Freelancer vs Web Development Firm – What’s best for you?

Choosing between a freelancer and a web development firm for your project can be a confusing task. Both have their fair bit of advantages and disadvantages, but knowing exactly what your project need is can to some extent simplify the decision making process.

Before we venture into the pros and cons between freelancer and web development companies, lets first understand what they are:

Freelancer is an individual person who is self-employed (also known as “Independent contractor”) and is not necessarily committed to a long term employment contract. Freelancers are today prominent in fields like computer programming, content writing, web design, graphic design, and website development, etc.

A web development firm on the other hand is a group of skilled individuals working together under a common company brand name (registered as a legal entity). This is a more organized and accountable form of service setup.

Some of the common decision making parameters which any client hiring a freelancer or web development firm should consider are as below:

Some basic pros & cons to help you in your selection process

Now let’s look at some recommendations based on the client category.

Cost / Investment are usually the major decision making factors for an individual. Hence hiring a freelancer would be more recommend in case of requirement like blogs, static information or brochure websites. However in case of a more complex project requirement, a freelancer might not be the best option. Complex and big projects requires more organized and diversified skill-sets, therefore a web development firm can be better option in such cases.

Quality and cost effectiveness are two important criteria for companies falling under this category. As branding is an important factor for a company hence quality plays an important role. Freelancers are usually specialize in certain skills only and it is very rare to find a freelancer who has all the skills required to complete any end-to-end projects. Hence it’s advisable for small & medium size companies to go for a Web Development Firm who looks into all factors of project development starting from design, coding and after sale services.