Web agency or freelancer: which to choose?

The short answer.

If your project is fairly simple and you want to deal directly with the person doing the work, a good freelancer is usually the better value. If it's large, needs several specialists at the same time, or has to be looked after by a team, an agency makes more sense.

For most small businesses, the question that matters more is who will actually do your work, and what happens if they stop. A small business can get a great result, or a terrible one, from either.

What you get with a freelancer.

A freelancer is one person, working for themselves. You speak to the person doing the job, so there's no game of telephone, and they aren't carrying the cost of an office and an account manager. A good one cares about your project because their name is on it.

Usually lower cost, as there are fewer overheads.
Direct contact with whoever's building your site.
Quick decisions and few meetings.
But one person can't be great at everything, so check what they don't do.
And there's a single point of failure if they're ill, busy or move on.

What you get with an agency.

An agency has a team, which might include designers, developers, writers and someone to keep it all on track. That's useful for larger projects, and it means somebody's still there if one person leaves or goes on holiday.

A range of skills under one roof.
More capacity, and cover for holidays and illness.
A process, and often better paperwork.
But more cost, as you're paying for the team and the building.
And you may be dealing with an account manager, while your site is built by someone you never meet, or even subcontracted.

Which suits which job.

A brochure site for a local trade rarely needs a team of seven, and an online shop with a thousand products and integrations rarely suits one person working evenings. Most small businesses are somewhere in the middle.

A simple site for a sole trader or a small local firm: a freelancer or a very small business.
A bespoke system or an unusual online shop: whoever has built something similar, and can show you.
A large organisation with committees and sign-off stages: usually an agency, because of the coordination.
Marketing, SEO, photography and the site all at once: anyone who can honestly do them, or a small group that works together.

The questions that matter more than the label.

"Agency" can mean one person with a nice logo, and "freelancer" can mean someone better than most agencies. Ignore the word, and ask these.

Who will actually do the work, and will I speak to them?
Can you show me something similar that you've built, and can I speak to that client?
Who holds the domain, the hosting and the code, and is it in my name?
What happens if you're ill, or you stop doing this?
What will this cost me each month after it's built, and who gets paid?
What's included, and what would count as an extra?
How will this be found on Google, and what do you do about that?

The risk nobody mentions until it's too late.

The worst outcomes we see don't come from choosing the wrong kind of supplier. They come from being tied to one, whichever it is. A freelancer can disappear, and an agency can be bought, change direction or put your prices up. If your domain, hosting and code are in their name, you've got very little say in what happens next.

So make it a condition. Everything's in your name, you hold the logins, and someone else could pick it up if they had to. It costs nothing to arrange at the start, and a good supplier of any size won't mind.

Where With Gumption sits.

We should declare an interest, as we'd fall on the small side of this. We're a small business, and you deal with the person who builds your work. We do marketing, online shops and bespoke systems in one place, which is a wider range than most people expect from something this size. We don't have the capacity of a big agency, and if your project needs one, we'll say so.

Whoever you pick, ask those questions. And if you'd like a second opinion on a quote you've been given, send it over. We're happy to tell you if it looks fair, even if we aren't the ones doing the work.

Questions people ask.

Is a web agency worth the extra cost?

It can be, when you need what the extra cost pays for: several specialists, project management, or a team that keeps going whoever's on holiday. If you've got a straightforward site and you'd be happy talking to one person, you may be paying for things you won't use. Ask what's actually included, and compare like with like.

Are freelancers less reliable than agencies?

Not as a rule. The risk is different, not necessarily bigger. A freelancer depends on one person's availability, and an agency depends on staff who can leave and priorities that can shift. Look for a track record, clear paperwork and clients you can talk to. Then make sure you hold your own domain and logins, so you're fine either way.

Can a freelancer build an online shop?

Plenty can. A good freelancer can build anything from a simple shop to a bespoke system, as long as they've done something similar before. Ask to see one that's been running for a while, and ask what happens when something goes wrong on a busy day. Payments, stock and delivery rules are where experience really counts.

How do I know if an agency will subcontract my work?

Ask them directly. There's nothing wrong with subcontracting in itself, as many good agencies use trusted specialists. You just want to know who's doing the work, where they're based, and who's responsible if it goes wrong. If the answer's vague, or nobody can tell you who'll work on your project, take that as useful information.

What should I do first, get quotes or write a brief?

Write a brief, even a short one. If you send the same few paragraphs to everyone, you'll get quotes you can actually compare, and you'll quickly see who has read it. It doesn't need to be polished. We've got a guide to writing one, and most of it comes down to explaining what you sell and what you want the site to do.

Web agency or freelancer: which should you choose?