Do you want to outsource your WordPress development work to an agency or freelancer?
Outsourcing WordPress development work can be beneficial if you run a small business or even a marketing agency. It means you won’t have to handle website development tasks on your own and can let a team of experts do the hard work for you instead.
In this article, we will go over some tips and tricks on how to outsource WordPress development. Plus, we will recommend some of the best WordPress development agencies that you can outsource your work to.
Why Outsource WordPress Website Development?
Outsourcing WordPress development means you will be delegating some of your web development tasks to a third party, like a WordPress service provider. Here are some reasons to choose outsourcing:
- Save time – WordPress site development can take a while, especially if you are not an expert. With outsourcing, you can leave the hard work to a third-party development team and focus on improving your or your client’s online presence.
- Get expert assistance – If you are launching a small business or a digital agency, then your in-house team may need help to lighten their workload. Outsourcing companies have years of experience in managing WordPress development projects.
- Create custom functionalities – Some WordPress plugins may not have the features suitable for specific needs. If you don’t have a team member who can handle plugin development, then it’s best to let an outsourcing partner do the job.
- Maintain WordPress websites – Without the proper technical know-how, you may leave your or your clients’ WordPress sites vulnerable to security risks. An outsourcing team can take care of any website’s maintenance tasks so that it is protected at all times.
- Support your business or agency’s growth – As your business grows, you may want to migrate your websites to a more capable hosting service. It’s a good idea to hire an outsourcing company to ensure the migration is done properly.
In short, outsourcing WordPress development can be highly beneficial for small business owners and digital agencies with lots of tasks and little time to do them. We strongly recommend it if you have the budget and means for it.
With that in mind, let’s look at what kinds of WordPress development work you can outsource.
What Types of WordPress Development Work Can You Outsource?
Here are some WordPress development work that you may consider outsourcing:
- Custom WordPress plugin development
- A custom theme for a unique website design
- Landing page optimization to get more conversions
- Website migration to a different hosting provider
- Back-end optimization to make your website faster or more secure
- User experience audit to improve your website’s problematic areas
- Technical search engine optimization (SEO), if you don’t have the skills or knowledge to handle this
- PSD to WordPress conversion, if you have a custom theme made using Photoshop that you want to use in WordPress.
Note that there may be more or fewer tasks that a WordPress development agency can do, depending on their expertise. If you have a limited budget, then we suggest only outsourcing the tasks that your in-house development team needs more help with.
Pro Tip: Not sure what development work to outsource? Seahawk Media can help you out. You can book a free consultation to discuss what you need, and they will figure out the best solution for you.
Now, let’s go over some tips and tricks to outsource a WordPress development team. You can use the links below to navigate through the different sections of our guide:
1. Assess Your Development Needs
First things first, you must decide what you will need out of a WordPress development outsourcing service.
Try asking yourself the following questions:
- What are the goals of the WordPress website? Have you or your client been able to achieve them?
- How do you think outsourcing WordPress development will help your business or agency succeed?
- Does the WordPress theme work the way you or your client want it to? Does the web design represent the brand identity?
- What is a function that’s necessary for the WordPress website that you can’t find a plugin for?
- If you have an in-house development team, which tasks have been overwhelming them?
- How fast is the WordPress site, and is the speed causing visitors to bounce from the site?
- What metrics do you or your client want to improve on the WordPress site?
- How does the WordPress website rank on search engines?
- Is the WordPress website accessible?
- Have there been any significant security issues that you or the client need help with?
- Have you or your client been considering moving to a different WordPress hosting service?
- As an agency, how do you prepare for the possibility of handling more WordPress projects as your business grows?
- If the website is a WooCommerce store, are there areas on the eCommerce site that customers often complain about?
- If you run an agency, have you encountered challenges in translating client visions into actionable development tasks?
- Do you or your client have some inspiration for what the WordPress site should look like?
Once you have answers to these questions, you will have a better idea of what you need more help with from the outsourcing service provider.
If you find that many issues need addressing, don’t worry. You don’t need to tackle all of these areas at once, especially if you have budget constraints.
Instead, you can create a priority list of these problems and decide which one(s) you’d like the outsourcing company to handle first.
2. Research Your Potential Outsourcing Partners Carefully
Now that you have an idea of your development needs, you can start looking for potential outsourcing partners.
If you want to find trusted WordPress development companies, then you can check out our list of the best WordPress development agencies.
