Has it been a few years since you updated your business’s WordPress website? Have you finally checked on it after many months of procrastination, realizing it needs a total re-haul?
While the task of developing your business’s WordPress website always seems daunting, especially if you are a small business owner with a tight budget, it is a task necessary in any strong and effective marketing strategy regardless of the size of the business. Especially with today’s website development market, there is an over-saturation of companies and developers available for hire, and you may be wondering which company or developer is best for you.
If you’re a business operating on a more local scale, we suggest considering a local WordPress developer for your WordPress website. Not only will you have the chance to work more closely with an individual who has a firm understanding of the local market, but a local WordPress website developer is a sound investment in ensuring that your business’s website is operating in relevance with the said market. Here are the top 5 benefits of hiring a local WordPress developer instead of outsourcing your business’s website development.
1. Local Developers, Local Knowledge
When it comes to hiring local website developers, the key difference between these developers and ones who are located outside your local area is the amount of knowledge they have of local businesses and practices. Especially for smaller businesses and businesses whose livelihoods and marketing strategies are dependent on local consumers, hiring a third-party developer with no knowledge or awareness of these factors will only cost your business more in the long run. With a local website developer, not only will they be more familiar with the context of your business goals, but they will have a better understanding as to how to incorporate your business’s WordPress website into the local market and the steps necessary to further promote your business’s service/product.
2. Accountability
With a local website developer, who may have an office or who may have meetings with you in-person, there is a higher standard of accountability present than compared to hiring an outside website developer. Local WordPress website developers know that a client can come into their office or contact them anytime about any issues concerning website development. Local website developers also have an image to preserve with local businesses and partners, meaning they will handle each client with care and ensure that the client’s needs and goals are fully met. A non-local website developer, on the other hand, does not have this same level of impetus for a website development project belonging to a business far from them.
3. Better Support
Another issue that arises when hiring a non-local developer is their availability. Especially if they are from another country, the hours you can consult with the WordPress website developer depends on when they can come online, and this ultimately affects your schedule—in order to meet with the developer, you may end up having to work their schedule around yours. Changes for your business’s website are also dependent on when that non-local developer is online, and whether or not you are available to check these changes is another hassle to handle among the pressing, urgent tasks your business has.
4. Effective Communication
Another perk of working with a local developer is the lack of a language barrier and being in similar time zones. One of the biggest banes for outsourcing your WordPress development is chances are the developer is in an entirely different time zone or may be operating in a different language, making the management for your business’s website even more of a hassle. Setting up shop with a local developer ensures not only smooth communications but also no misunderstandings and convenient meeting times that work best with your and your business’s schedule.
5. Networking
Working with a local developer enables you and your business to have stronger connections and relationships within the local community, thus allowing your local network to grow bigger. Website developers have an extensive range of clients and industries that they collaborate with, meaning there is a higher chance a local WordPress website developer can refer in invested and more long term clients to you and your business.
Conclusion
Overall, hiring a local WordPress website developer leads to higher accountability, more smooth communication, and support you can count on when you need it most. With the knowledge of local businesses and practices in your industry as well as increasing the chances of making a meaningful connection in your field, hiring a local WordPress website developer has many boons in comparison to outsourcing website development to a non-local WordPress website developer, especially for the needs and reach of a small business that prefers to focus on and attract more local clients.
