Small businesses looking to create a website for their business or project often get stuck at this question: Whether to hire a full-time WordPress developer or outsource a project to an agency?

The answer is not as simple as it sounds because there are many factors involved. In this article, we will discuss all these factors and understand which of the two is better.

Full-time WordPress Developer vs Development Agency

Here is a list of factors that will directly influence your decision for hiring either the WordPress in-house developer or the Development Agency.

1. Type of Work: 

What type of project are you going to develop? Will the work required to be constant to and fro of tasks? If so, an in-house developer would be a better idea because he/she will be able to communicate directly with the project lead. 

However, if the project doesn’t require active involvement then a development agency can also do the job smoothly. In fact, it is in a much better position to handle the work as we will be discussing below.

2. Nature of Work

Is the project too complex for a single person? What type of project will you be working on? Let’s say you want to develop an eCommerce store. It would require a design, front-end development, and back-end development. 

These all require different people who are well-versed in their area of expertise. A single developer won’t be able to take care of all these things alone.

On the other hand, if the development project is too small, and recurring, then it is better to hire a WordPress developer instead of outsourcing the project. 

Because in this case, the development agency will be charging a lot more for the service. For example, if the business wants to maintain its website, the developer can actively develop and maintain the website. He/she can even resolve small bugs without a problem. 

However, if the same project is assigned to a development agency, it will charge for every new task that comes it’s way. Moreover, the development agency has a lot more expertise, so it would try to sell that as a service to the site owner.

3. Amount of Work

Let’s say you want to develop an eCommerce store that is scalable and can handle traffic of 100,000 per day. This is something that would require at least a few months to develop. Therefore, a single developer won’t be able to complete it all alone. 

You would then also need to hire a development agency for this job. However, the development agency will charge a lot more because the project is complex and has a tight deadline.

On the other hand, if you just want to create a blog section on your website, then this can be done in-house easily even by your developer. In fact, the Wordpress Development Agency will charge a lot for such a small service. So, it is up to you to decide how to distribute the workload among your team and the developer. It would be better if you consult the different WordPress development agencies, and get their quotes before reaching a decision.

> Hire the Best WordPress Development Agency for Custom Design

4. Resources/Skills Required

Another thing to note when deciding between a full-time WordPress developer and an outsourced WordPress agency is to look at the resources you will need for your project.

As discussed earlier, in some cases you would only need a single resource. You can hire a freelance developer for that as well. However, if the project is big and requires confidentiality, like a startup idea that can be leaked. Then it would be better to hire a full-stack developer and sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement with them. This would allow you to keep your information secret until it is out in the public.

However, if the project is big and requires multiple resources such as a complete website redesign, then it is better to hand it to a third-party design agency. They have a lot more experience than in-house teams when it comes to creativity. They can also provide better ideas and execute them. 

Pros and Cons of Full-Time WordPress Developer

Let’s discuss the pros and cons of full-time WordPress developers so that you are aware of the tradeoff.

Pros of Full-Time WordPress Developer

• Complete Availability: Full-Time developers will be in-house. Therefore, you can get them to work at any time. Most of the time they will be working on your particular projects.

• Skilled and Ready to Work: These in-house developers are most skilled and always ready to work on your project. They have command over multiple languages so they can get work done a lot faster.

• Fixed Charges: They only charge a salary at the end of the month. This is a fixed charge from your company’s expenses. On the other hand, development agencies will be charging a lot more for each project.

Cons of Full-Time WordPress Developers

1. Cost More 

If you have complex projects, you will be hiring more than one developer. Let’s say you are paying $80,000 per annum to one developer. That will be $160,000 per annum for two developers. On the other hand, a development agency may charge $30,000 to complete the same project within a couple of months. So, if the projects require multiple resources, better to hand them to a WordPress development agency.

2. Limited Resource

Developers are limited resources. They have only 8 hours available for work per day. So, you can’t hire them for every work all the time. Unlike developers, agencies have multiple developers available and they can engage them on your project to meet the deadline.

Pros of Hiring a WordPress Development Agency

1. Pool of Expertise

Agencies have multiple developers working for them. So, they have a much bigger pool of expertise than any in-house developer. They are also great places to learn for developers, therefore you can easily find more agencies for hire.

2. Lower Costs

Most WordPress development agency solutions are a lot cheaper than paying a monthly retainer for a WordPress developer. It is because development agencies have multiple developers and they want to work on new projects to pay their salaries. So, in some cases, they are willing to work for even lower on your projects.

3. Professionalism 

WordPress development agencies have their protocols to follow. They are public and answerable to their clients. One bad review about a WordPress development agency can put them out of business. So, they are highly professional in their work.

4. Control on Work

You have complete control over the development agency that you hire for your project. Most of the time, these development agencies assign a project manager that you can communicate with to get timely updates.

Cons of Hiring a WordPress Development Agency

1. Communication Gap

The biggest drawback of WordPress development agencies is the communication gap. Development agencies are working on multiple projects at once. So, the delay in between meetings with clients can increase. 

So, you need to ensure that you are constantly asking for updates about your projects. Don’t pay upfront and set milestones for releasing project payments. Make sure that you get the files in your cloud drive before you release any part of the payment. This will ensure that you are paying for the product.

2. Project Confidentiality Issue

WordPress development agencies have worked on many projects. When a new client asks for a similar project, they just replicate the previous code and design the website/app for the new client. This can break the client’s confidentiality. So, make sure to sign an NDA with them if you are hiring the WordPress development agencies for confidential projects. Otherwise, they are great and a low-cost option to work with.

Which One to Hire? Full-Time WordPress Developer or WordPress Development Agency?

We have laid down the pros and cons for both. Now it is up to you to decide. If your project is not confidential and has a certain degree of complexity, then hiring a WordPress development agency is ideal for your business. They will provide the expertise and creativity to get your project rolling.

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