Freelancer or Agency: How to Choose for Web Design

A freelancer or agency: who can handle your web design task better? The answer depends on what you need. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages, and we want to discuss them here. Consider this list of characteristics and decide what better suits your project.

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

Rock band Rush

Freelancer or Agency: Key Points

Freelancer Advantages

Here we include the factors that most often considered the advantages of hiring a freelancer.

• Price. The main thing many people like about freelancers is that they are often cheaper than agencies. Freelancers do not have to deal with the costs related to running an agency, which makes them more affordable. That said, some freelancers do require significant investments as they charge more for their expertise.
• Communication. Freelancers are generally very available for discussion. They also talk with you directly, without a manager. That reduces the chances of miscommunication. Some agencies will also allow you to talk to the designers, but with freelancers, it is a given.
• Style selection. Sometimes you want a specific style for your web design. Often, freelancers have their own styles, and you can choose the one you like based on portfolios. With agencies, you should also choose a style, but the choice is limited within one agency. Freelancers offer more variety. 
• Motivation and speed. Freelancers are motivated to finish your task as soon as possible while still maintaining quality. Freelancers care about returning clients, but they are also eager to get paid. So you can get your project quicker. 

Freelancer Disadvantages

Here are some of the disadvantages of hiring a freelancer.

• Other projects. Freelancers usually work on multiple projects at once. That means your project may not receive the attention it needs. 
• Speed and quality. While getting your project completed sooner is nice, it is reasonable to worry if it is delivered too soon. A lot of freelancers offer few quality guarantees beyond their portfolios. Naturally, you can avoid paying for a bad result, but the time will be lost.
• Lack of skills and experience. A freelancer is just one person. They can be an amazing designer, but they cannot know as much as a group of experts does. One freelancer is limited in what they can deliver to you. They may not be familiar with a lot of tools and techniques, too.

Agency Advantages

Here we present the key advantages of choosing an agency.

• Streamlined operations and experience. An agency that has been around for a few years has experience with projects just like yours. Its management already knows how to organize all the processes. An agency can guide you, making the experience of web design as smooth as possible.
• Diverse skills. An agency is a group of experts, and they specialize in different areas of design. A good agency balances the individual knowledge of its members and offers a variety of skills. As a result, an agency can offer more options for your web design than a freelancer.
• Consistent quality. It is generally believed that agencies create better-quality products than freelancers. While it is not always the case, agencies are likely to produce consistent quality due to the streamlined organizational processes. If you like an agency’s portfolio, you will probably get something similar.
• More resources. An agency usually has more resources, which means access to tools a freelancer might not be able to afford. You can mitigate this issue by paying for the tools for the freelancer yourself. But an agency is likely to already have everything it needs for your project.

Agency Disadvantages

Some disadvantages of choosing an agency are also worth noting.

• Communication issues. Sometimes, all communication in agencies is carried out through managers. The employee or team working on your project might not have access to you. That can result in distorted information. Fortunately, many agencies do allow for contact between you and the agency’s team. You can ask about that during the negotiation stage to be sure. 
• Costs. Agencies are usually more expensive than freelancers. After all, they have all the organizational aspects to pay for. Fortunately, most agencies offer custom payment plans, and they are very flexible.
• Lower speed. With an agency, you will likely spend more time on your project. Agencies lack the urgency of freelancers. In addition, you have to negotiate the project with the managers, which takes time. Finally, there are more stages in approving the project’s deliverable in an agency. Still, many agencies offer the option to make the task urgent for an extra price.

Time and Screening When Deciding on Freelancer or Agency

Both agencies and freelancers are numerous these days. That means a lot of choice, which can be a good and a bad thing. Hiring freelancers is particularly challenging due to the abundance of options. However, the procedure is generally the same.

• Plan your project and prepare a brief.
• Make a list of freelancers or agencies you are considering and contact them.
• Ask for portfolios.
• Ask for a plan of working on your project.
• Agree on price and deadlines.
• Select the best option.

All of this requires time. Not everyone has a lot of time to spare! But unless you have an in-house team, this step is inevitable. 

Freelancer or Agency: What to Choose?

As you can see, freelancers and agencies both have advantages and disadvantages. Their selection should depend on your needs.

• Freelancers are the best option for short, uncomplicated web design projects. They will be able to demonstrate their specialized knowledge and complete the work quickly. Their lack of resources and skills will not become prominent if they are selected for the special knowledge they have. 
• Agencies are a good idea when the project is large and complex. Their superior skills, knowledge and resources will shine. The extra time and costs required will be justified by the size of the project.

Keep in mind: the named qualities of freelancers and agencies are generalizations. Sometimes, you can meet a freelancer who has access to a lot of resources. Or you might encounter an agency that does not have that much experience or diversity in the skills of its employees. Overall, the eventual decision is up to you and depends on the specific options you have. 

In Conclusion

So who to choose, freelancer or agency? Freelancers are generally praised for the lower prices they charge, communication, and quick work. Their disadvantages are working on multiple projects at once and lacking skills and experience when compared to agencies. Agencies have skills, experience, quality and resources. However, they are a costly and slower option. These common features might not be present in the specific freelancer or agency you choose. And that is why you need to select from these options based on your needs.