Should I Hire a Freelancer to Build my Website
by Zaman Khan
Hiring a freelancer for work related to your website is very risky and not advised.
Scenario:
- You’re hiring a freelancer to build your website, probably because you can’t build it yourself and you’re uncertain if you can afford to employ a proper company.
- You can’t build your own website, because you don’t know the technology.
- You don’t know the technology so you have no idea what the freelancer is doing for you, what to ask of them, or how to check if they’ve built it to current standards.
- You will almost certainly end up with a website that looks great, so you write a glowing review. Later you learn that your website has countless bugs, and doesn’t function to your satisfaction.
Can you blame the freelancer? They aren’t bound by contract, they’re working for someone they will never meet, and they’re likely working a full-time job on the side.
There is also the problem of different laws or a lack of enforcement. A freelancer wouldn’t be held accountable if they plagiarized content that is copyrighted… but you would be. The freelancer might also utilize unethical forms of marketing that could work very well for you in the short term, but that could destroy your search engine rankings, and possibly your business, just a few weeks later.
Hire an affordable company
When you hire a company you have a contract in hand (be sure to read and understand it). The contract should establish liabilities and afford you legal protection and rights. Here is one key difference between a freelancer and a brick-and-mortar business. Another major difference is that the web design company you contract with has a lot riding on their reputation; unlike the freelancer, this is their full-time job.
Conclusion
If you know the technology like we do, there is less risk in hiring a freelancer, otherwise, it can be very risky. It’s hard to imagine that the freelancer you engage will have your best interests in mind.
