Advantages of using a freelance web designer

Why use a freelance web designer?

Having worked both in the corporate world and as a freelancer, I find that in most situations there are dozens of reasons why you should hire a freelance or outsourced web designer rather than using someone on staff.

Web design is not your core competency
As a small business owner, I know that it’s easy to get distracted by things that aren’t your main business because you may know a little about it. The truth is that HTML is NOT that complicated, and being the industrious person you are, you could probably throw something together. I’ve seen people try this and have their work come out OK, but what they don’t realize is that they’ve lost valuable time that they could have used to focus on their business. There’s nothing wrong with saving a little money, but the truth is that using a freelance company is well worth the investment.

Web design is what freelancers do all day
When I worked for one company, I knew their website very, very well. The difference is that as a freelancer, I get to see trends in what website owners want and get to know “the best way to do it.” That’s a great value for website owners because they can rely on my (our) expertise and judgment.

Freelancers know about a variety of products
Long ago, I gave up on “writing websites from scratch.” There are literally hundreds of pre-built solutions out there just waiting to be “pieced” together by a freelance web developer. Taking advantage of them will both reduce your TCO and increase the quality of your site because often times, these software programs thought of something you didn’t. No need to re-invent the wheel.

Your project will end some day
The biggest problem I saw my company face when I worked for someone else was that when my projects ended, they either had to re-train me for something new or let me sit and twiddle my thumbs all day. I was pretty good at finding work to do, but the truth is that it’s much easier for a company to just “stop” hiring a freelancer when a project finishes than it is to “stop” paying an employee.

Freelancers are trying to build their portfolio
Many business owners are afraid to outsource their website because they aren’t able to sit and manage the freelance company like they would their own employee. True they may need some more communication up-front in creating a statement of work, a contract and a budget. However, most businesses owners don’t realize that the freelance web designer is trying to build his own portfolio that he can be proud of, so he will natrually be willing to work extra hard to make a good site that you are happy with.

You can use CMS systems to avoid over-paying a freelancer
Another big concern about freelancers for business owners is that they don’t want to have to pay the freelance company every time they want to re-vamp their website. For these customers, we highly recommend a content management system (CMS) that allows them to make simple text edits without paying our hourly rate. If you hire us, you will only need us again if you want something major done.

Cut through your company’s red tape
Inside your company, it can seem like you need an act of congress to get something done, right? When you hire a freelance company, we do all of the work and you just need to show it to your people. You take the credit if it’s good, we take the heat if it’s bad, get it?

There are many other reasons for using a freelance company. Check out our process to see how Black Lotus Web Design can make a solution for you! Contact us today!