Freelancer vs WordPress Agency – Why Team Matters?

Freelancer vs WordPress Agency

WordPress has gained great popularity over the years as one of the best CMS available. Anyone looking to make a new website, often get into a long debatable fact, Freelancer vs WordPress agency, which one is the better option?

This is a serious question to look at, especially when outsourcing a web development task. WordPress projects are critical and it is crucial to hire someone reliable and expert. Clients may have different needs depending on the project and hence, their sites need experts to develop.

Now, both freelancers and WordPress agencies have their own pros and cons. Hence it is wise to compare them with each other to understand which option is more suitable for you.

Let us look into the benefits and demerits of both hiring a freelancer and hiring a WordPress agency so that you can take an informed decision.

P.S.: Yes, you might think that since an agency representative is writing about “Freelancer vs WordPress agency”, this will probably highlight more on choosing an agency. But do know that I was once a freelancer myself and I will give my neutral point of views on both the options here.

First, let us look at some benefits and demerits of hiring freelancers.

Benefits Of Hiring Freelancer(s)

Let us look at some of the benefits you may enjoy with freelancers.

1. Better Communication

The biggest advantage over hiring a freelancer is direct communication. There is no third person involved. You will directly interact with the freelancer and specify all your requirements straightforward.

The freelancer can resolve any confusions directly with you right away. There is no chance of misunderstandings and you can insist on any required changes in real-time.

2. Specialization

Most freelancers are usually experts in specific skill sets. If you need to develop specific features (such as logo design, or front-end coding, etc) on your website, then you can easily find freelancers that are specifically experts in working with those features only. Thus the tasks will have quality output and faster delivery.

3. More Control Over The Project

Hiring a freelancer means that you will have better control over the project. You will directly communicate with him and guide him through the project according to your requirements. Plus, you can get real-time updates and opt for real-time changes.

You can even get into a discussion on deciding the design of your website and make a plan on the go, without having to make a plan beforehand.

Also, the freelancer is the only one responsible for the task. Therefore, he will have no excuses to miss out on instructions since they were directly discussed between the two of you. 

4. Flexible with time

Freelancers have time flexibility. Most freelancers are open to working with you on your own time. Once you hire a freelancer, he will most likely fix his schedule according to your requirements.

Most freelancers are ready to work unusual hours at times. Some are even willing to work on weekends. Hence, you won’t need to worry about time.

5. Cost-Effective

Freelancers, with their workstations at home and the urge to get more work, usually expect less price for their work. Even though they are experts in their fields, they cost less.

**Do keep in mind that to develop a complete website, you will need to hire multiple freelancers. There are no freelancers that are experts in all fields of developing a complete website.

Demerits of Hiring Freelancer(s)

1. Lack Of Reliability

Perhaps the hardest thing when choosing a freelancer is finding a freelancer that is reliable to work with.

There may be cases where a freelancer may get emotionally affected due to personal life at home. He might simply be out of touch with no notice or decide to stop working halfway through the project.

Another common problem you may face is if a freelancer finds another job that pays more, he may simply quit your work.

2. Credibility Issue

When hiring freelancers, it is completely up to you on testing whether he really is the right person for the job.

There happen to be freelancers that pretend to be experts but are really just amateurs. They take projects with the intention to learn on the go and doesn’t really care whether they fail to deliver or not.

Few others, once shortlisted, offer quick deadline just to get hired more and eventually fail to meet deadlines. This may affect your plans or schedules that you set up based on the deadline.

3. Limitations

Even though specialization can be an advantage to some extent, it can also be a disadvantage in some cases.

Since most freelancers are experts in specific skill sets, they are only suitable to hire when you wish to develop certain areas of your website. But when it comes to developing a complete website, you will need to hire multiple freelancers.

4. Depending On One Person Only

Freelancers work on their own with no one else to assist them. At any point, if a complex execution of the task is required, and if the freelancer gets somewhat confused on carrying it out, he has no one else to turn to. All he can do is to try and sort it out by searching online. 

Such challenges are uncommon but many did face this deadlock. The only solution to this is to find another person to do the work, thus delaying the project and spending more money.

5. Time Management

When developing a complete website, working with freelancers can be very time-consuming.

As mentioned earlier, to make a complete website, you will need to hire multiple freelancers. Which means you will need to manage different times to consult with different hired freelancers.

Also, since you will be explaining your ideas directly with each of them, you will also need to perform checks on each of their individual tasks at separate times.

All in all, you will be so busy dealing with the freelancers that you won’t get enough time to focus on your business or existing clients. (Although if you hire just a single freelancer, then this problem won’t prevail.)

Now let us look at some benefits and demerits of hiring a WordPress Agency

Benefits Of Hiring A WordPress Agency

1. One-Stop Solution For Your Website

A WordPress agency means several individuals with different skills, all working in one team, often in the same office. You will get experts for all the necessary tasks to make your website.

