Choosing
Freelancer, studio or agency for a business website
Each kind of provider suits a different project. Here is a framework built on scope, continuity and who actually does the work, plus an honest note on the limits of a one-person studio.
Most published comparisons of freelancers and agencies are written by one side, so they lean towards the author’s own model. I am a one-person studio, which is a reason to read this note with care, and the reason I have tried to say where I am the wrong choice.
The three kinds of provider
- A freelancer is one person. You deal with them directly.
- A small studio is a few people, often a lead plus a designer, a developer or a writer. You may talk to one person while others do parts of the work.
- An agency is a larger organisation with account managers, designers, developers and project managers, often with a process and a contract template.
The labels overlap in practice. A “studio” may be one person with a team name, and an “agency” may subcontract the build. The useful question is not the label but who will actually do each part of your project.
What differs, in practice
| Question | Freelancer | Small studio | Agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who do you talk to? | The person doing the work | Usually a lead | Usually an account or project manager |
| Who builds it? | Them | Them or their team | A team, sometimes subcontractors |
| Cover for illness or leave | None, unless arranged | Some | Usually |
| Range of skills in one place | Narrower | Medium | Wider |
| Cost structure | Often lower overhead | Medium | Often higher overhead |
| Process and paperwork | Varies a lot | Varies | More formal |
| Your own management effort | Higher: you are close to the work | Medium | Lower, but you manage through intermediaries |
| After launch | Depends on agreement | Depends | Often a support plan |
When each tends to fit
A freelancer fits when the scope is clear and not large, you want direct contact, and you can supply content on time. A business website of a few dozen well-defined pages is a typical example. The risk is continuity: if the freelancer is unavailable, you need a plan. Ask who can take over, and make sure you hold the logins and files.
A small studio fits when you want design and build handled together, or you need some writing or photography help alongside the build.
An agency fits when the project is large or complex, needs several specialists working at once, includes custom application development, or your organisation requires formal contracts, service levels or compliance paperwork. It also fits if you want one organisation to manage the site for years and you are comfortable with a higher cost.
Where a one-person studio is the wrong choice
I build business websites of 20 to 200 pages as one specialist. I am not the right choice if you need:
- a custom application, online shop with payments, customer accounts or a booking system (these are outside the packages);
- several people working in parallel against a hard deadline;
- round-the-clock cover written into a formal service-level agreement;
- a large organisation’s compliance paperwork.
Saying this early saves both of us time. If your project is a clear business website, working with the person who builds it has real advantages: no hand-offs, and the person you talk to is the person who knows the code.
Ten questions to ask any of them
- Who will do the design and the build, by name?
- Can I see live sites you built, and talk to a client?
- What exactly is included, and what is not? Is it in writing?
- How many rounds of changes are included?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- Who owns the domain, hosting and files, and are they in my name?
- What happens if you are unavailable mid-project?
- What does support after launch cover, for how long, and what does it cost?
- How will you tell me about progress and problems?
- If search work is included, what exactly will you do, and how will we measure it?
Google’s own advice on hiring someone for search work applies here too: ask about past work and expectations, be wary of secrecy and of promises of a number-one position.
A worked example
A Ludhiana industrial supplier wants a 40-page catalogue site, has the product list and photographs, and wants to talk to one person. A freelancer or a small studio is the natural fit. The same supplier, if it also wanted a dealer login, an ERP link and a quotation engine, should be asking agencies, because that is application work and not a website package.
The point of the framework is to match the provider to the project and not to the price. For how to compare what each quote actually contains, see how to read a website quote.