design and development work. Be rest assured.
Can I see some of your past work or better, can I get some References?
We operate on two work models.
- Direct Business
- Partner Clients
Direct Business – this model works on getting the requirement directly from the client. In this case you can see the website we built for them and also the reference number.
Partner Clients – in this case we partner with companies who get the requirement from direct clients and they outsource their work to us. Here we cannot show the website we made for them due to the NDA signed but can surely give references to you.
Can I remotely hire a Developer or Designer on Full-time or Part-time basis?
Sure you can. Please visit our Offshore Employee Hiring in India page to know more
Can I get daily report of my Offshore Hired Web Designer or Developer?
Yes, we can provide you with daily updates upon request.
If you hire a dedicated employee in India, full-time or half-time then, at the end you will get hourly report of the work done by the resource.
But if you are working with us on a project basis then you will be regularly updated with the progress, but hourly or daily reports cannot be done here.
Is language an issue?
Since we are based in New Delhi which is the capital state of India the people here are well educated. So you will not face the language issue while working with us.
The designers and developers are professionally very well equipped but may not have the desired fluency in English to communicate over phone. For this reason we have them communicate with you over emails or skype. Also, the assigned Account Manager who is very fluent in English language can be a bridge if you have to communicate over phone.
Is there a Project Management Tool/Application to manage the Project?
We have our own Project Management Tool which can be used to manage the project very easily and at all the stages at a small additional amount.
It is advised to use a PM tool to monitor the developments at all phases and to share the feedback of your website designing work with us at all stages.
Do you have a quick Turnaround Time of the Offshore Outsourcing Projects?
The TAT usually depends on the requirements of the project. But if at all you have a deadline to meet then we can work out the timelines and get it done.
Are there any additional hidden costs?
No. We do not charge any set up fees from our clients. The only cost you bear is to hire an offshore web developer in India, either full-time, part-time or on hourly basis.
How can I pay if I choose your offshore outsourcing services?
ICO accepts payments made via bank cheque, wire transfer, and Paypal.
What if I do not like the Developer / Designer?
If you do not like the developer and/or designer assigned to your project, you just have to get in touch with the Account Manager assigned to you and he will take the necessary actions. This may also include replacing him/her at the earliest.
I want to use the Offshore Outsourcing web designing services, what do I need to do?
Simply contact us here and we will get back to you within 24 hours or less.
Read our general Website Design FAQs if you have some more queries.