How to outsource web design for a new business

If you know next to nothing about web design, building your own website can be a daunting task. Thankfully, you don’t actually have to do it yourself. 

Instead, you can outsource it to someone else. Then, once you’ve paid them, you can reap the benefits of a good-looking website. 

This guide will go through the following steps:

• Decide on the work that needs doing
• Figure out your budget
• Find a suitable freelancer
• Wait, check, and provide feedback
• Pay up

These are two topics that seem incredibly similar to most people. Those who work in IT might be able to tell the difference.

Web design refers to how a website looks, and how easy it is to use. Designers typically focus on what looks good and how to create an effective website. 

A web developer‌ writes the code that makes the website work. They bring to life all the features that the designer thought of.

An easy way to remember is design is everything a viewer sees, while development is everything happening behind the scenes. 

Even if you’re a computer whizz, outsourcing your web design can be a great idea. 

• It gives you more time to focus on other aspects of your business
• Freelancers can fill in for skills you don’t have
• An experienced freelancer can come up with user-friendly solutions
• Can provide a quick solution to a challenging problem

So if your computer skills are lacking, or you just need to spend time on other aspects, don’t be afraid to hire a freelancer. 

Outsourcing your web design essentially means finding a freelancer to do the work for you. In exchange, you pay them for their services and your business benefits from their work. 

You can’t hire a freelancer without first having a brief, so let’s make one. You need to figure out exactly what your website needs. 

A good web brief needs:

• A description of your business
• Your website’s target audience
• Project overview (redesign or new website, any new assets needed, etc)
• Clearly defined goals for the project
• Brand style guidelines (to create a uniform appearance)
• Project timeline (can be discussed with the freelancer)
• Your budget

Now that you know what job needs to be done, it’s time to figure out how much you’re willing to spend. It’s good to do some research in this area before you even consider looking for a freelancer.

Knowing average prices for a job that matches your size can help filter out unwanted workers. 

For example, if somebody dramatically undercuts everyone else — that’s not a good deal. In fact, you’re likely to end up with bad quality work that needs redoing. 

Knowing your budget will also help your chosen freelancer know what they have to work with. Lower budgets usually reflect less detail-focused jobs, and vice versa. 

Once you’ve settled on both the job and your budget, it’s time to find your freelancer. 

For ease of use, we recommend using sites like Fiverr or PeoplePerHour. These services let you post jobs for all types of freelancers. You can even let them ‘bid’ on your jobs.

Your job should also have all the relevant information about the work you need done, in a clear and concise manner. Jobs with limited details can get ignored by most freelancers, because they don’t know what it actually involves. 

Alternatively, jobs with too much information can appear confusing and scare away the more professional freelancers. Try to find a happy medium between the two. 

When someone bids on your job, they’re essentially saying they’ll complete it for a specific price. This could be higher or lower than you were expecting to pay. 

When posting freelance jobs online, it’s common to get multiple freelancers with a range of bids. Before you choose the cheapest freelancer to save money, remember that it might not be the best deal. 

Waiting for the job to be completed might be the hardest part of outsourcing any piece of work.

Depending on the speed you’ve paid for and the job size, the time frame can vary wildly. If you want a job completed faster, it’ll usually cost you more. 

It’s common to have contact with the freelancer throughout the process. They may even send you regular updates to get your feedback. 

When they’ve finished, it’s okay to have some changes in mind. Once these changes have been made and you’re happy, accept the work. 

Don’t constantly send it back for minor adjustments. You can damage your reputation and future freelancers may flat out ignore you. 

Don’t forget to pay the freelancer for their work. They’ll send you an invoice, detailing the hours that they spent on your project. Depending on the terms of your agreement, you may need to pay a deposit upfront. 

If you need work completed regularly, it may be better having them on retainer instead. 

If you used a site like Fiverr or PeoplePerHour, then make sure you pay them through the site. The site will be able to track that the job was completed and ask you to review the work.

If you found them through different channels, then you may want to leave a review on their website. Freelancers can depend on good reviews to get more work, so make sure your appreciation is known. 

As with any type of business costs, keeping track of what they are can help manage exactly how much cash is in the business. 

That can be quite a challenging task without a piece of accounting software by your side. If you’d like a helping hand with your business’s finances, try the Countingup app. 

It’s a two-in-one business current account and accounting software, designed to give you total control over your finances. One of its more useful features is automatically sorting your payments into pre-approved HMRC compliant categories. 

Want to try it out for yourself?

Download the Countingup app for free, today!

In theory, you can outsource any aspect of your business — as long as you’re able to pay for it. Some sections are better to outsource than others though.

Take marketing, for example. Like your finances, it can be a time-consuming process, and you may feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. 
Check our guide ‘Should I outsource marketing?’ to help you decide if outsourcing your marketing is the right move.