Your Complete Web Design Outsourcing Guide for 2024

Have you ever thought about why some sites look so appealing while others make you feel like leaving immediately? That is actually the “first impression” rule in action, determining whether a user stays on the site or leaves. 

Many studies have shown that a harmonious visual component and easy navigation create a positive first impression. Conversely, an unsuccessful design solution and inconvenient navigation cause the rejection of the entire site, regardless of the quality of the content.

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So, to attract customers, a website must be convenient, functional, and visually engaging. And only competent web designers and developers can make it that way. You may ask, but where can you get such a team? 

Now your search has no limits to a geographic location. Such top companies like Samsung, Apple, and IBM, prefer to outsource web design and development. So why don’t you follow their example?

If you do not know how to approach web design and development outsourcing, look for answers in our article. As a software development company with experience in providing digital design services, we’ll explain how web design is related to the success of your site and list the reasons you should outsource it.

Why is good web design so important?

Preferences play a large role in the evaluation of digital products. Therefore, concepts such as “good design” and “poor design” are evaluated only in user reaction. And research has revealed many interesting patterns in how users assess designs.

• 75% of users judge a company’s reliability based on visual design alone. It may sound overwhelming, but users really doubt the relevance of a company’s products or services if the website design looks outdated. When does design become “obsolete,” you ask? According to Business 2 Community, a website’s average “lifespan” is 1.5 to 2.5 years. After this period, it already needs a redesign.
• 94% of the first user’s impressions are directly related to design. In this study from ACM, 94% of the feedback was related to design (layout, lack of navigation, color, pop-ups, excess text, poor search tools). Only 6% of the feedback was about the site’s actual content. ACM surveyed healthcare website users, but the same is true for other industries.
• It only takes visitors 0.05 seconds to form a first impression of your website design. During those 0.05 seconds, visitors will not have time to read your site or click on anything. They will form an impression of solely visual design.
• Yes, people prefer beautifully designed websites — 38% will stop interacting with your site if your layout and content are unattractive. And it’s not only the visual appeal but also the quality of the content offered on the resource; loading speed, structuring pages, maintaining symmetry, the harmony of colors and fonts, white balance, etc. If visitors don’t like any design aspect, they will not move beyond the website’s home page and find it unusable.
• 85% of B2B customers search the information online before making a purchase decision. And the look and feel of your website are the main driving force behind those first impressions.

Why is it challenging to create a good web design?

Suppose the primary goal of website development is to get the proper response from the target audience. In that case, we can define an excellent website as “the embodiment of the idea, calculated for maximum impact.” But let’s face it, creating a great website design is not as easy as it sounds. When providing a compelling user experience, designers must think outside the box and find the right solutions for many issues.

Challenge #1: download speed

Here’s what Google’s tech lead Maile Ohye says about downloading speed. “Two seconds is actually the threshold for e-commerce site acceptability. At Google, we aim for under a half-second.”

The website or web application must load at top speed without compromising the features and functionalities, enabling it without fail. That will allow users to interact with your site longer, lowering the bounce rate. A site loaded for over one (!) second loses the visitor’s attention; therefore, this factor is a priority for developers when ranking tasks by importance.

Challenge #2: accessibility

The next challenge when building websites is to make your site as accessible as possible. Designers must design and develop equal access to the site’s information, functions, and capabilities to achieve this goal. In addition, accessibility is also helpful for search engine optimization (SEO). Organized and clear headings, meaningful information, and alt attributes in images increase readability, which is convenient for both users and search engines. For example, Google is now prioritizing the user experience.

Challenge #3: compatibility

Another important aspect of website building is compatibility. Your website no longer needs to look the same across browsers or devices with different screen sizes. With a responsive design, a website can change its shape to fit the space on any screen.

In previous years, more than half of the world’s internet traffic came from mobile phones and tablets. Remember, smartphones have a 64% higher conversion rate than desktops. Therefore, having a website for mobile devices is a must. For this reason, it is essential than ever that your website is mobile-optimized.

Challenge #4: readability

The fourth critical issue when building a website is “readability.” Readability refers to how your intended audience may perceive your content. When creating a great website, make it readable for all users, regardless of their background or age group. 

There are three critical aspects to website readability:

• Layout. A clean design with a magnificent structure is essential for a successful website. The general perception of information on the site depends on how well the layout is worked out. Therefore, we recommend contacting experienced designers so that later you do not redo everything based on the finished project when promoting on the Internet, since this will cost much more.
• Colors. Establishing brand colors and following the 60-30-10 rule can create the perfect sense of balance. We recommend using the following formula: primary color -60%, secondary color – 30%, accent color -10% (only in the most important places to highlight certain site elements). Plus, in 2022-2023, most designers from companies like Apple, Google, and Twitter will heavily use bold fonts in their website designs.
• Typeface and fonts. We recommend two fonts for site design; they should be from the same typeface. Then they will practically be combined while improving the readability and crawlability of the site. 
• CTA. Website visitors spend most of their time looking at the content at the top of the page. Statistics say that 65% of the viewing time is concentrated in the upper half of the viewport. Therefore, we recommend providing the essential information and placing your call to action at the top left of the page.
• Visual elements. Users are 10x more likely to interact with a video than text.

