How to outsource web development projects: Step-by-Step process, rates, how and where to find

Undoubtedly, software engineers with sophisticated skills want to get paid well. However, not all organizations or startups have enough money to hire top-notch local software developers to turn their unique needs into robust digital solutions as well as there may be a lack of specialists with a particular skill set in their cities. Moreover, they may have strict time-frames. Having all that in mind, outsourcing web development projects is a great solution to solve those issues, and a variety of companies opt for outsourcing web development projects as a process improvement measure. Let’s take a closer look at the following statistics:

• 37% of businesses have already used outsourcing to reduce costs while 52% are going to outsource their business processes;
• 24% of companies opt for outsourcing to increase efficiency while 18% want to get assistance from the experts.

As you may see, companies of all sizes use outsourced development for different purposes. Sounds interesting, right? That’s why we have created a comprehensive guide that helps you to better understand the reasons companies outsource web development projects and how not to fail when outsourcing web development projects.

Key reasons to outsource web development

You will likely wonder why you need to hire an outsource software engineer to handle specific tasks when you already have skilled in-house experts. Sounds interesting, right? But, what if your in-house staff doesn’t have such a qualified specialist to perform those tasks? Below we have defined the compelling reasons why companies outsource their web development projects:

Concentrating on essentials and improving productivity

When running a business, you need to make sure of not losing your focus. Appointments, scheduling, and answering phones are routine tasks eating up your day. What’s about offloading all of these and focusing on your priorities? Any business should be carefully monitored and nurtured, and outsourcing web development opens up significant opportunities to help you in concentrating on the core business processes and its strengths. What’s more, you can delegate small, day-to-day, routine tasks to third-party providers while your staff will concentrate on their main tasks as well as on the future strategy. The entire idea of outsourcing is to save time and concentrate on essentials – the core aspects of your business.

Maximizing the use of internal resources

You might think that if your staff can concentrate and do a variety of tasks simultaneously, they can get much more productive and get the tasks done faster. Unfortunately, it’s not true. Some researchers suggest that multitasking can actually reduce productivity by as much as 40%. Trying to focus on more than one task puts pressure on the brain and as a result, greatly impacts the entire productivity. The truth is that the working day is full of routine tasks, especially in startups and small companies. Outsourcing these repetitive tasks is a great way out. Not only does it help your employees to focus on more important responsibilities, but also it allows them to avoid switching between tasks and enables them to concentrate on a specific one. That’s why outsourcing could be a great strategy to help you maximize your business and move it forward.

Greater Control

In busier seasons some businesses require more labor during those months. With outsourced IT help, you’re able to adapt your coverage to fit your business’ needs. However, some companies think that they will lose control of certain aspects of their business operations in that case. In addition to that, they worry that it could impact internal processes or customer satisfaction. That’s why we would like to mention that if you properly select a reliable tech partner, you can reduce financial or staffing strain on your company. Moreover, team leaders can keep business operations and projects under control and pay only for the work that needs to be done. Only by choosing a suitable model of collaboration and hiring a complete team that includes a project manager can you maintain much of the control over the project that requires a lot of time and resources.

Access to the rich talent pool and worldwide resources

Having a pool of talents in your company is a great source of qualified candidates. You already know what skills they have. But sometimes you need a specialist with specific expertise. If cooperate with external specialists on a project, you can solve the problem you may face with. The advantage of outsourcing is the access to a vast portfolio of specialists with sophisticated skills and knowledge. When partnering with a reliable tech provider, you can engage with great talents. In addition to that, you can cut down on your recruitment costs and save time on filing requirements in the long run.

Cost savings

It’s not a secret that a great number of businesses are very eager to find ways to save money and invest it elsewhere in the organization. Especially in startups, business owners want to minimize expenditures in the early stages. That's where outsourcing comes into play. Not only does it help you to hire top-quality specialists for less price, but also there is no need to worry about obligatory national insurance contributions, sick pay, benefits or any other extras like for in-house colleagues. With the massive cost savings generated from outsourcing web development, you will have the money you need to fund projects that have been on the pipeline.

Having that in mind, many businesses are turning to outsourcing IT tasks as a means to reduce IT costs. Only by outsourcing IT can you minimize the number of IT specialists required and decrease the cost of training staff members, thus saving money for the business. However, the cost savings should never be a company's first concern. That’s why find a reliable tech partner and pay attention to the IT project quality - you should give it the top priority.

Driving transformational change

Increasing competition, not meeting the expected return on investment, ambitious goals for business growth are some of the key factors that drive digital transformation. Thanks to digital transformation, not only can companies reshape their business models, but also it enables them to adapt to the current market reality. The success of transformation ultimately depends on the people within a company. If your in-house team lacks skills required for transformation, a reliable tech partner is a way out. Not only can tech partners provide you with innovative robust software solutions essential for transformation, but also they help you to fuel the process of transformation.

