Like other companies that are considering a website redesign, you are probably faced with the decision to manage it in-house or whether to outsource website design. A website redesign managed in-house can save your company 50% or more, but that cost savings can ultimately cost your business dearly if not done properly. Is managing your own website redesign a smart decision?
We work with several companies every month that struggle with this exact question. What I’ve done below is attempted to give you an unbiased viewpoint given my experience on both sides of the table:
We work with several companies every month that struggle with this exact question. What I’ve done below is attempted to give you an unbiased viewpoint given my experience on both sides of the table:
As you can see, I’ve been on both the client side and the agency side, and understand both. Here are some considerations to help make your own decision about whether to do it all in-house or outsource.
In-house versus outsourced web design
The choice to redesign your small business website in-house or outsource Web Development makes a difference in the cost of your website redesign. If you design your website in-house, overall costs will generally be lower, while outsourcing your website design tends to be more expensive.
According to recent data published in HubSpot’s report “The Science of Website Redesign,” 44% of companies that recently redesigned their website using an outside agency while 33% handled a majority of the website redesign in-house. The average cost of an in-house redesign is $30,106, while the average cost of an outsourced project is $69,576 (60 businesses participated in this survey).
Evaluate your internal resources
Take an honest look at the people and skill sets in your business. Are the necessary people in place to create a successful website for your business? Here are some of the types of people that you’ll need on your team to create the most effective website possible.
In-house versus outsourced web design
The choice to redesign your small business website in-house or outsource Web Development makes a difference in the cost of your website redesign. If you design your website in-house, overall costs will generally be lower, while outsourcing your website design tends to be more expensive.
According to recent data published in HubSpot’s report “The Science of Website Redesign,” 44% of companies that recently redesigned their website using an outside agency while 33% handled a majority of the website redesign in-house. The average cost of an in-house redesign is $30,106, while the average cost of an outsourced project is $69,576 (60 businesses participated in this survey).
Evaluate your internal resources
Take an honest look at the people and skill sets in your business. Are the necessary people in place to create a successful website for your business? Here are some of the types of people that you’ll need on your team to create the most effective website possible.
Can an in-house “one person web team” do the job properly?
Many small- and medium-sized businesses we work with have a dedicated web person or webmaster to handle their website. While these people are skilled enough to make updates to the website, designing and building a website from scratch requires both creative and technical competencies. Finding a person that does both design and development well is exceptionally difficult.
Good graphic designers might execute a beautiful web design with high artistic value, but the technology will suffer. A web developer might write wonderful code but the design will be utilitarian at best and extremely hard to use.
If your business has a one-person web team you might consider making that person the project manager and outsourcing your web design project. Outsourcing to a team of professionals will give you several skillsets that know how to work together to get results.
Evaluate time commitment
Once you determine if you have the necessary talent in place to successfully redesign your website in-house, the next hurdle is how to take a person or team off of other projects and devote significant staff time to the project. Website design is not something that can be done “on the side,” it’s a project that takes focus and a significant amount of staff time.
Analyze past projects to understand if your staff has a track record of delivering projects on time and within budget.
Outsource to offset weakness
After you evaluate the abilities of your staff, you may find that in-house resources would be well-suited for part of the project but not others. If this is the case, you might want to consider outsourcing part of the project. You may have a great project manager but lack design talent. You may even have a generalist that can design a website, but no one to assist with the initial website strategy and planning.
Outsource if you need a fresh perspective
In both the client and the agency role, I’ve seen a lot of value in the fresh perspective that outsourcing your web design can bring. Because an outside agency doesn’t know your business as well as you do, they can think like your customer in ways that you simply can’t. They can see your business and your products/services like a real customer would, and ask the same questions that your prospect might.
There is such a thing as being “too close” to your products and services. When you work in a company for years, you tend to forget the questions that people new to your product or service might have. An outside opinion helps to stimulate new ideas that your website and content could benefit from.
Outsourcing to multiple agencies
It’s true that most agencies don’t want to work alongside other agencies on a web project. They typically will have different processes and ideas for the project, which could cause some conflict. To avoid this problem, we recommend selecting one agency to be in charge of your project.
If you do bring in more than one agency or multiple freelancers to complete your project, make sure their individual roles are clearly defined. You should always have an in-house employee act as project manager and point of contact.
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Many small- and medium-sized businesses we work with have a dedicated web person or webmaster to handle their website. While these people are skilled enough to make updates to the website, designing and building a website from scratch requires both creative and technical competencies. Finding a person that does both design and development well is exceptionally difficult.
Good graphic designers might execute a beautiful web design with high artistic value, but the technology will suffer. A web developer might write wonderful code but the design will be utilitarian at best and extremely hard to use.
If your business has a one-person web team you might consider making that person the project manager and outsourcing your web design project. Outsourcing to a team of professionals will give you several skillsets that know how to work together to get results.
Evaluate time commitment
Once you determine if you have the necessary talent in place to successfully redesign your website in-house, the next hurdle is how to take a person or team off of other projects and devote significant staff time to the project. Website design is not something that can be done “on the side,” it’s a project that takes focus and a significant amount of staff time.
Analyze past projects to understand if your staff has a track record of delivering projects on time and within budget.
Outsource to offset weakness
After you evaluate the abilities of your staff, you may find that in-house resources would be well-suited for part of the project but not others. If this is the case, you might want to consider outsourcing part of the project. You may have a great project manager but lack design talent. You may even have a generalist that can design a website, but no one to assist with the initial website strategy and planning.
Outsource if you need a fresh perspective
In both the client and the agency role, I’ve seen a lot of value in the fresh perspective that outsourcing your web design can bring. Because an outside agency doesn’t know your business as well as you do, they can think like your customer in ways that you simply can’t. They can see your business and your products/services like a real customer would, and ask the same questions that your prospect might.
There is such a thing as being “too close” to your products and services. When you work in a company for years, you tend to forget the questions that people new to your product or service might have. An outside opinion helps to stimulate new ideas that your website and content could benefit from.
Outsourcing to multiple agencies
It’s true that most agencies don’t want to work alongside other agencies on a web project. They typically will have different processes and ideas for the project, which could cause some conflict. To avoid this problem, we recommend selecting one agency to be in charge of your project.
If you do bring in more than one agency or multiple freelancers to complete your project, make sure their individual roles are clearly defined. You should always have an in-house employee act as project manager and point of contact.
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