Challenge #4: navigation

How navigation is designed is pivotal to user engagement. People will leave a website as quickly as they arrive if it is challenging to navigate. It makes sense to consider design psychology, applying Hick’s law. It states that the more options you provide, the longer it takes to decide. Therefore, when using Hick’s Law for website navigation, the choice should be as simple as possible so that users can more easily choose where to go. A landing page is the first thing a user sees on your site. Thus, it is especially important here to keep choice to a minimum.

According to a study by the Missouri University of Science and Technology, people spend an average of about 6 seconds looking at the logo and navigation bar. When it comes to web designing your site, make your logo memorable and your navbar useful and attractive.

Challenge #5: usability

Usability is the sum of performing the tasks mentioned above flawlessly. The website design should be as simple as possible and “familiar” with usability. As they say, “prototypical.” The design should correspond to the prevailing human stereotypes; for example, “the site of an e-commerce company should be just like that.” But, it should be no worse than your competitors’ similar sites. 

Top 8 reasons to outsource web design projects

The website design creation process is challenging and time-consuming. It requires creativity, knowledge of current trends, regular brainstorming sessions with your team, and critical thinking skills. To complete this mission, designers must be true experts in visual design and user research, cross-platform user interface design, prototyping, information architecture, and other areas.

Therefore, if you decide which to choose — in-house or outsource — consider whether your in-house team will cope with this task (if, of course, there is one). If you take on this task, be prepared because it will distract you from your significant activities and most likely decrease your productivity.

Moreover, your team’s hard work does not guarantee you a web design that your clients will love. Lack of experience can cause you to miss out on many essential things that can be counterproductive in the long run. At the same time, experienced outsourced teams will complete your design tasks much faster, better, and often at a lower cost.

Unsurprisingly, more and more sole proprietors, startups, and companies are choosing to outsource mission-critical tasks like web design to an external team of web design professionals.

When should you definitely go for web design outsourcing?

With a glance at eight years of design and development experience, we advise you to outsource web design if:

1. You want to attract specialists with the skills and experience your team lacks (especially important for non-tech companies).
2. There is a lot of work to be done in a short time, and the in-house specialists are busy with other tasks.
3. It is necessary to complete a one-time design project, and in the future, such tasks will rarely arise.
4. There is a need to delegate tasks, but there are no resources to monitor the workflow constantly.

The benefits of web design outsourcing

In-house teams may not have enough experience and knowledge to create interactive designs and quality control. But outsourcing companies have QAs who follow the project closely, PMs who follow the programmers, and UX designers responsible for improving accessibility, usability, and customer satisfaction. Therefore, you can get everything you need when you outsource web design and development. Go to look at what web design outsourcing promises to your company.

Fresh perspectives and new ideas

By hiring an outsourced web development and design team, you can bring fresh perspectives and creative ideas to your project. Those who do web design regularly are talented people who know how to find unusual solutions to complex issues. They always work at a high level to keep their customers happy.

Faster time to market 

You probably agree that, in the digital world, time is money. And any participant needs to take a more advantageous position in the market as soon as possible. And that’s exactly what outsourcing can do for you.

First, outsourcing web design and development saves hiring and onboarding programmers time. Second, skilled remote software teams are in high demand as specialists. They have no shortage of work, and they are interested in completing your project without delay. These all reduce the time to develop your website, including time to market.

24/7 support

If your business needs it, a good outsourcing team will be available to support you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you outsource overseas, having a team in a different time zone will work when the in-house team is unavailable. That ensures a smooth workflow at your organization.

The latest solutions, tools, and technologies

In this dynamic world, technology is constantly evolving” to meet the fast-changing customer needs. Some tools and solutions for web design become obsolete quickly, so if web design is not your company’s core business, your employees may not be familiar with the latest technology. 

By outsourcing web design solutions, you get access to specialists who are always aware of current (and even future) trends. They comprehend where to use a well-known technology and when to apply a new one to achieve the best possible result. They also understand when to use proven technology and when to apply a new one to achieve the best possible outcome.

A more comprehensive range of knowledge

Your internal team may comprise the best minds, but if web design is not their major focus, it is better to opt for an external provider, as they are more likely to have more experience and more diverse skills. And when it comes to building complex, large-scale websites, good knowledge and expertise are essential.

Access to the wider talent pool

While it may technically fall under the previous argument, an initiative to outsource web development or web design provides access to a wide range of professionals with unique skills. If you are working on a short-term project that requires specific skills that your company will not need for other projects, there is no point in hiring in-house web designers.

Increased flexibility and scalability

Most professional outsourcing software development companies operate according to agile methodologies, where the work on a project is broken into smaller parts. So clients get results much faster and better control a project.

