Long gone are the days where businesses looked locally for web developers. There are talented devs all over the world who can offer services better suited to your business requirements. Businesses who are looking for developers have the whole world in their hands! It sounds great but it can be overwhelming—with so many possibilities it’s hard to make the right choice.
India is a superb choice for offshore development. Why? Because India boasts a large population of developers with formal computer science qualifications—higher proportionally than almost anywhere else, and absolutely dominant in terms of raw numbers. Secondly, because they’re a lot more affordable than many other countries. In other words, clients can hire the same (if not better) developer expertise, for less. You’d be a fool not to!
However, hiring from India still poses challenges for anybody looking to hire. The web development space is crowded and it’s essential you’re able to filter reputable companies from scammers and underqualified developers. How can you make the right choice? That’s what I’m here for! Read below to make your Indian web developer search smooth, cost effective and successful. Let’s begin!
Before You Search: Understand Your Project
It’s important you ask yourself these questions about your project:
- Which languages, frameworks and tools are you using?
- Do you need an entire project completed or just part(s) of an existing one?
- How long do you expect your project to be? Will you require maintenance after project completion?
- Are any uncommon skills required?
- What’s your budget?
The better you understand your project, the clearer idea you’ll have of the developer you’ll need. Project requirements will allow you to quickly decide whether a developer or company is worth looking into. Different web development companies will specialize in using certain technologies, some may offer generalist services and a few larger companies will offer high-level services in any area you can imagine. Project requirements will help you again during consulting or constructing your interview process. They act as a guideline to check if they’re what you need. Upon finding an adequate developer, your project requirements help them in understanding your expectations.
Should You Hire a Freelancer or Hire from a Web Development Company in India?
This is a question that many business owners ask and it’s important to consider, as one might serve you better than the other—they excel at different sorts of project, and you want to know who is right for you.
These sort of projects are better suited for freelancers:
- Short term
Freelancers prefer to take on shorter contracts. In the event your working relationship is exceptional, they may be interested in entering a long term partnership, but don’t retain them expecting that to be the plan.
- Low resource requirements
Freelancers are likely to have limited hardware, especially if they’re travelling. If your project can’t be built from a laptop, then average freelancer’s hardware may not suffice.
- Requires niche skills
If your project is in a niche area or requires expertise with an uncommon technology, there’s always a freelancer that specializes in it. You need Ruby on Rails specialist who exclusively does web app frontend for French food trucks? You’ll never find a whole company that does that, but if you look hard enough, you’ll almost certainly find a freelancer.
- Benefits from flexibility
Freelancers have flexible work hours. Especially if they’re remote, this can be a huge boon for finding mutual uptime. It’s much easier to get a single freelancer on a video conference at 8pm their time than it is to get a whole office.
- Low budget
It’s true, there are some very cheap freelancers out there; they may be new to the industry and trying to gain clients or they just have low living costs. Low costs can be very tempting, but may not always result in the quality you desired!
- Doesn’t require following maintenance
Most freelance developers are temporary help. Upon project completion, the onus is on the client to continue maintenance—you need to ensure you’ve got hired or in-house expertise at the ready.
Web Development Companies
If your web development project is better suited for a development company, it may have the following aspects:
- Long-term project
Both parties involved prefer to develop a long term working relationship, building trust and efficiency as a project grows.
- Will need to upsize/downsize development during your project
Development companies provide the option of increasing or decreasing the number of staff needed as a project continues. What may have first begun as the single hiring of a part-time web developer can turn into a full development team, and they’re a team who know how to work together professionally.
- Communication scheduling
Efficient communication requires consistent working hours—you can’t plan a week ahead if you don’t know what your developer is doing tomorrow night. Web development companies agree to working a certain amount of hours, usually at the same time everyday. This allows both parties to more easily plan meetings and conduct business during mutual uptime. They’re also willing to take meetings outside of normal working hours if necessary.
- Quality assurance
Web development companies are more trustworthy or—at the very least—easier to assess. They’ll have a larger portfolio, more customer reviews and testimonials, a broader footprint for you to track. It’s also easier to spot an inexperienced or shady web development company by the state of their website—if it’s not well-optimized, don’t expect yours to be!
- Needs maintenance
Many codebases require constant maintenance and web development companies are happy to do this. This often involves downscaling the team assigned to you, so you don’t need to worry about breaking the bank.
Other Aspects of a Web Development Company You Should Check
- Work Portfolio
Reputable web development companies have a rich work portfolio displaying their successful projects. Look for projects that are in the same industry as you or have any features that would be a good fit for you.
- Reviews and Testimonials
Good reviews are great news, especially if they can be found outside the company website. Companies that display video testimonials are especially trustworthy as it shows a real and meaningful relationship with clients.
- Industry years of experience
Becoming well-established in an overcrowded industry is tough; any company that has over 5 years’ experience has proved they’re worthwhile. The longer they’ve managed to stick around, the more likely it is that they know what they’re doing. However, you should check their work portfolio to ensure whether they’ve had any recent clients.
- Communication Skills
You’ll hopefully get a firm idea of their communication proficiency during the interview process. How quickly do they to reply to questions and organise meetings? Especially if they’re a remote team, it’s paramount that they are good at keeping you in the loop.
- Vagueness
Finally, if there is any vagueness around their pricing model or the services, it’s best not to engage with them. Legitimate companies will be upfront about what their business will mean to you, and should provide further details on request.
To help in your search, here’s two reputable web development companies from India that I’d recommend.
- CodeClouds are my first pick for hiring PHP web developers in India. They’ve been successful enough to expand globally and now have offices in the US, New Zealand and Australia. They’re surprisingly cost-effective and—though they have a large team—their developer packages have affordable scaled options for most businesses, from small startups to major enterprises.
- Foduu are another great choice, especially if you want mobile app development. Their pricing package is different from CodeClouds—they offer a certain amount of benefits depending on which package you buy. This is a great option if the extra services are what you want, however if it’s not you’re sacrificing some freedom as to what services you can receive. It’s a little less flexible, but if their package is what you want then they’re an excellent choice.
I hope this article has given you some clarity as to how to find quality, trustworthy developers in India. Many businesses are hiring offshore and finding immense success doing so. There’s some incredible companies out there, but the managers who rush their hiring process can often find themselves wasting time and money. Hiring from a reputable web development company will be well worth it in the long run and result in a fruitful long-term relationship.
Nicola Holder 