If you are a businessman planning to outsource your website enhancement project, you might be in a dilemma because you don't know whom to employ - a corporate firm or a freelancer? Having only a vague idea about the technicalities involved, you decide on a freelancer because first of all, your website needs only enhancement or repair, and secondly, you dislike your individuality being sidelined in a corporate ocean where you are merely a file-number! Great decision! But now comes the tough part. Put on your thinking-cap, keep pen and paper at hand, and answer these irksome questions:
- Do you know the technical names of applications used in website development?
- Can you enumerate each functionality you want integrated into your dream-website?
- How will you enlist the best freelancer, who would understand what exactly you want done?
- How will you interact with him, considering that you can't speak his lingo?
- Can you get state-of-the-art functionality as well as cost-effectiveness from a freelancer?
When you have jotted down your answers (incompletely yet honestly), you are left with a throbbing headache, but your enhanced website will have become twice as clear and your hurdles, scalable!
When you post your project at a freelance website, be clear about every functionality you want on your website even though you don't know the technical terms involved. If you don't know much about "flash player", say you want a one-minute video to be displayed; if you have a vague knowledge of "Search Engine Optimization", simply say that you want your website to figure in searches by prospective customers. If you don't know anything about integrating "Social Networking and Web 2.0 tools and Site-map" into the website, say you want your prospective customers to have the facility to rate your product, compare with similar products, glide through web pages, and have an enriched website experience. Otherwise you might get an average website based on the freelancer's uninspired assessment.
Further, avoid casual language; use simple and clear-cut language. Avoid common grammatical or spelling mistakes. The best freelancers are essentially of the type: "Speak less, Work Efficiently and Earn More". Your project proposal should be pointed and lucid, giving little room for ambiguity; otherwise it may discourage the best freelancers from bidding.
Quote a realistic budget in relation to your estimated ROI from a top class website. Visit some elite freelancing websites through Google and note down what budgets are being posted for website development projects like yours. Many "service buyers" instinctively post a "low-budget", and often, it turns out to be "penny wise, pound foolish" in the long run.
Once the bidding starts develop a profile for each freelancer by noting down his experience, rating, projects completed, their variety, budget and relevance to your website project. Use the profiles to short-list a few prospective freelancers and start communicating with them during bidding itself. Ask questions and encourage them to know your expectations so that they too can share your passion in developing your website. It creates a good base for the continual communications needed once the actual project starts, so that you can get it done smoothly, efficiently, and on schedule.
When the bidding closes, don't blindly select the lowest bidder! In most cases, the lowest bidder will not deliver to your expectations. Select the best freelancer from your short-listed candidates through a judicious blend of his profile and bid amount. Don't haggle even if his bid seems a little high. Consider it as a well-deserved tip for promising to render a quality website with enduring features, flawless design and seamless functionality!
If he demands payment in installments, you can deposit your project fee under "Escrow milestone payments", where, you agree to pay the project fee in installments. But remember to state in clear, unequivocal terms your high expectations of quality and work schedule. So, you've selected the best freelancer, but the real work begins now! You have to get the best performance out of him through patience, communication and motivation.
