Hiring a web developer is always a tricky subject. Is it the right thing to do? How do I find a web developer that I can trust? What services do I need? How do I get low-cost web development that accomplishes the business growth goals I require? This idea was best said in an article by the famous business resource, Forbes Magazine: “In the Absence of Knowledge, Get Someone Who has the Knowledge.” Part of being a good leader is being aware of your businesses own knowledge gaps and acting to fix those gaps in the most strategic possible manner. Full disclosure, we are a web development company in Silicon Valley, so we have a vested interest in convincing you to hire us. But, we also think were the best out there, especially for Entrepreneurs, SMBs, and Startups. Consider this our pitch to you – why you should hire a web developer and why we’re the developers your project needs. Why You Should Hire a Developer Doing things right may be more difficult and have a more immediate drag on your resources, but demonstrably speaking it is cheaper in the long term. More importantly, it’s more effective and leads to even, organizationally-wide sustainable growth for your business. Just as you would hire an accountant to handle the complex process of filing taxes, you should hire people who know what your site needs to succeed. One of the biggest concerns many entrepreneurs and CEOs have when it comes to hiring a developer is how to find an affordable web development company. As with any industry, there is a tension between offshore and onshore resources. Both have pros and cons; let’s dive a little deeper: Onshore: • Pros Having a business partner who you can meet face-to-face is always reassuring. While modern technology has gone along way to improve digital meetings, the comfort of a local office is undeniable. You want a team with multiple global offices so you can run down the street to meet with your guy. Familiarity with local customs and trends is a learned skill that is necessary when it comes to creating an effective design. Again, this is a skill that can be learned (and all good designers know to study their target populations in-depth) but some native familiarity is extremely helpful. Time Zones matter! One of the most common areas for offshore development is in India – nearly 12 hours ahead of Silicon Valley! You’re getting ready for bed, they’re just getting into the office. • Cons Local developers are much more expensive. The cost of living in the states is much higher, and developers expect to make much, much more than developers in other parts of the world. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are roughly 300,000 web developers. In India, there are probably 300,000 web development companies. While the quality is more questionable (covered in detail below), the plethora of available, skilled developers is undeniably helpful. The more people available to work on your project, the quicker you have a website delivering value to your growing enterprise. Offshore • Pros Significantly cheaper than onshore development. Again, with a lower cost of living, developers can simply afford to take less in wages. Even high quality, extremely experienced developers are cheaper than their U.S. counterparts. Helping to keep Indian Web Development low is the level of intense competition. The amazing amount of developers in India leads to an increased need to impress clients with high-quality service and quick conception-to-launch product cycles. • Cons Offshore developers tend to have a different native language than their U.S. clients. This often results in not only difficulties with understanding one another’s accents, but can lead to cultural miscommunications with down the road huge implications. Clear, plain communication from all stakeholders is essential to a successful venture. While the amount of developers has some nice benefits, as discussed above, it also results in a lot of con artists and shabby development. This is a double-edged sword and takes some clever thinking to separate the wheat from the chaff: Avoid questions easily Googled – What are the top development languages, while good to know, is easily researched by anyone. Focus on questions like how up to date on new languages are your developers and how a particular new language is or is not applicable to your project. You want open-ended questions – much in the style of a marketing focus group. When it really comes down to it, both options are equally balanced. Both options have weaknesses and strengths, but neither option is 100% desirable. That’s why our company approached the problem differently, combining both strategies into a hybrid, a hybrid that has seen over 10,000 projects to completion. SDI maintains global offices – from Silicon Valley to Australia – so that we always have someone local to you. Our local offices are composed of our project managers and our leadership so you have clear and easy access to the upper echelons of our business. But we maintain our development staff in India, so that our development costs are remarkably affordable, no matter the budget. We circumvent issues with communication with local, easily understood managers who direct the developers for you. This also prevents any time considerations, because our clients meet with local representatives, who then convey your wishes to the development team. No need for late nights or early mornings – that’s our job. We know how to make a website that attracts visitors, keeps them, and rewards them so they continually re-engage. Our websites ensure stickiness, are perfect optimized for mobile devices, and are designed around SEO and SMM marketing strategies. Ready to get started on your beautiful website today? Give our Silicon Valley offices a call at 408.805.0495 or send us an email now.