How much does it cost to outsource web development projects

If you have opted for outsourcing web development, you should take into account the development rates. That’s why before you jump into any decisions, let’s take a closer look at the most attractive hourly rates.

• Eastern Europe: Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian software developers have a high level of English and advanced technical skills that significantly increase their rates. The average rate in those regions is $25 - $50 per hour.
• Central and Western Europe: it’s a fact that countries in these regions are known for their fastest-growing economies and high taxes. Software developers form Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, and the UK get paid $50 - $99 per hour. In Switzerland, Austria and Belgium their rate reaches up $100 - $150 per hour.
• Latin America: Argentina, Mexico and Brazil are known as the top locations to offer IT services. Here software developers get paid $30–$50 per hour.
• North America: The average rate of software developers starts from $100 and can reach up to $200 per hour.
• Africa: Software developers in Morocco, Kenya, and Egypt are ready to provide a $20 hourly rate for IT services while the rates in Nigeria can reach up to $40 per hour.
• Asia: In India, software developers get paid $18–$25 per hour. Software specialists from Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia are ready to deliver IT solutions for a $30 - $40 hourly rate.

A step-by-step process to outsource web development

Below we have provided a step-by-step guide that helps you to better understand how to outsource web development. Let’s delve into details below:

1. Identify your requirements

It’s obvious that every business has goals and business objectives in the back of someone’s mind. It doesn’t need spelling out. Companies of any size should have clearly defined and consistent goals and objectives that are on a regular basis for their business operations. Not only does it help them to move in the right direction, but also they can grow their businesses. That’s why setting business goals and objectives are imperative. If the goal-setting process isn’t established clearly, your business will always face a certain frustration.

Having that in mind, you should identify your requirements at the start of any project by describing all activities and characteristics of a project’s end product essential to meeting business goals. Moreover, you need to be sure that requirements are accurately identified, documented, analyzed, and verified; the overall mission of the project and its components align with your business goals.

2. Find a reliable outsourcing tech partner

Whether you’re in e-commerce or logistics business or a startup founder, without a team or a professional who lacks technical skills and knowledge required for the project, you do nothing - no matter how great your idea is. That’s why you may need to look for a partner who can develop and implement a digital software solution. Unfortunately, it’s getting harder to get a reliable tech partner with a great portfolio and skill sets in order to turn the idea into an actionable and robust solution. Finding a partner with the technical expertise you need can really help you in accelerating your business idea. Moreover, finding a reliable tech partner is crucial because it determines whether your entire business will be successful or not. Before you dive into your search for a tech partner, it’s vital to identify exactly what you’re looking for. Let’s find out what you should take into account when choosing a tech partner:

• Portfolio: allows you to better understand what types of projects a tech provider has completed, their success rate, size, and other deliverables.
• Tech expertise: evaluate the technologies and the core expertise (e-commerce, logistics, recruitment, healthcare, etc.) each tech provider offers to decide if a company is the right fit for your project or not.
• Experience: allows you to see how many digital solutions have been implemented. If a provider has many years of experience, you can be aware of a partner’s confidence, reliability, and ability to solve complex tasks and overcome challenges.
• Services: identify what types of services a tech partner offers - web and mobile development, design, testing, support, and maintenance.
• Rates: define the price that may vary in terms of project complexity, size, and functionality.

In addition to that, you should discover what methodologies they use (KanBan, Agile, SAFe), discuss security, support, and maintenance questions, pay attention to language confidence and fluency, ask for code samples and web design projects in GitHub, Behance, and Dribbble. Moreover, if there is a need, you should sign an NDA to protect confidential and proprietary information about the idea/project.

3. Select a business model of collaboration

Before you start, it’s imperative to consider the model of collaboration with your tech partner that is necessary to get the project developed successfully. Here we have outlined the main types of business models of collaboration in the IT industry. Let’s dive into details below:

Fixed Price Model: this model allows you to pay a specific amount of money for particular work done as soon as a contract is signed. This price approach is great for short-term products that require a few months or less time for development. When to opt for a fixed price model:

• if you need to describe the key features of the product from the very beginning;
• the development time period is minimal (a few months);
• the management process is on your side;
• major changes in the final product are not expected.

Dedicated team Model: a full-service team model that includes software engineers, QA engineers, and designers. Also, it may be empowered with a project manager (PM) whose responsibilities are communication with a customer, team members, and management of all processes running through all of these development phases. Generally, this approach is mostly applied when the projects are long-time and complex. When to opt for a dedicated model:

• your project is complex and requires a lot of time to be implemented;
• you manage and supervise the product;
• you need a team that will work on a single project;
• future business expansion is expected.

