Outsourcing

Pemba

Hey,

I'm a virgin to these parts! Just wondering if anyone has any experience or opinions on outsourced websites to India/China etc.. Is it a worthwhile venture or should I just look at my other options? Thanks

John_Mc

Pemba wrote: »

Hey,

I'm a virgin to these parts! Just wondering if anyone has any experience or opinions on outsourced websites to India/China etc.. Is it a worthwhile venture or should I just look at my other options? Thanks

I hear that clear & concise communication is absolutely vital because you'll get exactly what you ask for. If you spend time articulating precisely what you're looking for in an airtight, and signed off on document, then the considerable savings could make it very worthwhile.

Goodluck!

Pemba

Thanks John, any advice is much appreciated! I presume the savings are immense!

John_Mc

Pemba wrote: »

Thanks John, any advice is much appreciated! I presume the savings are immense!

Yeah they certainly can be! I'd recommend getafreelancer.com, getacoder.com etc

It's likely that you'll find native English speakers who'll do the job for the same price

GoneShootin

We use a team of developers based in India. Like anything, regardless of location, getting the right people for the right job is crucial. Location and "cheaper pay" alone is not enough.

Once you have the right people then you won't go wrong. Drop me a PM and I we can chat more about it. I might be able to point you in the right path.

the Guru

I work for a web dev company here in the states, and I have had a fair amount of successful enquiries from the UK and Ireland lately due to the weak dollar.

Something to think about when you're considering outsourcing ....

Pemba

Anyone have any ideas on website templates. I'm interested in how easy it is to adapt a template once its been purchased. Any help/opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

The Mighty Ken

I've never had anything but very poor experiences when outsourcing to India. Poor creative quality, sloppy coding, badly developed applications, etc. You're just as likely to run into the same problems here though. My advice - hire good, reputed local talent to do the job, even if it is more expensive. It'll work out cheaper in the long-run.

GoneShootin

The Mighty Ken wrote: »

even if it is more expensive. It'll work out cheaper in the long-run.

How do you work that out?

The Mighty Ken

GoneShootin wrote: »

How do you work that out?

Common sense. Like anything else, if something is cheap and badly built, it ends up costing you in the long run. Poorly coded, non-compliant sites that are impossible to scale and maintain end up costing you money.

GoneShootin

That's not a fair comparison. You're assuming that work done in Ireland would by default be better than a "cheaper" job done in India, which is incorrect. The cost of labour and euro > rupees currency conversion can make outsourcing an effective solution with the same results.

Perhaps your experiences of "poor creative quality, sloppy coding, badly developed applications etc" as a result of outsourcing were more down to who you chose to do the job for you.

Look at some of the major software apps to come out of India. SugarCRM and Kayako to name just two. No question that there is quality development talent in India, but you have to be able to find it - and at the same time avoid the trash....

The Mighty Ken

Yeah, I know what you're saying. My point is that I've never worked with a competent designer or developer from India. Having said that, I've never been the one to select him or her. If you know what quality design/development is and you can find them in India for a fraction of the price, then more power to you. From my experience though, all I ever see is people getting burned when they outsource to India. That's not to say that Irish "Web designers" don't burn people as well. Incompetence knows no borders. Just make sure that whoever is producing your site is a knowledgeable professional.

Design_Dude

Pemba wrote: »

Anyone have any ideas on website templates. I'm interested in how easy it is to adapt a template once its been purchased. Any help/opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Yea, many smaller companies, make their own/customize templates, then just change the images and layout slightly for each project. Its quickest for basic sites and youll build up a repetoire.