Whether you wish to create a complete website or just wish to develop specific areas of the website, you can get it all in one place – from front-end to integration and API work, to performance optimizer, and much more.

Besides these, most agencies tend to be inclined with the latest technology. They tend to have more resources and offer you credible solutions to your requirements.

2. Quality Assurance

All agencies have expert individuals or teams to perform a quality check on the developers to ensure that the project has no flaws. Quality assurance is important to ensure that your website is fully optimized and flawless.

Since most agencies work with multiple large clients, they tend to take no chances. Once developers perform checks and declare completion of tasks, the quality assurance team rechecks each and every area of the tasks (such as codings, design, compatibility, etc).

This ensures that you will get a quality website as an outcome and will reduce your hassle when checking it yourself.

 And since agencies tend to have support teams, you will get on-going assistance even after your website goes live. By any chance, if you detect any flaws or bugs on the site, they will fix it.

3. Faster Turn Around And Meet Deadlines

Since several individuals are working all at once, it seemingly takes less time to develop websites.

You will only need to explain your requirements to the Project Manager, and he will see through that the task is distributed and carried out by his team. This will save a lot of your time, which you can invest in improving your business.

 Plus an agency will often sign legal documents when agreeing to work for you. Hence they are bound to meet the deadline promised and deliver quality work.

4. Well Organized Workforce

Agencies are same as organizations, with expert developers working under proper management.

Their work is usually divided into groups such as web design team, front-end web developers, back-end web developers, content writers, etc. They are usually supervised by project managers and assisted by a support team and so on.

Having such organized teams mean that the quality of the project will be top-notch and will lack possibilities of any major flaws.

5. Reliability

Usually, to be a part of an agency, an individual really needs to be an expert in his field. Agencies take several assessments to test out individuals before hiring them.

As a result, you can be assured that the developers working on your website are actual experts that are reliable.

And as mentioned before, most agencies sign legal documents with you. This means that they are more dedicated to carrying out the task promptly and within the deadline. They are ready to face consequences in case they fail to meet their commitment.

Demerits Of Hiring A WordPress Agency

1. Relatively Higher Cost

Since agencies offer so much to you altogether, they also come at a higher cost. Agencies usually cost more than 6 times the cost of a freelancer.

WordPress development agencies with a substantial portfolio charge more since they know they can deliver quality service. They know their worth and charge more while ensuring that you get value for money.

Agencies are not ideal, in terms of cost, for assistance with small tasks on a website. But when developing a complete website, even though it a little expensive, it is probably more sensible to choose quality over cost.

2. Not Flexible With Time

Agencies tend to have fixed working hours. You will need to let them work on their working time. They are not willing to change their shifts for any individual clients. They have fixed working hours for all clients.

P.S.: Some agencies are more interested in satisfying clients and may sometimes make special considerations. They may work extra hours for particular days with more workload and give assistance to your queries during off-hours.

3.Communication Gap

Sometimes, when hiring new agencies, there can be a communication gap. You will be discussing your ideas and requirements with the project manager only and not the developers.

This creates the chance that the message conveyed to the developers by the project managers can be misunderstood. This can alter the desired outcome.

Plus, you won’t be able to supervise the developers’ work directly. You will just get updates from the Project Manager.

In some cases, there is a lack of responsiveness, where there might be delays in response from the Project Manager.

P.S: This can be avoided if you work with credible agencies that are well aware of these problems.

**At CodeRex we believe in clear communication, so we bring everyone in one place, giving them access to collaborate directly with developers, without facing the gatekeeper, thus no chance of miscommunication.

Freelancer vs WordPress Agency? Which One Should You Choose?

When thinking about Freelancer vs WordPress agency, consider asking yourself the following questions:

Answers to these questions will make it easier to understand which one you should hire.

If it is a small and simple task, and you have some knowledge on the task you are hiring for (so that you can perform check), you can easily go for a specialized freelancer, as that will be more convenient and cost-effective.

If you wish to create a complete website, or if you have several tasks to perform on a site, or if the task is complicated, it is wise to hire a WordPress agency.

I understand that the budget is also a major factor here. But if you want the website developed according to your requirements, then you need to arrange a budget according to what’s best for creating your website. Not choose based on budget only.

I personally suggest that if you do have a high budget, then go for a WordPRess agency. Expertise with reliability and credibility is easier to find through agencies than freelancers. But then again, choose after asking the above questions to yourself.

Also, make sure that you work with a good hosting provider, and it’s even better if you can work with a credible managed hosting provider.

FYI: There are Agencies that often rent out dedicated developers as well. This is similar to freelancers but more reliable. These individuals have been tested and proven for expertise before they were hired at the agency.

CodeRex is an agency where you can hire full-time WordPress developers that will provide you with all the benefits of a freelancer while reducing the risk and disadvantages.