Saturday, 12 April 2014

How to Outsource Web Design

How to Outsource Web Design

Often, doing website design and development locally can be quite expensive. This raises another alternative that involves hiring an outsourced web designer for a company. One of the truisms of the modern internet is that design matters. Below are the basics of how to go about outsourcing a website design project. 

Creating the Framework

Getting some examples is the single most vital aspect when outsourcing a web design project. This is because a point of reference must be given to an outsourcing worker. It is advisable for someone to find about five websites that he or she likes for various reasons and then show them to the worker. The outsourcer should offer an exact description of what they like about these sites. 

When outsourcing web design, it is cheaper and will make the virtual worker’s job easier if there is a theme of which to base the design off. For instance, if someone wants a shopping cart function, they can use Magneto or OScommerce and then select a theme fitting overall feel needed for the site. This can be done by looking for a person who is familiar with such platforms. Then, it is easier to have them tweak the chosen theme that fits his or her specifications. 

Specifying colors is the next step, given that color preferences significantly differ from person to person. To be on the safe side while ensuring that the job gets done faster, it is advisable to create a color palette in order to specify color preferences. When this is done, the palette is named and then sent to the virtual worker who will base the web design off these color preferences. 

Assigning the Project 

Once a person has a framework of his or her web design project, what follows is assigning the work. Setting up a system capable of creating accountability for the virtual team is important. This means that the outsourcer has expressed his or her expectations and the virtual worker will do their best to satisfy them. 

When the virtual worker begins to create the website design project, the outsourcer can ask them to send mock ups prior to coding in the design. This way, it is possible to what has been done so far and offer redirection if necessary. Between 3 and 5 revisions can be expected from the original mock up, but one should bear in mind that this is normal when in the middle of a website design project. However, constructive criticism should be offered to the virtual worker. 

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