If you’re planning a new website and shopping around for the best person to make it, one of the first questions you’re going to have to answer is: “Should I hire a freelancer or an agency?”
Now, full disclosure—I am a freelancer. You might expect me to just say, “Freelancers all the way!” But, really, the choice depends on what you need. Both freelancers and agencies have their strengths, and the right choice for you depends on a few factors.
In this post I’m going to hopefully help you decide whether a freelancer or an agency is the best fit for your web design and development project… as impartially as I can!
The Freelancer Advantage: Personal, Flexible, and Cost-Effective
1. You Get a Direct Line to the Person Doing the Work
When you hire a freelancer, you’re dealing with the person actually designing and building your website. There’s no middleman, no account manager relaying messages back and forth. If you want something changed, you just… ask.
I have some clients I’ve been working with for eight or nine years and that personal relationship we’ve developed means I’m now able to anticipate what they need next before they’ve asked for it. That one-to-one relationship freelancers can build with their clients really speeds up the process of getting changes planned and implemented.
With larger agencies, your request might have to pass through a few people before it gets to the developer, which can slow things down. (Or worse—you send an email, and suddenly you’re in a dreaded “ticketing system” waiting for a reply.)
That said, agile creative studios—like MakerChange, a fantastic Brighton-based studio I collaborate with—often strike a great balance. They bring in the specialist knowledge while maintaining a hands-on, personal approach.
2. More Bang for Your Buck
Freelancers usually have fewer overheads—no big office, no management team—so their rates are often more competitive. When budgets are tight you really want to be making sure you’re paying for expertise, not for someone’s trendy office space or their Friday team breakfasts (which, I assume, include fancy pastries… not that I’m jealous.)
Agencies, especially larger ones, tend to be pricier, but they do offer more hands-on deck. If you have an enormous project with really complex needs, that extra cost might be worth it.
3. Flexibility and Agility
Need a quick tweak? A freelancer can often turn things around faster because they don’t have layers of internal processes to navigate. Whether it’s a small design adjustment, a new page, or an urgent bug fix, working directly with a freelancer means changes can often be made within hours or days, rather than weeks.
Freelancers can also be more adaptable when it comes to project scope. If your needs change midway, there’s usually more room for discussion and iteration without getting bogged down in rigid project structures.
With larger agencies, you’re often working within predefined project phases and timelines. This structure is great for maintaining order in complex projects but can sometimes mean less flexibility if you need something done outside of the original scope.
Of course, there are freelancers who prefer to work with a strict process, just as there are agencies that take a more agile approach. But for projects that are likely to evolve over time, working with a freelancer can sometimes offer more direct flexibility, while agencies often provide a structured process.
The Case for Creative Agencies: Many Hands Make Light Work
1. They Have a Bigger Team (Which Can Be a Big Deal)
Creative agencies come with a built-in support network. A well-established agency will have designers, developers, videographers, copywriters, social media specialists and project managers all working together.
If you need the works when it comes to cross-media content, a creative agency like the incredibly talented team at Hey! What? might be your best bet. Agencies are stuffed with talent, which means if you suddenly realise you need an eye-catching video for your landing page or some fliers for an event, they could pick that work up in-house.
2. They Can Handle Huge-Scale Projects
If your business needs things like enterprise-level integrations or a custom-built app, an agency’s combined expertise might be necessary.
That’s not to say freelancers can’t handle big projects—many of us do! But if you need something big done quickly, there’s simply no other way to achieve it but with a team of experts working on multiple elements simultaneously.
3. Ongoing Support and Marketing
If you want more than ‘just’ a website—say, regular content creation, social media management, or digital marketing—an agency might be a better fit. While some freelancers offer additional services like social media and email marketing, many prefer to focus solely on web design and development.
So, if you need all hands on deck with content strategy, PR, events and marketing, a marketing agency might be the way to go. For example, Bristol-based Duchess Media are spectacular at all that and collaborate with specialists (like web developers) for the projects that need them.
So, Who Should You Choose?
If you
- Want a personal, direct relationship with the person building your site
- Want a website designed, built, and SEO-optimised, but don’t necessrily need a comprehensive marketing blitz
- Need flexibility on a budget
→ A freelancer is likely your best bet.
If you
- Need a full-service package (branding, marketing, content strategy, the works)
- Have a big, complex project with multiple moving parts
- Want ongoing support to run ads or social media campaigns
→ A creative agency might be the right choice.
A Hybrid Approach? Best of Both Worlds!
Finally, it’s worth pointing out that you don’t always have to pick one or the other. Creatives tend to be a very collaborative breed and freelancers often work with agencies to bridge knowledge, skill or resource gaps. The companies I mentioned earlier are prime examples of studios that embrace this approach. It gives clients a high level of specialisation while keeping things flexible and efficient.
It’s worth asking both freelancers and agencies how they work and if they’re open to this approach.
At the end of the day, whether you choose a freelancer or an agency, the most important thing is finding someone who understands your vision, has the right skills, and who you get along with.
If you’re leaning towards hiring a freelancer (nudge, nudge), let’s chat. If an agency turns out to be a better fit, I can even recommend some great ones—because at the end of the day, what matters most is that you get a website you love.
—Viney