Agency vs Freelancer for Web Design and SEO Services

Web Design Agency versus Freelance Designer

As our lives become increasingly more digital and the demand for digital design increases, the supply of digital design talent and SEO services also increases, regardless of whether the service comes in the form of design agencies or freelancers. There aren’t any “set in stone” rules about why and when you should hire a website development agency vs freelancer for your web design and seo services needs. But just like in any situation, the choice depends on your individual project marketing and project management needs, your digital marketing and design requirements, your SEO goals, as well as the overall demands and scope of your website and business.

While some companies prefer to work with larger teams, some may opt for more of a “one on one” approach to meeting their project requirements and will instead choose to work with a freelancer. To help you decide the best option for you, here are some points of comparison between hiring a professional design and website development firm versus a local or overseas freelancer.

1. Portfolio

A definite plus to hiring an established web design agency over a freelancer is that agencies will typically have a larger portfolio of websites and clients. This can give you a more accurate picture of their design aesthetic, development process, and project management capabilities. You can also see their previous projects and clients and any possible high-profile clients and work to gauge their level of experience and expertise. To see what professional portfolio website examples might look like, check out WittyCookie’s Web Design portfolio.

Though a freelancer could boast a list of established clients and show diverse creativity in their portfolio and past work, the odds of them having sufficient experience in a wide range of different industries (e.g. finance, real estate, engineering, automotive) is pretty slim as they can only do so much as one individual designer. To get a better understanding of their work, ask if they have any UX design website examples and past projects that you can see.

2. Project Experience and Management

Probably one of the major benefits and deciding factors for hiring a web design agency is their level of project management. Unlike an individual freelancer, web agencies often designate an account manager with extensive project experience to oversee your entire project from start to finish. This includes project consultation, design, development, and deployment.

If you have the technical know-how, hiring a freelancer may be a good choice as you would have direct contact with the designer. But without the professional management service like that provided by a web design agency, you will be responsible for managing the technological and creative requirements of the project yourself.

3. Expertise & Services

While a freelancer can draw from their own personal and professional experience, a web agency often has a plethora of additional services and resources that they can bring to the table should the occasion arise. On the other hand, an agency could be limited in their services and turnover rate due to strict internal processes and procedures they need to follow, whereas a freelancer may be more flexible in their delivery time and design.

A key difference between an agency versus freelancer in this case comes down to their additional available services. Agencies often employ in-house strategists, SEO analysts, social media managers, copywriters, illustrators, branding experts, and more – all of which are all available to contribute to the design and development of your website. Not only will they create a functional website, they will incorporate their digital marketing and design skills into your website  for greater project success. Though your freelancer may have connections, having all the required talent located in one place under one project development process to overall all the web development steps is a bonus.

Conclusion

Despite our analysis, we are in no way discounting the importance, capability, or expertise of freelance web designers. In fact, many designers from web design agencies start out as freelancers. If you are looking to be more hands-on in your website development and design process and don’t have a strict timeline, then hiring a freelancer might be the correct choice for you.

But, if you are a company that has more than 10 employees, chances are that you would need a web design agency that has the appropriate experience in your industry who can professionally track the progress of your project to meet all your design, budget, and timeline requirements.

To get started on your website, check out WittyCookie’s award-winning website design and development services!

To read more about the differences between a Web Design Agency versus a Freelancer, check out this article on LinkedIn!