Starting a business is hard. Starting a business when you don’t know the first thing about website development is impossible.

An online web presence is an inseparable part of business these days, and knowing how to optimize your website can be the defining factor between success and failure. Sadly, those of us who can’t tell a platform from a plugin might feel unprepared to meet this challenge—which is where outsourcing your web development comes in.

Let’s review some of the most essential aspects to outsourced website development and why it’s likely the best choice for your business:

1. You’re paying for quality.

Now, we know what you’re thinking. All this technical development nonsense can be done from anywhere, and outsourcing is the perfect way to slash costs!

Unfortunately, this isn’t the mindset you want to have. Those unfamiliar with outsourcing might view it as an easy way to save on their bottom line, and in many cases, this is possible. However, you should consider the quality of work you’re likely to get when you pay peanuts for a premium service. Your website is the lifeblood of your ecommerce and online presence, and outsourcing isn’t the time to get cheap.

Think about it—your web development involves the functionality of your site, customizing applications and plugins, optimizing for mobile/tablet use, and anything and everything related to your aesthetic visual design. Quality outsourced web development teams take all of these factors into account to give your brand an exciting and unique identity that sets you apart from your competition.

Sure, if you’re blessed with a talented in-house web developer, you might be able to reach these goals while keeping costs low. However, most businesses don’t keep web developers on staff full time. This leaves the burden of your online presence in the hands of outsourced professionals—and isn’t a task you want handled by dollar-bin developers.

2. Outsourcing provides a competitive advantage.

While the promise of the best possible product should be enough to entice most businesses that are in the market for web development, consider another advantage to outsourcing—insider knowledge of your competition.

Yes, even if you’re a niche business with little direct competition, outsourced web development firms will have the experience and insight necessary to help you stand out from the crowd. Outsourced firms work with hundreds of clients over the years; it naturally follows that they must stay on top of the latest trends and fashions popular in the web dev marketplace. Savvy firms can analyze these trends and figure out how to best apply competitive design practices in ways that are unique to your brand—and bring more eyes to your material.

3. Your choice of developer means everything.

Having spent so much time advocating the benefits of outsourced web development, we feel compelled to mention one more thing: these advantages are only found by choosing the right developer.

As we touched on when discussing costs, discount developers may lack the experience and infrastructure necessary to meet your business goals. Before you enter into a contract, review the work your potential developer has done for other clients. Are their previous customers satisfied? Do their websites look like something you’d be proud to put your own name on? If possible, get references from colleagues or other industry insiders and make sure you come prepared with a list of questions to properly vet each candidate.

Don’t trip at the finish line—better website design and a more competitive brand are only a step away.