Things To Consider When Outsourcing E-commerce Development Project

Read Time 6 min

E-commerce has been in a lot of hype these days, and everyone is trying their luck with an online business. Moreover, with the increasing social media trends, people are forced to facilitate their clients through online stores. Online shopping and e-commerce are both convenient for sellers and consumers.

However, since we all are not professionals and can not create our e-commerce websites or pages; therefore, we often need help from professional web development companies in this matter. Many companies or freelancers present on the internet can transform your dream of an online business into a reality with their coding skills. Although, now the responsibility is yours to choose the best developer or company for your project.

Essential Checklist when outsourcing e-commerce development project

You need to take care of so many things because the project is going to be your first expression of your online business. Hence, you need to consider everything and look into each detail to make sure you can provide the best thing to your consumers and visitors. Following are the few essential things that you should not miss before outsourcing:

12 Things you need to consider before outsourcing

Location of the Company
Always Prefer Quality Over Quantity
Design Tasks
Fees of the Company
Culture
Language
Be involved
Manage the Team that is Going to Work for You
Choose a Knowledgeable and Resourceful Company
Confidentiality
Honesty is the Best Policy
Follow the Right Trends

Let’s dive deeper into all these points!

1. Location of the Company

As we all know, people worldwide are using the internet, and therefore it is important to check out the location before giving them any kind of contract. The difference in location can cause so many troubles, such as time gaps. Make sure you outsource with someone having the same time zone because due to different time zones, you will face difficulty in communicating with the person regarding the changes you might need to make, your plans for the website, and so on. Moreover, you can not physically visit the company or person physically and claim anything if you face any sort of scam with the project.

However, if you are still not considering the location, then make sure you have done thorough research before hiring anyone and check their credibility. Also, check their reviews from the local customers and then make any sort of decision. If you are living in Sharjah and nearby areas, google the E-commerce web design Sharjah, and you will get a list of good companies or freelancers in the nearby area to do your work.

2. Always Prefer Quality Over Quantity

Do not just prefer companies with large quantities of work but instead focus on work quality. Since the quality will always overshadow the amount of work in the end. Look at their already done projects and see the quantity of work they offer to their customers. Go through their projects and see the kind of work they have done before and if they have any experience with the work you want them to do. Do check out the unfamous companies too. If they have done quality work, then there is no harm in choosing them.

3. Design Tasks

Not everyone is creative enough to design the website or banners; therefore, if you feel the need and your business requires it, you must hire designers to do your task. Such as logo design for your specific brand should be done by a proper designer; moreover, for the image listing and infographic, you should also consider a professional graphic designer. However, if you are working with a company, then they must have proper designers for this purpose, so you do not need to worry about it.

4. Fees of the Company

Another important thing to consider is the fee each company or freelancer is charging for your project. You should work wisely and do thorough research to see if the company or person is charging you reasonably or not. If you are being charged extensively, then you should look into other options. However, if a good company or freelancer asks you for a higher amount, you should not hesitate to increase the fees as it is the first impression of your business. You should do and select the best for your upcoming website.

5. Culture

Culture plays a crucial role in the development of websites since working with a corporation that has a different mindset than you might be difficult. Work ethics and company culture have an impact on how businesses operate. Finding a company with a similar mindset culture, and work ethic to yours is beneficial. It facilitates communication and teamwork.

The cultural divide can often result in unwelcome complications in your project. Investing in a somewhat more expensive company is sometimes preferable. The one who shares your cultural understanding to provide you with the services you desire.

6. Language

Language could become a barrier if you hire someone from another country or location. It could become a hurdle in explaining what you expect from the project and your goals and preferences. Therefore, make sure you both know a common language before hiring someone.

Don’t overlook the importance of establishing good communication with your offshore development team. Make extensive use of Skype or other IM services, prioritize video conferencing over voice talks, and push developers to respond to emails quickly. A strong project management tool is also necessary for a smooth communication process and planning and management.

7. Be Involved

No matter who you hire, whether it’s a big renowned company or a small one, you should always be involved with your project. Try to give them suggestions and tell them about your expectations in detail. Do research on the suggestions they are giving to you so that you will know each and everything about your project. From time to time, do small meetings with the company to know the progress of your work and if you find anything that is wrong or needs improvement tell them straight away without wasting any time; hence, your work could be done within the given deadline.

Begin by creating a rough prototype for your eCommerce site, and then schedule frequent internal releases. Daily, review the developers’ work and provide feedback as feasible. Identify problems early, and seek advice from the team on how to solve them. Ascertain that the team has sufficient and clear knowledge to complete assignments during the next few days.

8. Manage the Team that is Going to Work For You

Set conditions that are acceptable to both parties and describe in detail the compensation, working hours, requirements, and plans for them. Include details about your backlog of products and tell them what you want to achieve in the long run. Make a call schedule and choose and stick to a fixed time for your conversation.

Select a group chat/messaging program that is most handy and has the best security system. Always provide comments to others as it shows the team the appropriate direction and motivation, both good and negative. If possible, visit them now and then, even if it only happens once a year, since it is a delight when a client visits to see how the team is doing. When a project is completed, discuss the future, such as finance options and development plans.

9. Choose the Knowledgeable and Resourceful Company

Development projects require the functionality of the website and the integration of beautiful designs according to the products you are planning to sell or the services you are planning to provide. Therefore, a company with all the knowledge and resources can create a fully functional website for you with all the related designs and data. Partnering with a reputable custom software development firm can ensure that your website not only meets your requirements but also incorporates cutting-edge technology and tailored solutions to enhance user experience.

10. Confidentiality

All your data and ideas are very confidential; therefore, make sure the company you are choosing cares about the confidentiality of their clients. There should be a proper contract or paperwork should be done before they proceed with your project so that the ethics of the work can be maintained.

11. Honesty is the Best Policy

One of the challenges you may encounter with offshore software development is over-promising and under-delivering. Avoid service providers who just tell you what you want to hear. Instead, search for a partner who is upfront with you and insists on sticking to a reasonable work schedule and budget, even if it means losing the project for them.

12. Follow the Right Trends

The eCommerce industry is fast-paced; new trends arise and fade regularly. You can’t keep up with them all, so pick the truly important and valuable ones for your e-business. You should follow a trend that will never go out of fashion and will always be preferred by people.

Do Your Best and Leave the Rest!!

Do the best you can with all the research work and selection of the company or a freelancer but always leave the rest. Do not stress out or be over-involved with the project and never compromise your social life because of your work life. Take a deep breath and start your online business with a calm and relaxed mind.