What Questions to Ask When Outsourcing Your Web Development Project?

Summary: A majority of companies worldwide have chosen to outsource. Fortunately, they have found the best all-inclusive solution for the same. For those planning to outsource a web development company for an upcoming project, this is your opportunity to outshine competitors! However, you need to do 360-degree research when outsourcing. This guide lists the top outsourcing questions you need to ask before signing an agreement with the web development company.

Undoubtedly, developing a website is a necessity for businesses seeking growth. Any small, mid, and large-sized companies need to create a website or web application. The primary purpose of any website or web application is to connect with customers. Therefore, web development is one thing that stands first on the priority list of every business plan. Besides, outsourcing has become one of the potential sources for web development projects. Outsourcing is still a questioning way to undertake web development. Why? Because companies are unaware of the importance of Web Development Outsourcing and what outsourcing web development questions to ask.

Considering the lacking importance of outsourcing, we have compiled a guide where we’ll learn how to choose the best web development company. Let’s ask legitimate questions to the outsourcing companies so that your company doesn’t face any jeopardy.

Customers Google Everything

To understand the importance of outsourcing web development, you should know that customers Google everything. When they say, “let me first Google it,” they mean to learn about the business, its products/services, prices, and everything in between. Thus, you need to construct an online presence.

According to a Google survey, 53% of shoppers research before buying. The same survey report mentions some eye-opening numbers about consumer behavior:

• 87% of the survey shoppers believe it is significant to find a good deal before investing in a brand or retailer.
• 85% of shoppers say that product information and pictures play a critical role in their purchase decision.

Now that you know online presence is crucial from the sales point of view, you should understand that creating a website or web application can flip the cards for you.

As a company, you can opt to develop a website from scratch or outsource it.

Why Are We Asking You to Outsource?

Business owners get confused about whether to outsource or hire an in-house development team. But, when you have multiple business goals to achieve and a time constraint works around your clock, the best option is outsourcing!

In-house web development is more popular than outsourcing. However, don’t mistake it for the best option you have. Here’s a rundown of some of the drawbacks of in-house web development. Think of it as additional reasons to choose outsourcing web development over in-house!

1. High costs

Buying electronic equipment, expensive software licenses, hiring, and retaining employees all cost a fortune. An in-house team requires you to incur ongoing costs. You cannot settle for a one-time payment! In brief, you incur high costs of web or app development.

2. It is time-consuming!

To hire employees locally, you first need to post a job, wait for a suitable candidate to respond to it, conduct interviews, and finally make the appropriate, informed decision. Besides, you need to spend a considerable time collecting resources, training them, conducting meetings, and much more.

Thus, without proper intel, you can lose a lot of time just gathering the human resource required to develop them!

3. Limitations

You can be limited to choosing from the local talent. However, outsourcing is the opposite. Here, you have an entire pool to choose from without any limitations.

Why work the hard way when you have chicer web development options?

Hiring a Remote Web Development Team Is the Key to Success

Did you know that remote employment has two types – outsourcing and out-staffing? Outsourcing involves hiring a web development company that helps you to develop the solution according to your needs and requirements. The hired company takes care of the entire project! On the other hand, in out-staffing, you hire a team of professionals who, under your supervision, do the job. In this case, you are provided a team of employees with the necessary skills and experience to work on the web development project.

That brings us to the different kinds of outsourcing based on location.

• Offshore outsourcing: you hire a team from outside your country with a different time zone.
• Nearshore outsourcing: hiring a team from other countries within the same time zone.
• Onshore outsourcing: you hire a team from your country.

When you outsource web development or other projects to another company within the same region/country.

Which one is better? That depends purely on your goals and requirements. However, to find the best web development company, ask these top outsourcing questions!

Top 20+ Questions to Ask Web Development Companies When Outsourcing

Here are the top 20+ interview questions you should ask a web development company while outsourcing them. To ease out your job, the questions are differentiated based on various criteria like expertise, technical knowledge, workflow, and so on.

Questions to ask yourself!

1. Who is the target audience?

Define your target audience before starting the web development project. Understand and study who will consume your product. Know A to Z about them, starting from their age, gender, location, and much more. Once you know your target audience, you’ll be able to justify the look and feel of the website you’re expecting the outsourced company to build.

2. Why do you need to build a website?

Identify certain problems or challenges you can fix by building a website for your company. Here, answering “to build an online presence,” “everyone has a website.” or “to reach more customers.” can be wrong.

Find an in-depth answer to this question!

