Outsourcing or In-House Design: Which Is Better for Your Business?

Let’s review the benefits and pitfalls of different work styles for designers in the business aspect. Which is better for your goals, outsourcing or in-house design?

Do I outsource or get an in house designer for a website design? This question gets asked more often than not. And there isn’t a one size fit all response to this dilemma faced by most entrepreneurs. While some might rave about the benefits of outsourcing design work, other experiences fall short.

In this article, let’s break down the whys, the how, the pros and cons of in-house hiring vs. outsourcing for web designers to help you make the best decision for your business.

Outsourcing Design

According to Entrepreneur.com, outsourcing in business is when a specific job function is handled by an individual or company outside your business’s in-house employee or team.

A company might choose to outsource its job functions for multiple reasons. According to Deloitte’s Global Outsourcing Survey, some of these reasons include:

• 59% – the ability to reduce or control budget costs
• 57% – more room to focus on core functions
• 47% – timely solve capacity challenges
• 31% – improve brand service
• 28% – access a wider pool of expert talent and knowledge
• 17% – increase organizational transformation

However, outsourcing also has its own challenges, so let’s look at the pros and cons to consider the right fit for the design needs of your business.

Pros of Outsourcing Design

• With outsourcing, you can quickly get freelancers that are pros at targeted disciplines, such as web design, content marketing, content creation, video editing, paid search media, or writing.
• Outsourcing is perfect for short-term projects, where a specific design skill is required for the completion of a one-off project.
• It becomes cost-effective when you outsource to a freelance designer in a different region, and dollar arbitrage allows you to take advantage of different prices across different markets.
• Another advantage is that outsourcing to get the best web design is that you can always scale your team depending on the bulk of the work.
• It is also an exciting way to get fresh ideas to build a beautiful website. By outsourcing, you are exposed to new perspectives, opinions, and styles to drive your marketing strategies.

Cons of Outsourcing Your Website Design

• Sometimes hiring a designer outside the company could put your brand’s Intellectual property at risk of exposure. You will need to carry out a proper background check.
• There are fake freelance profiles out there with exaggerated skills. Also, a freelance designer without ratings or can’t be found online is a red flag.
• Outsourcing for a designer outside your location could mean a difference in styles regarding design, engineering, video editing, or content creation. It becomes vital that you try to pick a designer with experience in your region.
• Communication gaps are likely to arise, especially where the freelance designer is in a different time zone and have different types of schedules.

Another downside to outsourcing is the issue of lack of control. Unlike a designer with a permanent job on your team, you can’t control a freelancer’s stability or their ability to meet deadlines.

When to Outsource Design

Before outsourcing, you will need to have a clear plan in order to avoid making the wrong decision. The need to consider outsourcing will be necessary if you want to:

• Make use of specialized talent temporarily, and full-time employment doesn’t make sense
• Make room for internal resources and key into core brand activities
• Reduce the cost of a particular project.
• Lessen the burden on your in-house designers

Additionally, you need also to consider the legal contracts and how to deal with potential conflict if your budget is enough to pay the contractor. Also, how the designer will be managed and will they need to work remotely, attend in-house meetings, or both. Once you have a clear plan and how to go about it, then you can outsource the job and set up to reap the benefits.

However, if you have considered every angle and concluded that outsourcing would not work for your business, perhaps you should find an in-house designer.

Hiring Full-Time In-House Designer

The alternative to outsourcing your website design is to get a permanent hire in-house designer (insourcing). The process of hiring and training these in-house designers to give your business the best website design comes with several pros and cons.

Pros of In-House Designer

• You can monitor and control in-house designers with frequent face-to-face conversations and keep track of their work.
• The brand’s intellectual property kept and likely to remain confidential. In-house employees can be asked to sign a non-compete contract, so your trade secrets are safe.
• Over time there is a sort of familiarity built between the in-house designer and the brand that is vital in creating and sustaining a consistent brand image.

Cons of In-House Designer

• Working with in-house designers could mean more money, time and effort in building the team
• The average salary of a full-time web designer, according to a 2019 survey by Glassdoor, is $49,000. Depending on your budget, outsourcing might be a more flexible plan, since the salary you’re paying an in-house designer is a constant.
• Recruiting skilled designers can prove to be challenging, especially if your business is in a small city. The best talents may already be employed.
• For permanent designers, you will need to consider their medical and dental benefits, and other allowance, unlike outsourcing, where you pay a flat rate.
• The recruitment process can sometimes be lengthy, costly, and cumbersome, and when an employee leaves your company, you will need to start the process all over again.

Conclusion

Now you have seen and weighed all the facts on outsourcing vs. getting an in-house designer. A little bit more planning and foresight go a long way in making the right pick for your business. Next you can map out your business marketing strategy to get a vivid picture of the kind of designer that can get you the best website design. Be open to experiments and tailor the solution to your needs, ultimately it leads to finding out what works best for your business.

This is the guest post by Anna Medina, a specialist in different types of writing with a degree in Interpreting. Now she improves her skills working as a freelance writer for Pick The Writer as well as publishing guest articles in a variety of blogs.

Title image from Flame pack in Ouch vector library

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