Aspects To Consider Before Choosing An Offshore Web Development Company

Having a website that stands out is a necessity for large and small businesses. Even an iconic company like Apple makes sure to have a website that embraces the values of Steve Jobs in terms of its simplicity. Just as Apple’s hardware are sleek, so is the website. While for E-commerce companies like Amazon, their website is critical, even innovative consumer products companies like IKEA gives a lot of thought to their websites and try to be of use to visitors.

For small businesses and others, website development represents a critical requirement and a challenge simultaneously. Entrepreneurs may not be able to splurge a lot of cash on website development when they have to focus on growing their core business in a challenging economic climate. Hence, offshore web development offers a great opportunity for smart businesses whereby they can get a world-class website at very affordable prices. Companies have to be smart while opting for offshore web development companies if they don’t want to fall for fly-by-night operators. Here are a few pointers aspects to consider:

Track Record
A good offshore web development company will have a significant track record of successfully delivering projects. You have to check if your potential web development partner has such a record and go through the portfolio of work they have completed.

Testimonials
Client testimonials offer a way to check on a company’s track record. So, you should check for client testimonials and seek to speak to former clients of the company. If an offshore web development company is good, its clients will provide positive testimonials and feedback about the company.

Costs
While companies opt for offshore web development to cut costs, cutting costs should not be the only purpose as that can be detrimental to the whole project. You should seek to make reasonable cost savings but don’t go for a company that offers unbelievably cheap rates — you might discover mid way through the project that your web development partner has bitten off more than they can chew and this will lead to project delays with inevitable discord and a messy or unsatisfactory ending.

Say No To 100% Advance
Paying the entire project cost up front to the web development company is not a smart idea since you don’t know how good the company is in terms of actual execution of the project. They might promise to deliver the Earth but may not be able to keep their promise. Despite all the track record and glowing testimonials, it might make sense to opt for a milestone-based payment which you work out with your web development partner. You can start out the project by paying a 20% advance or even more than that but 100% advance payment may well backfire. This way of doing business especially with an offshore web development service provider is a big no-no

Companies, Not Individuals
While there are very smart individual web development professionals who do their job well, while looking to outsource, it’s better to opt for companies rather than individuals. With individuals, there is always the risk that they may fall sick or take on more projects than they can reliably deliver. With companies, you get peace of mind knowing that people falling sick or leaving the company will be replaced by other professionals so that the project will remain on track and on schedule. This is something that should seriously be considered when choosing an offshore web development provider.

Benefits of Indian Offshore Web Development Companies

There are many benefits to opting for offshore web development companies and below are some of them:

Latest Web Development Technologies
Since the Web is built using the same standards and technologies, you get the same technologies across the world. The best Indian offshore web development companies use the same HTML5 technologies and responsible web design as their American counterparts. Indian offshore web development companies will also offer world-class offshore PHP development.

Flexibility
Companies get a lot of flexibility in terms of how they wish their project to be executed. If companies want a fast-paced development, offshore web development companies offer the best option as they can quickly scale up their technical personnel with additional hires and the job gets done quickly. If companies want a long-term relationship, offshore web development companies will have options to go for long-term partnerships including digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) activities. Since you are not worried about increasing overheads as would happen if you were to hire staff in-house, you get a lot of flexibility in decision-making.

Communication
Communication with offshore web development companies is made seamless via email, chat, Skype and phone. With Indian offshore web development companies, there is no language barrier as Indian technical personnel are very competent in English. Almost all IT institutions across India are taught in English.

Best Technical Talent
With Indian offshore web development companies, companies get access to the best web development personnel — whether you need Ruby on Rails, PHP development professionals or HTML5 professionals. With abundant well-trained technical professionals, you can rest assured that the project won’t suffer because of a shortage of technical talent. Almost anything you need can be provided easily.

Cost Effectiveness
With plentiful technical resources and competition among offshore web development companies, the cost of projects is highly reasonable. Companies can take the savings they make with offshore web development and invest it in other ways such as internal skills development or giving bonuses to outstanding employees.

Long Term Benefits
If you see your web development project as a long-term activity — as you should — rather than a one-time activity, partnering with Indian offshore web development companies offers added benefits in terms of SEO services offered by Indian web development companies. Companies cannot really afford to ignore Google and its algorithm changes. To stay on top of those changes is a must and it’s a challenge to be taken care of by SEO professionals at web development companies.

Digital Marketing
To stay ahead of the competition, companies will need to spend strategically in digital marketing efforts. Additionally, digital marketing is far more cost effective than expensive TV and print advertising campaigns. With the growth of social media — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest — social media marketing has become an essential part of any digital marketing activity. Companies need to be present on all the different social media platforms and also venture into content marketing via blogs, emails, newsletters, YouTube videos and so on. This is all essential to attract potential customers into the marketing funnel and is beneficial in the long-term.

Conclusion
If you follow this above list of what to look at when considering an offshore web development company, you would be surprised about what you can get in return. If you need any assistance or advice with your web development, digital marketing or anything else, please feel free to reach out to the team at Mind Digital Group.