3. What kind of budget do you have?

Defining the budget is important when you are looking to outsource a web development company. If you don’t have a multi-billion dollar budget, no problem! Outsourcing comes into play here!

With an outsourced solution, you can get the best results even without having bulky cash in your pockets!

Questions to Ask About Their Expertise

4. What kind of industry experience do you hold?

Having specific industry experience that’s similar to yours, gives you an affirmation that the web development team is familiar with the most used terms, legal requirements, etc. Hiring a team that understands industry-specific models, concepts, and works with the same technology, and other aspects is significant.

Thus, if you want your project to succeed, ask about their experience.

5. What is your experience with similar projects?

One of the top concerns when outsourcing web development is ensuring your partner has the necessary experience. A company that has handled similar projects or worked in your industry will be better equipped to understand your needs. To measure their expertise, you might ask:

• Can you share specific examples of web development projects similar to ours?
• What challenges have you faced while developing a project in our industry, and how did you overcome them?

This information will help you assess their ability to meet your unique requirements.

6. Who were your clients?

To gain some excellent insight about the web development company, ask them about their previous clients. It is an excellent opportunity to understand and find the justification for the quality of the product that the company is promising you.

If the outsourced company has worked with prestigious clients, you know that they build high-quality web applications.

7. Can you share some references?

It is one of the crucial outsourcing web development questions to ask. Even if you don’t plan on using the references, if the company is willing to share the references, they are showing their high credibility and want to maintain complete transparency.

Look for testimonials on the company’s website or social media channels. They’ll help you to create the “impression” of the outsourced company.

Questions About Their Workflow

8. What development methodology do you follow?

Understanding your potential partner’s development methodology is crucial. This can give you a clearer picture of how the team will manage the project timeline, handle changes, and communicate progress. Two common methodologies include Agile which emphasizes flexibility and constant communication and Waterfall a more structured, step-by-step approach. Key questions to ask include:

• What development methodology do you follow (Agile, Waterfall, Kanban, etc.)?
• How do you manage unforeseen changes during the project?

Usually, companies follow the agile methodology. If the outsourced company is following the agile approach, you can gain benefits like:

• Greater flexibility
• Control
• Result-focused project workflow
• Better involved in the project from start to finish

Knowing their approach will help ensure it aligns with your preferred working style and flexibility needs.

9. What development stages do you generally follow?

Any web development team must follow a predefined web development process route to obtain results. Once again, it doesn’t have to be rigid! But, a proper step-wise approach can save you the extra cost and effort.

This is an example of the development stages a web development company should follow:

• Analyzing business goals and requirements
• Research of potential solutions
• Structuring the solution
• Documenting the project scope
• Addressing potential risks beforehand
• Setting the plan and scheduling the deliverables (preparing the timeline)

10. How do you plan to communicate with clients?

“Communication is the key to success.” Thus, to maintain the quality of the project, communicating with the client frequently, plays a critical role. Therefore, it’s necessary to ask how they prefer to communicate with the clients.

Here’s what you should expect from their answer:

• We get in touch with the clients over audio calls, video meetings, messages, etc.
• We use various tools to maintain an efficient communication pattern.
• We regularly update the clients on the project’s progress.
• Our project managers remain in direct contact with the clients.

Questions About Their Technical Expertise

11. How will we communicate and manage the project?

Clear and consistent communication is critical to the success of any outsourcing project. Ask how often updates will be shared, who your point of contact (POC) will be, and what project management platforms or tools they prefer to use such as Slack, Zoom, or Jira. This will help you determine if their communication style matches yours. Questions to consider include:

• How frequently will you provide project updates?
• What communication tools do you use for real-time collaboration?
• How do you handle time zone differences when working with clients abroad?

This ensures both sides are on the same page and the project runs smoothly.

12. What technology stack will you use for our project (provide a rough idea)?

The list of top outsourcing questions is incomplete without asking them about the “technical” front. Therefore, if you haven’t decided on the technology stack for your project, you should ask the outsourced web development company how they plan to do it. Asking this question will ensure they are well-versed with the latest technology stack in the market.

Also, if they have worked on similar projects, they’ll provide the perfect answer!

13. What web development technologies do you specialize in?

Your project’s success heavily depends on the technology stack used. Make sure your outsourcing partner has expertise in relevant programming languages and frameworks such as React, Angular, Django Node.js, Ruby on Rails or others. Understanding their tech stack will provide clarity on whether they can meet your project’s requirements, especially for complex needs like AI integration or cloud-based development. Important questions to ask:

• What programming languages and frameworks do you primarily use?
• How do you ensure your team stays updated with the latest technologies?

