Got an idea for an online store. Check! Hired some freelance developers. Check! Got your requirements and designs complete for the site? Ummm.. Believe it or not this is where a lot of people trip up. Not being crystal clear in your scope cant cost you a lot of money!
Positives working with a freelance developer
With platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify, getting an online business running has never been easier. To set up a very basic online store you don’t even need to know how to code. The configuring of the backend of these platforms can be done in a few hours of watching YouTube clips.
There are however limitations for the non technical when additional functionality is required on an online store. Something as simple as styling an app needs someone with a good grasp of code.
An out of the box Shopify store will eventually reach its limit and for an entrepreneur on a budget a freelance developer is the go to.
Freelance developers:
- Are cheaper than an agency.
- Can be hired to work solely on your project giving you a full time resource.
- Can be hired just to do a specific task.
- Are fairly knowledgeable with the platform they work with.
These are some of the main benefits that people starting a new online business lean on services like Freelancer.com and Fiver.com.
Freelance developers can get expensive
Rightfully freelance developers are a good hire if you are an entrepreneur or starting a new online business on a budget. However, freelance developers can also be expensive especially if you have hired them on an hourly rate.
Freelance developers:
- Are not designers; they need guidance on how things are laid out on page.
- Are not mind readers. You need to ensure you have all the functionality clearly briefed.
- Are not project managers. They are good at working on a specific task but you will struggle to get an overall snapshot of the progress of the project in full.
- Will charge you for their time. This includes investigating features and issues.
How to best work with a freelance developer?
Everyone has their own way of working but for the most part if you set expectations early you will save yourself a whole world of pain.
How do you set expectations with your freelance developer? Here’s a few things that we at Kookie Digital have done to work well with our clients freelancers.
- Document all the functions you need
Earlier on in this article I mentioned that freelance developers are not mind readers. In other words, if you do not properly brief your freelancers how would they know what to build. Ensure you are documenting all the functionality your website needs.
- Set your budget
If it’s a project rate, communicate what the budget is. If it’s an hourly rate, agree to a rate but also agree to the amount of time spent on a task.
- Provide basic designs
In the almost 20 years I have been in this industry I am yet to have a small/ medium business client provide some form of designs for their online shop. Critical pages like the product page and category page should come with basic designs. Even if they are hand drawn!
- Communicate
Good communication is the key! Hiring a freelance developer from another country means that you will have to compete with language and time zone barriers. Ensure that regular communication is conducted on a daily basis.
A shameless business plug!
At Kookie Digital we identified that budget creep is a real issue for our clients when they are working with freelance developers. To help, we have services that help clients in the infancy on the website or online shop build where our team of business analysts run a discovery session.
A discovery session is a meeting with our team and the client to gather all their requirements. From here we create a comprehensive document which can be given to any competent developer to undertake the work. The document is so detailed a developer can use it to do the work.
This process reduces any confusion and unnecessary communication. It’s as simple as reading the document and conducting the instructions.
To find out more about this service and others we provide at Kookie Digital. Please use the contact form to speak to our friendly sales team.