Time & Material Model: used when you have the final goal without advanced specifications. You can discuss additional features, updates, and other implementations during regular meetings where software engineers provide the amount of time spent on the project and explain process specificity. You pay only for the time spent when working on the project. When to opt for time & material model:

• you have an unfinished concept of the future solution;
• project's terms and workflow are likely to be changed during the development;
• you’re ready to provide the team with all the details about the future project;
• the management process is on your side.

4. Sign a contract

When you select a model of collaboration, you’d like to keep your future projects or innovative ideas secret. Here a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) comes into play. Signing non-disclosure agreements is a common practice in business that helps you to keep your innovative ideas on the wrap and protect sensitive information. NDAs usually include only a couple of pages long and focus on protecting important information, such as business models, strategies, designs, code, algorithms, etc.

That’s why when working with an outsource IT company that will be handling sensitive data, signing an NDA is imperative in order not to disclose details at any point. Generally, NDA contains the following information:

• a written agreement not to disclose information;
• obligations from all involved parties;
• a duration NDA stays valid;
• remedies for a breach of contract.

In fact, NDAs are considered as legal frameworks used specifically to protect sensitive and confidential information from competitors. Moreover, a great number of companies use these documents to ensure that their innovative strategies or ideas won't be stolen by people they are going to collaborate with.

5. Organize management effectively

When choosing an outsourcing web development, it’s essential that an external team can communicate and collaborate effectively with your in-house staff. That’s why you should consider tools that will help you to solve this kind of problem. Let’s take a closer look at them below:

• Communication: used to coordinate and communicate about projects in real time (Skype, Slack, Whats up, etc.)
• Planning: tools used to map out the critical path and identify any dependencies and constraints in the project (Confluence, Trello, monday.com, etc.).
• File sharing and document storage: used to create and edit documents, upload files, share with other users and store them in a centralized location (Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, etc.);
• Workflow management: used to define known workflows and processes so that teammates know where an item came from and where or to whom it goes next (Wrike, Jira, Atlassian Confluence, etc.);
• Task management: used to create and assign tasks to teammates, set deadlines and track progress (Jira, Backlog, Quire, etc.).

In addition to that, tools can help facilitate the shared workspace and all the teammates should have access to the project documentation. To sum up, you should review communication strategies with the outsourcing partner at the start of a project in terms of the geographical location, especially:

• define the channel of communication;
• identify the frequency of meetings;
• project-specific escalation measures in case of critical issues.

6. Set reasonable deadlines

Deadlines need to set you up for success in business — they must be strategic. Moreover, setting deadlines in a reasonable and effective way creates a culture of success. That’s why it’s crucial to help your tech provider to manage their time effectively. Once you have discussed key steps of the project with the project manager, let the manager set up reasonable deadlines for achieving each of them. Only by breaking down the tasks into subtasks can project manager schedule a time for each task, and ensure everything is completed before the final due date. It’s not a secret that having different milestones is better than an ultimate deadline. Not only can you achieve short-term goals fast, but also you can evaluate, modify and keep track of the work progress easier.

Where to find a reliable outsourcing web development partner?

Thankfully, tons of websites have cropped up to help a variety of businesses to meet their matches and find a good fit. Keep reading!

• Сlutch: provides you with 150 000+ agencies that offer top services and solutions across industries. Here you can find a partner who provides services in the following categories: advertising and marketing, web and software development, mobile development, IT services and solutions. This platform empowers businesses to discover and identify the most reliable and valuable tech partners to meet their unique needs and requirements.
• GoodFirms: being a research and review platform, it allows businesses to find a tech provider who matches their requirements. Not only can you find software development companies and design agencies, but also there is a great number of marketing companies to choose from.
• Upwork: it is the biggest freelance website with a great pool of talents. By using advanced filters option, you can find a specialist you are looking for. Past work history and feedback allows you to discover professional skills, and the messaging system simplifies the process of communicating with potential tech providers.

In the age of the Internet, you can find meetups, events, groups and learn more about tech participants who likely represent reliable and trustworthy companies. Also, when it comes to finding industry experts, founders or people within a specific organization that you would like to cooperate with, LinkedIn is a great tool. Just write a tailored message, polish and send it straight to the tech provider representative.

Final thoughts: Why DDI Development is a reliable tech partner to outsource web development?

Outsourcing web development is an advantage if you have a clear, valid strategy on how you want to drive business growth and revenue. Not only does it help you to focus on business essentials and increase in-house staff productivity, but also you can save money without decreasing product efficiency. That’s why finding a partner with a solid background and great technical expertise is a time-consuming process that requires a lot of resources. With the help of a reliable and experienced partner, such as DDI Development company, you can turn any business idea into successful software solutions and move your business to the next level. Check out our profiles with portfolio and client reviews at Clutch, GoodFirms, and Upwork to be sure that DDI Development is a trustworthy and credible tech provider you are looking for.