This will help you assess their technical competence and their ability to stay current in an evolving industry.

14. How do you ensure the website’s user-friendly?

A website must be user-friendly. Ensure that the company builds user-friendly deliverables so that website can work smoothly across different devices, web browsers, screens, etc.

While the company is answering this question, if they mention “compatibility testing,” you have found the perfect match. Compatibility testing ensures that the website or web applications work smoothly regardless of the device!

15. What tools do you prefer to use while developing a website or web application?

The development process should be smooth, don’t you agree? Thus, it’s vital to know what tools the company prefers to use for the same. Besides communication, the outsourced company should provide you with an extensive list of tools they use for:

• Managing the productivity
• UI/UX design
• Analytics
• DevOps
• Testing
• Source Control

Questions to ask about Security Measures

16. How do you plan to handle the security and maintenance?

To ensure your website performs well, you need to ensure that the hosting, security, and maintenance are in place. Take note of what hosting environment the company follows and its security certificates.

The outsourced company must offer your maintenance services as well! Why? Because outsourcing website maintenance separately can cost you more! Moreover, it will put your website or web application under “increased inefficiency” risks!

Also Read: Why Outsourcing Website Maintenance Can Help Your Website Grow

17. Will you transfer complete ownership of the website?

The domain name should be registered under your company’s name. Without this, you cannot access the website’s hosting account and receive the source code files. Ensure that the outsourced web development company doesn’t claim ownership of your products or artifacts.

18. How do you ensure data security and compliance?

Security and regulatory compliance should never be an afterthought. A reputable web development company will have robust systems in place to protect your data and comply with relevant regulations like GDPR or HIPAA. Here are some important questions to ask:

• How do you ensure the security of our website and user data?
• How do you comply with regulatory standards like GDPR, HIPAA, etc.?
• What cybersecurity measures do you have in place to prevent breaches?

Ensuring their security protocols meet industry standards can protect your business from potential risks.

19. Do you offer post-development support and maintenance?

After the website goes live, bugs, updates, and maintenance are inevitable. You need to know if your outsourcing service provider will provide long-term support, addressing any issues that arise post-launch. Ask questions like:

• What support do you offer after the project is completed?
• How do you handle bug fixes and updates after a website launch?
• Do you offer long-term maintenance plans?

Ongoing support and maintenance ensures your platform stays functional and up-to-date, avoiding potential downtime or security issues.

Questions Related to Cost

20. What is your cost structure, and are there any hidden fees?

Understanding the pricing structure upfront can help avoid surprises down the road. It is important to understand how your outsourcing partner prices their services. Ensure that all potential costs are clearly outlined from the start. Ask questions such as:

• Can you provide a detailed cost breakdown for the project?
• What happens if the project scope changes? Will there be additional fees?
• Do you offer a fixed-price model, hourly billing, or a retainer model?

Getting clarity on web development costs upfront will help you budget more effectively and avoid hidden fees.

21. How do you ensure cultural and operational fit with our team?

Cultural fit and effective collaboration are often overlooked, but they play a vital role in the project’s success. Your outsourcing company providing web development services must be able to work harmoniously with your in-house team. Ask questions to assess this fit, such as:

• How do you integrate your team with ours to ensure smooth collaboration?
• How do you handle feedback and revisions during the project?
• How do you ensure your team aligns with our company culture?

This ensures that the outsourcing team works seamlessly with your internal stakeholders.

22. Can you provide client testimonials or case studies?

Finally, you’ll want to verify the company’s track record by looking at what other clients have to say. Ask for references, client testimonials, and case studies relevant to your industry to get an insight of how well they perform, how’s the quality of work, and how they communicate. Key questions include:

• Can you provide testimonials from previous clients in our industry?
• Do you have case studies that show your work on similar projects?
• Can we speak to any of your past clients for references?

This helps you validate the company’s credibility and assess whether they can deliver what they promise.

23. How do you price web development services?

You should be aware of the cost to build a website. Thus, note that you don’t forget to ask about service pricing while asking other outsourcing web development questions! The pricing of the service should include everything:

• Payment models
• Methods of payment
• Up-front costs

Carefully analyze their pricing before you make the final outsourcing decision.

Ultimate Guide: How to Outsource Web Development?

Wrapping Up

The decision is yours!

We hope that you have understood the importance of outsourcing. However, if you are stuck, start your search for the best web development companies to outsource! Ask questions to yourself and the other bunch of top outsourcing questions potential companies before you start building the foundations of your website or web applications!

Happy outsourcing!