Episode 11: Freelance Website Designer Brisbane

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[00:00:00]  Saul: Hi everybody, and welcome to the Web Design Brisbane Podcast. This is episode number 11. And today's episode is entitled freelance website design and my name is Saul Edmonds and as usual, I am joined by the lovely Gillian Smith.

[00:00:14]  Gillian: Good morning, Saul  and Hello, everybody.  

[00:00:16] Saul: Oh, yes. Hello. Yes, again, we are the Co-founders and Creative Directors of Roundhouse, the creative agency, a local business with a passion for helping our clients grow. Over with you, Gill. 

[00:00:26]  Gillian: Okay, well, are you considering working with a freelance website designer? So today, we will talk about the pros and cons of working with freelancers on your next web project. Our goal is to help small business owners’ start-ups and entrepreneurs in the city of Brisbane, Australia, take their opportunities to the next level with brilliant website design, if you're from another location, or city, welcome. Thanks for joining us today. And we hope that we can help you grow your business in the online space.

[00:00:55]  Saul: And so what are tonight's topics, Gill? 

[00:00:57]  Gillian: Well, today, we're going to chat about freelance web design, in particular, the pros and cons of working with freelance website designers versus working with a web agency. Yeah, let's get started. Okay, well, let's start with freelancers. Now, what are the pros of working with a freelance website designer? I guess first of all, you get direct access to your developer and designer, you may save  on cost. You are more familiar with their individual skill base and portfolio and I guess you're their top priority in that they rely on reviews and word of mouth marketing so they make sure they keep you happy.  

[00:01:34]  Saul: Yeah. Those are four points are true. These points to as to whether you're going to work with Freelancer versus an agency. In some ways, two sides of the same coin, because no matter what choice you make, they're either driven by your previous experience, what you want to spend, what you think you can spend on and potentially with a freelancer what you think you might save on it, too, which, I guess to some extent is true, but not always the case. 

[00:02:14]  Gillian: Okay, well, when you're considering working with a freelance web designer, what are some of the cons? Okay, so I guess the first one is, it's more difficult to hold them accountable. In comparison with an established local web agency, the freelancer may have other commitments, and they might be student, this may not be their full-time job, and that will impact on  the work and the service that they can deliver to you. You may have to work around their schedule. They may not be available during office hours, for example, again, if they are a student. and also there may be a lack of formal processes in place, such as terms and conditions, which you'd expect to find,  occasionally with freelancers as well, they're not on top of that side of the business, either. 

[00:02:59]  Saul: Yeah, now, that's right, and formal process would also my cover other things too, like having a, or lack of having a project manager in a project, no matter how big the project can sometimes be a negative two, because having, dealing directly with the person who's doing the work is sometimes positive, but not always, that comes down not really to the fact that they're a freelance web designer, but it comes down to dealing with like, really now,  if a person is a good, if they're doing freelance work, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are good at that part of the job. Whereas a project.. 

[00:03:47]  Gillian:  In the service part,  

[00:03:47] Saul: Yeah, and because a project manager, or someone who might also be doing part of the work, but their main role is usually to manage and to make things go smoothly. That's what they do for, now, let's just move on to larger web agencies what's, 

[00:04:06]  Gillian: Okay, well, what are some of (inaudible) of working with professional web design and web development companies? Well, I guess the pros include, there's professional processes in place, you will have a dedicated account manager, you can research more thoroughly, and the company that you're working with, and  read reviews and testimonials on Google and Yelp and their website, etc. You may be assured of a more professional and organized workflow, and a better customer service experience, and also, the agency should offer a broad range of skills and a wider experience that they can draw from, if in reference for your project.

[00:04:47]  Saul: Yeah, now, that's true. And  those ideas that we've just explain that they play sometimes quite a significant part in people's decision-making process to it also, because obviously, what people are comfortable with and what they already know. And people, if, if they've worked with freelancers or all their life, and they've had great experiences, and it's worked well for them, then that's great. But that could also be because they also just by the fact that they've had a lot of practice doing that, that they're better at it, too.

[00:05:25]  Gillian: I feel like often if people want,  and by working with freelancers, that you have to do a lot of the management yourself, if you're prepared, you have to keep them on track. And...

[00:05:35]  Saul: You have to do all the management. That's the thing is that... 

[00:05:40]  Gillian: That's a time investment.  

[00:05:42] Saul: Yeah, well, your time, ultimately, too, especially if you're a busy business owner, and you probably have a family, your time is still money and equity in yourself that then you don't have, sometimes that can lead to more stress, if you've got somebody who's and can manage or people that are looking after, and there's some  process in place to let you know what's going on, but you don't have to deal with them, and especially if you're the sort of person that really doesn't want to have to do that. Then, pros of dealing with an agency  quite a lot, actually.

[00:06:31] Gillian: Okay, well, what are some of the cons of a larger website agency? Okay, well, these may include such things as higher pricing, due to more overheads, such as the staff and your office rent and all that sort of thing. You may have multiple web designers and developers working on your project, and who individually, they may not be as clear on your specific vision. And if your project a lower budget, it may be that you become less of a priority, you got a little bit lost in the shuffle. And  also, I guess, one kind of larger agencies is you don't get access to those individual people on the team, and you generally just communicate through the project manager as the middleman effectively.

[00:07:18]  Saul: Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And yet again, like these all those things are true and then it comes back to how people want to deal with an agency or a freelancer, if people want to have a really hands on approach, then probably having a freelancer, in some respects is a better option. But then higher pricing is a big one, it's going to be a deal breaker for some people, too. But

[00:07:49]  Gillian: Okay, well, let's just say a quick word about smaller web agencies, now a smaller agencies with a smaller, more boutique sort of team, they asked me compromise between the best of both worlds between freelancers and between those larger agencies. 

[00:08:05]  Saul: Yeah, well, they can, they can be the happy medium, in that you might find in some  small to medium sized sort of agencies that the people who are managing it are also doing the work. So that can be that can have a range of different really positive things for the experience, because they are usually going to be people who are better at communicating, because it's a really big part of what they do. But then because they've got a really in depth understanding of what they're building and what they're doing. Therefore, what they're actually communicating isn't lost in translation between different people in the agency, they know exactly what's going on,..  

[00:08:57] Gillian: Do the smaller agencies, offer competitive pricing, that'd be something else you'd find ? 

[00:09:03]  Saul: That's usually true as well, and competitive pricing, meaning that they aren't at the super high end, that is probably what most people would consider, if you look at a range of different agencies pricing, mid-range, sometimes a bit higher, sometimes a bit lower, but  it's going to be competitive. So then if you're going to choose between a few different people, if pricing is competitive, but  there's a really good level of communication. For some people, that's going to be the deal breaker too, because  they had experiences in the past when that hasn't been the case. I think today that's it guys, thank you so much for listening. Before we go, please don't forget to rate review and subscribe to this podcast. We'd love to hear your feedback. We're on a journey to help local Brisbane businesses grow the opportunities online and exceed their goals. Thanks for listening once again, and we'll see you tomorrow. Bye.