How to Outsource a Web Development Project Successfully

Any change in the web development market leads to a step by step change for the way of doing business because previous approaches don’t yield results. That’s why the requirements for specialists working in this branch become different. Some of them are getting overwhelmed trying to mix different functions and try to seat on two chairs. More and more companies are getting to resource offshore agencies to reduce costs and avoid the processing overload.

I have been working for an offshore company since 2013 that provides web development and design services. So, in this article, I will provide the info based on our experience of cooperation with customers abroad. First of all, if you choose the trustworthy company, it will save you lots of headache and money.

And as any development service company operating abroad we’ve faced with customer’s mistrust. Most of the question — and — answer sites are full of discussion blocks about web development outsourcing and the quality of offshore programming companies. But the trust is, outsourcing development is only risky when you have a deal with developers who are not of professional caliber.

If to take into account IT market analyzing reports a lot of famous web and software startups to get on top used outsource development. Get through some of the prominent resources used outsource services:

* Opera — this company hired developers from another country to create and implement its platform
* MySQL — the company has deal with outsourced staff from different countries to scale up operations
* GitHub — the company use outsourced freelancers working remotely
* Basecamp — the company infrastructure and technology were built by offshore developers
* Slack — at the beginning of startup development they outsourced developers for the solution

Every startup during its life cycle has some difficulties. First of all critical matters are the technological implementation of your ideas, fast growth, and team expansion. Can outsource help to avoid these problems? Actually, yes. But let’s deep into the process to know when a startup really gets technological and financial progress.

Offshore company profile

You should have an idea who you’re hiring. Always check whether the company has a successful cooperation history with clients. Our customers use such portal as Clutch, you can see legal information about the company, it’s rate and customers’ review at any time. Also a great resource is Upwork, where you can find web development teams portfolios providing full information about team work, experience, rates and customers’ review.

To begin with, get clear if offshore development company work with appropriate technology to create a quality product. Feel free to check their portfolio and connect with some customers to get a personal opinion about chosen agency and development team. You know, sometimes it’s difficult to visit an offshore office, but try different communication ways like phone, Skype, video chat. It’s a good idea to interview the developers online because you clear up if they really know what they provide. Communication plays a vital role in dealing with remote teams.

Documentation Supply

The next step is documentation supply. Check whether the company follows good documentation practice. Proper and clear workflow is the key to successful project implementation. Before starting to work, check if all needed agreements are closed. Always sign proper agreements or contracts with a vendor. Mind that the legal agreements with respect to intellectual property are extremely important in order to protect the intellectual assets of your business and release you from problems in the years ahead.

Estimate Web Project

Estimate your project and ask your offshore development provider try the same. You get to know how the company will try to scope with the issue and how it handles it. Verify the documentation and make sure that they really reflect the needs. If offshore web development company doesn’t have well-organized development process, qualified employees and advanced technology the quality product delivery will be a far cry.

Web Development Methodology

A lot of companies follow the development methodology like Waterfall, Agile, Extreme Development, Feature-driven development and so on. All of them provide different ways of management communication and project running. Nevertheless, competent web development service providers are assured of the standard processing and get their development work completed on-time and delivery without any complication.

Budget Plan

Before you approach a vendor it is highly recommended to have a financial plan for at least 1–2 years. This will help you attract an experienced technological partner that will help you grow and scale the business. A good offshore development partner helps you achieve your product objectives while staying within your budget because the cost of skilled labor in other countries is 3 to 5 times less expensive than in the US.

So, you have identified the project aims, provider, financial plan, but now you need to ensure that your chosen outsource developer understands exactly what the project involves. Good, clear communication is absolutely essential here. The ability to express yourself in straight forward, easy to understand language can make the difference between success and failure of a project. As a rule, web development agency provides its project manager, or you have the ability to communicate with developers face to face. You shouldn’t worry, as statistic shows developers from Eastern Europe have fluent English and great communication skills.

The process of outsourcing web development might be tricky and sometimes risky, following the above-discussed guidelines will help you successfully get what you want.

Originally published at blog.active-bridge.com.