The Pros and Cons of hiring a Freelance Designer
There are times when you should use a freelance web designer and a time when you should use a design company… Both have their own pros and cons. Here are a few of the most important for freelancer web designers:
Freelancers are much cheaper
This is perhaps the best part about hiring a freelance web designer. They are usually a lot cheaper than companies because they have no one to pay but themselves. If you are not convinced, get a quote from a company and then from a freelancer. I promise the difference will be thousands, unless the freelancer is just ridiculous, or the company sucks… Do your research.
Freelancers take a little longer…
Freelancers work alone (obviously). This means all the work in your project is handled by one person. It therefore can take a bit longer. Personally, my lead-time for projects is two weeks BUT my work is quality and I can deal with my clients on a personal level all the time. However, if I am sick, there is no ‘team’ to pick up the work while I’m off. However, another point to consider is freelancers work later and weekends, so the time difference isn’t TOO bad.
Freelancers talents may be limited
In my experience, most freelancers may be limited to work that a client may need. I’m lucky – I can design, code and use basic CMS software, such as WordPress. A lot of freelancers however, may only be able to design or only develop. They then outsource the additional services and this will make the job more expensive for you. It is still cheaper than using companies though but could mean the project takes even longer.
Conclusion
You might be wondering when it’s the right time to hire a freelancer and when it’s the right time to hire a design company… I think it really depends on the size of your project. If you have a large project with a website that requires 100′s of pages with CMS, I would go to a company. But if you need a small, 5 page website, a WordPress website or anything similar, try a freelancer. They are cheaper and it’s a lot more personal.