Scaling a web project with a dedicated team is much easier than managing a web development team on site. In the first case, the remote team can always add additional workers based on productivity and peak periods. In addition, it is cheaper for customers to move from one project to the next than pay monthly salaries to internal employees.

Saving labor and financial resources

One of the great things about outsourcing any task to a third-party provider is the cost savings. You can optimize your costs by hiring a highly-qualified web design team from a country with lower wages and more favorable taxation systems.

Just think about it! The hourly rate you will pay to employees of web design outsourcing companies in the USA is, on average, $100-150 per hour. The rate of a designer with the same qualifications from Ukraine (outsourcing rates) is about $35-56 per hour.

How to choose the right design services provider?

Many business owners are astute enough to know that some things are better left to professionals and prefer the greater calm with choosing a reliable web design company. But how do they do it without common mistakes when outsourcing web design abroad? 

Tips on selecting the best web design IT company

We’ve put together some tips for outsourcing web design projects to help you and your company feel more confident along the way.

• The first step is to write a general description of your web project and define your business objectives and technical goals. Subsequently, this will help you describe your needs to the future outsourcing partner more clearly.
• Search the platforms where you can find information on experience, portfolio, technical specialization, and opportunities for offshore technology companies, as well as read reviews provided by clients (Clutch, GoodFirms).
• Try to find a one-stop web design outsourcing company that does web design and offers other services, from development to support. That will provide a more balanced result without the roughness.
• Make a list of questions that you will ask potential partners. Inquire about the methodologies used — the technology stack, quality assurance, and error correction processes. Please browse through the portfolios of the candidates you like the most (they often feature them on their websites).
• When clarifying the prices, be sure to be interested in what it will include in the project estimate and what it will not.
• Your schedule is another critical consideration. If your company has a tight deadline for a website launch, be sure to let candidates know and ask them to rate whether they can meet the deadline honestly.
• Once you have a few eligible website design outsourcing companies with the best reviews and ratings on your list, contact each one. Pay attention to whether the people answering the call are available and friendly. Do they ask questions about your company and project details? The development company should be assessed as a long-term partner, so mutual understanding is essential.
• If you have never dealt with outsourcing before, start with a minor task or function. This way, you can test the applicants’ skills and assess their capabilities.
• Once you have decided on a firm, you must sign a contract to protect your data, adjust the schedule, etc.

As you already understood, finding a web designing partner requires a certain amount of energy and time. But all these efforts will ultimately lead to the fact that you will choose a company to outsource web design work, and they will deliver the best results.

Why should you consider outsourcing to Ukraine?

Ukraine has built a reputation as a favorable IT outsourcing destination for various reasons. We will present the main ones that encourage many top companies from the US and EU to choose developers from Ukraine. These are:

• Good cultural fit for European and US clients
• Constant growth in the IT market in this region and preferential taxation
• There are numerous highly qualified specialists
• Decent knowledge of spoken and written English
• Overlapping time zones

Ukrainian time (GMT+2) coincides with European business hours. There are also several hours a day for US clients, which allows IT outsourcing companies in Ukraine to complete most of the tasks before nightfall. You will not get this range of perks if you outsource web design to the Philippines.

This combination of factors leads to many Ukrainian companies appearing in various reputable international rankings, such as the Bloomberg Innovation Index, Gartner Magic Quadrant, Ease of Doing Business, PWC reports, Forrester Wave, and Clutch technology ratings.

To top it all off, many of the Ukrainian companies, like Relevant, have the status of managed service providers. That means we provide a wide range of services, from designing and developing mobile and web applications to DevOps services, implementing big data analytics, cloud infrastructure monitoring and optimization, and much more.

How much do web design services cost?

The web design costs can be determined by many things, but primarily by the size and complexity of your project. Suppose you want to get your first basic website quickly and cheaply. In that case, outsourcing WordPress web design with ready-made templates can be a good option (but even so, it should be customizable by experienced specialists). 

A simple three-page website with no additional functionality beyond a contact form can cost a few hundred dollars. A beautiful, professional 10-page information website with standard settings for small businesses can cost $3,200 and up. A custom web development 50-page site with bells and whistles is priced at $10,000 or more. 

If we talk about a multi-page site with database integration or an e-commerce site with complex functions, the prices range from $25 000 to $75 000. However, these figures vary, depending on the number of the site’s features and your requirements. If you want more accurate calculations, please contact us to get a quote.

Final thoughts

As you can see, a website design is one of the first considerations a business should consider when planning the site’s launch. Since customers associate website design with the quality of a company or product, it is vital to provide a positive user experience that encourages customers to come back. That’s why professionals should do web development and design exclusively. Our expertise has led companies from different countries to willingly entrust us with implementing their bold ideas. We are proud of our 200+ successful projects that include creating UI/UX designs for our clients. Whether you want to outsource website design or hire a software development team, you can find the right specialists at Relevant. Contact us today!

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