With the tough competition in the digital space, it is probably safe to assume that every business should invest in a good, responsive website to reach its target audience and generate high revenue. However, going about investing in a website is no easy feat. Should you work with a huge web design company in Australia? Or should you hire a website designer in Central Coast.
Tough decision, mate.
Hiring an agency or a freelancer that offers web design in Central Coast is a common dilemma for business owners. In the early stages, working with the latter seems like a great choice. But as the needs of the business grow, owners may realise that working with a web design agency feels like a much better option.
So, what should you choose? Well, each option has pros and cons. We’ll list down all of them to help you come up with an informed choice.
Web Design Company in Australia
The Pros
1. Credibility
Most web design companies have already built a reputation within their community. In most cases, you can read online reviews to know about the quality of their work. You can also refer to social media pages. This only means that if you work with a web design company in Australia that has received many positive reviews, then you can rest assured that your website is in safe hands.
2. Diverse Areas of Expertise
Web design agencies have their own team of professionals comprised of developers, copywriters, and designers, so you need not worry about hiring people to complete a project. They are backed by years of experience in the industry and have honed their respective skills.
3. Access to More Resources
Because web design agencies can set higher budgets for project resources, they can access more tools and materials that are needed for web designing. While some can allocate budget for their own content management systems, others can set aside money for their own web hosting servers.
4. Better Support
Web design agencies have dedicated in-house support specialists, meaning clients who avail of web design services will be assigned a dedicated project manager who will take care of all their needs. The project manager will make sure that everything is done according to plan and that the expenses won’t exceed the budget.
The Cons
1. Quite Pricey
Since web design agencies employ multiple team members on a project, expect the rates to be a bit higher. Plus, they must pay for a physical office space. Don’t worry because the prices are often very reasonable and sometimes, negotiable.
2. More Processes
With more people working on a project, expect to have more processes. In a typical setup, any completed work goes through several people, for instance, the web designer, the project manager, the CEO, and then back to the web designer, should any revisions need to be done. When you choose to work with a freelancer, the work will only require your approval. That’s it.
Freelance Web Designer
The Pros
1. Cheaper
Freelance web designers set their own rates. While some of them charge per hour spent, others charge per project. And when it comes to pricing, they are quite flexible. Since they don’t have an office space to pay for and no staff to give salaries to, they usually charge less.
2. Specialised Skills
Freelance web designers have special skillsets. This can be something you can take advantage of if you have a specific feature or design that you want to be added to your website. For example, if you only need a banner animation added to the header of a particular web page, you can just hire a freelancer to get the job done.
3. More Involvement
If you work with a freelance web designer, you can be more involved in the design process. Unlike working with a web design agency that requires approval from several people, it will only be the two of you who will be involved.
The Cons
1. Less Manpower
A freelance web designer doesn’t work with a team, so you have to look for other professionals when the need arises. With an agency, a team is assigned to work on your web design project. If a writer is needed to put up enticing content for a page, an agency can quickly produce one. Whereas if you opt to work with a freelance web designer, you cannot expect him/her to give you the type of content that you want at once. You will have to spend time looking for another freelance writer to produce relevant content.
2. Less Credibility
You can rarely find online reviews of individual freelancers. Therefore, you may have to manually check on their background and find references.
3. Slow Turn-Around Time
Most freelancers work on multiple projects at once, so you cannot expect them to be there when you need them. If they are loaded with tasks at a certain time, they might not be able to respond right away. Unlike when you work with a web design company, you will have a project manager who can answer your queries and calls.
4. Difficult to Manage
If you are working with multiple freelancers, it will be difficult to manage them. Getting them to work at an agreed schedule might even be impossible. And in the event that one person fails to do his/her job properly, you will have to find a replacement, wasting more of your time and money.
Web Design Agency or Freelancer: Which Is Which?
Now, which of the two options should you choose? When it comes to designing a website, working with an agency is more ideal. This is because a web design project is quite complicated, requiring more than one specialist.
Should you decide to work with freelancers, you will have to onboard more people to write content, design pages, and do the coding. Not to mention, managing all of them can be challenging as you need to work with them and set their schedules. With an agency, roles and processes have already been set, so the project can be completed efficiently and on time.
So, our verdict is to work with a web design company in Australia instead. Save yourself from hassles of managing people. Let a web design company like Coast Wide Web take care of your web design needs. Call us at 02 4384 3008 and let’s discuss the details.