As you go through your search and contact your potential partners, make sure to consider these factors:
- The years of experience the company or developer has in WordPress development
- Their WordPress development skill set, such as plugin and theme file customization, database management, proficiency in PHP and web development frameworks, and so on
- Their experience with projects similar to yours, as it may be easier to work with a company that has handled a website with similar requirements
- If they provide client testimonials on their website or social media, and how they handle negative reviews
- Their track record of high-quality work, based on their portfolio and previous websites they’ve worked on
- Their typical development process and timeline for a project like yours
- If there is ongoing support and maintenance
- Their location and time zone
- Their pricing structure and what factors affect the overall cost
If you need a recommendation for the best WordPress development company, then we recommend Seahawk Media.
Seahawk Media is a leading WordPress design and development outsourcing company that has worked with 1000+ businesses, including DreamHost, GoDaddy, and Alibaba Cloud.
Whether you run a small business or an enterprise, Seahawk can help you out. They offer a wide range of services, from web design, hacked site repair, and SEO to WordPress migration.
You can read more information about why we recommend Seahawk in our Seahawk announcement.
Alternatively, Codeable is a great option for outsourcing your WordPress development. They only accept the top 2% of WordPress developers and have a detailed screening process to make sure that you get high-quality work.
For more recommendations, you can see our picks for the best places to hire WordPress developers.
Expert Tip: Are you also looking for honest reviews of WordPress plugins, themes, hosting, and other software? Just check out our WPBeginner Solution Center to discover even more WordPress-related services.
Should You Outsource WordPress Development to an Agency or a Freelancer?
Whether you should hire an agency or a freelancer depends on your project’s scope, requirements, and timeline.
If you have a large-scale project and want to address multiple problems on a website, then a WordPress agency may be a better choice. Agencies typically have a team of professionals with diverse skills, which can be beneficial for complex projects.
On the other hand, hiring a freelance WordPress developer may be more suitable if you have a smaller project. Besides being more cost-effective, this option usually has a faster turnaround time, too.
Should You Hire an Offshore WordPress Developer?
You may want to hire an offshore WordPress developer if the options in your country don’t satisfy your needs or if the developers overseas are more affordable for your budget. That said, you should always consider their skills, expertise, and reliability.
If you want to hire an offshore WordPress developer, then you can look to sites like Seahawk Media, Codeable, Upwork, or Fiverr. These platforms can connect you with WordPress developers all over the globe, and you can evaluate their skills, experience, and reviews.
3. Be Specific With Your Project Description
Now, let’s say you’ve already secured an outsourcing team for your WordPress project. At this stage, you may need to prepare a document that outlines what kind of service you need.
For this step, it’s a good idea to be as detailed and as specific as possible. This way, the company will have a better idea of what the final product should look like and the amount of time and effort needed to get there.
Doing this also helps set expectations for both parties, which is important to ensure a smooth working relationship. As a result, both sides can avoid any unpleasant surprises that may come up during the development process.
Depending on your project and your clients, here are some things you may want to include when writing your description:
- A project overview containing your or your client’s vision, purpose, and goals for the WordPress website
- Feature requirements, such as what functions or tools users need to access on the website
- Design and branding guidelines that detail the logo, color schemes, typography, and any other visual assets the development team should use
- Content structure, such as the number of pages, types of content, and taxonomies that the website uses
- Technical aspects, like third-party APIs, payment gateways, and other software tools that the website integrates with
- Any WordPress SEO elements that the team should optimize for
- What user experience or interface elements need to be included, like the type of navigation menu that should be used
- The current plugins and theme the website is using, in case of compatibility issues
- The project’s scalability, so that the outsourced team can anticipate future tasks and resource demands
- Any quality assurance or testing protocols the outsourcing team should follow
- Any website analytics tools that the outsourcing team should integrate
- The communication channels, client involvement in decision-making, and strategies for keeping your clients informed
- The schedule for website maintenance services in the future
At this stage, you and your outsourcing team will also need to agree on the project scope, timeline, and costs. Make sure that everything is written in a document, as it can serve as a reference point throughout your collaborative work.
4. Use a Project Management Tool
A project management tool is a platform where teams can create and assign tasks to team members. This way, everyone is aware of who is doing what and can see the current status of the project.
You can also use this tool to check in with the outsourcing team and provide feedback to them. It’s a much more efficient way of communication compared to email or messaging apps, as you can have all the messages in one place rather than scattered on multiple platforms.
If you want software recommendations, then consider using Asana. This software helps you view, track, and assign tasks that the team needs to do. It also offers many ways to view your tasks, such as lists, kanban boards, timelines, calendars, portfolios, and workloads.
