REASONS WHY YOU SHOULDN’T HIRE A FREELANCE WEB DESIGN SERVICE
Freelancers are admirable. They have the courage not to tie themselves to an established workplace for the security of a stable monthly salary and benefits. There’s freedom, of course. When you freelance, you are pretty much your own boss and you have the advantage of owning your time. To succeed in this kind of setup, plenty of discipline and conscientiousness are called for. In reality, the freelance arena is a hodgepodge of every kind of worker. At times, hiring the services of a freelancer is the better choice, but generally speaking, the risk is greater. When it comes to getting a freelance web developer for a project, the following are some reasons why this decision just might end up backfiring: o
Freelancers can give whole new levels to the concept of “flexitime”. It’s a question of availability for whatever nature of communication. Most freelancers work from home. If they decide to spend the day running errands and just work in the evening, there’s not much that the client can do about it, unless they have an agreed upon work time. They hardly ever have an assistant or a partner who can deal with the client in case of an emergency. Unlike a web design company with very established work hours, freelancers cannot be expected to be available during the usual 9-5 workday. Their main concern is to deliver output before the deadline. While this may be ultimately the end of any contract, it’s certainly more comforting to have your service provider easily reachable when you need him.
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The level of professionalism may leave a lot to be desired. Freelancers do not have bosses or an HR department to regulate their practice and conduct. While many freelancers are very conscientious about their work and dealing with clients, there are also those who are too easy-going for comfort. It’s good to know that there is somebody you can complain to in the event of lackluster service.
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You work with limited resources. Freelancers do not have the same equipment or work force capabilities that companies do. In the event of sickness, who can take over? When large amounts of content are involved, will file sharing be difficult?
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In terms of security, working with freelancers can often be akin to jumping off a cliff. You just can’t be sure if your web designer isn’t going to run off with your down payment. Reliability-wise, many freelancers do not work with written contracts, and even when they do, clients can’t be bothered to pursue legal action involving small-time projects. There is always the risk of fraud and scams in this type of transaction. In fact, the opposite can also happen. A client can renege on a deal after the work has been delivered. This is why working with papers is so important.
Of course, the reasons mentioned here are mere possibilities. There are plenty of responsible freelance web designers out there, but as a rule, you can have more peace of mind working with an established company.