The first and most important step towards achieving a strong online presence is creating a website. This is where the demand for web and software development services comes into play. Companies are constantly seeking to expand their reach and enhance their online platforms, and they often turn to web development agencies for assistance. These agencies offer comprehensive support, whether it’s building an application or website from scratch or maintaining an existing one.
Their services encompass various aspects, including website creation, content generation, frontend/backend programming, and system security measures. Throughout the entire process, from planning and implementation to monitoring, communication, and timely delivery, these agencies prioritize quality at every step.
Whether it’s coding or designing, their ultimate objective is to develop a final product that prioritizes user experience. Therefore, the primary goal of web development is to create websites that are user-friendly, intuitive, and adaptable, making it easier for users to find information and navigate the site effectively. For a detailed guide on how to create websites with exceptional user experiences, much like Airbnb, you can refer to https://sloboda-studio.com/blog/how-to-build-website-like-airbnb/.
Let’s analyze the Ukrainian web and software marketplace. Upon examining the list of top IT companies, it becomes evident that a significant majority of them specialize in providing web development services. On average, this comprises approximately 40% of the services offered, and for some companies, it accounts for as much as 50-70%.
These companies collaborate with a diverse range of industries. Roughly one-quarter of them focus on socially important sectors such as education, healthcare, and medicine, which constitutes slightly over 20% on average. Another quarter of the companies show interest in sectors like information technology, finance, and banking. The remaining companies can be divided into two categories: those that specialize in specific industries such as e-commerce, logistics, or business, and those that work with multiple industries, allocating a smaller percentage to each (e.g., retail, media, travel and lifestyle, design, testing, etc.).
Most of these companies primarily cater to medium and small businesses. What they have in common is their ability to offer comprehensive web and software development services.
This includes creating websites or applications, conducting interviews with businesses to assess their goals, leveraging their experience to provide advice on cost estimation, and determining how best to assist the company in achieving its objectives. So, what is the exact purpose of choosing a Ukrainian web development company? Let’s first delve deep into the ideas of outsourcing development.
Outsourcing Web Development Team
Based on the necessary tech stack, talent levels, and subject experience, the outsourcing company creates and provides a specialized web development project team of the quality and quantity that best matches the supplied requirements. The dedicated team model (DTM) is most effective for projects with flexible scopes and objectives that are mid to long-term in nature.
The project manager forms the nucleus of the growth group. An MVP, for instance, would be regarded as a project. A team would receive assistance from the manager with their web development plan. The project manager is responsible for meeting deadlines, monitoring background activities, and evaluating the results of the software development team.
The business analyst is in charge of creating new models and, if needed, collaborates closely with the finance, IT, and design departments. BA must be able to gather, examine, and report data trends. No prior knowledge of information technology is required. However, it’s critical to have a fundamental knowledge of how devices, goods, and systems operate.
A UI/UX designer is essential to the web development process of sites or apps. Your final product will be intuitive, user-friendly, and appealing thanks to this person. To support the best user experience and better engagement, they will ensure that everything within the product is optimized. Designers are the essential individuals who consider your product’s usability and consistently work to produce an interface with a pleasing look and feel.
You may occasionally need to work with backend developers if the project is particularly complicated. People in this position concentrate on server-side tasks. They make sure that the supporting components, such as product logic and architecture, are of the highest caliber to ensure that your solution operates as effectively as feasible.
The QA team thoroughly tests it before realizing. Fixing bugs and figuring out faults in your program should be part of it. The goal is to stay on top of your product’s experience requirements and make sure that any flaws are eliminated from the program.
The Idea of Web Development Project: Team VS Full-stack Freelancer
Dedicated software development teams and freelancers are frequently not direct rivals because they both perfectly suit distinct project requirements. When a project requires a large, flexible team of different specialists, including business analysts, designers, QA experts, marketers, and, of course, engineers who construct web and mobile apps, companies are the greatest option. However, for small and low-cost projects that require software solutions built on a single or a couple of stable programming languages, employing a freelancer makes sense.
The benefits of hiring a software development team are highlighted:
- Easy to manage a heavy workload
- Consulting services
- The level of risk of manipulation and forgery in credibility is low
- Quality level of testing
- Non-disclosure is 100% guarantee
- Company always hires and teaches new specialists
And this is only a drop in the bucket.
Web development cooperation model and project complexity
Before searching for a web development team, you should define your project size.
There can be different levels of complexity, which also affects the price:
- Simple Projects: These involve building a basic website or enhancing an existing one by adding new features.
- Medium-Sized Projects: This includes the development of web applications, online stores, or any project that requires integration with additional solutions such as CRM, CMS, databases, or AI chatbots.
- Large-Scale Projects: These projects are more complex and typically involve the integration of sophisticated technologies, such as cloud hosting servers, for real-time data processing and storage. Examples include building e-commerce stores or social networks.
In terms of cost, when outsourcing app developers under the Outstaff model, you pay them a monthly salary similar to regular staff members.
For dedicated teams or project-based models, you have the options of fixed price or time and material:
- Fixed Price: This model works well for small projects with limited budgets and defined timelines, such as developing a minimum viable product (MVP). However, accurately estimating project scope can be challenging initially due to human factors, so it’s important to consider this when choosing the model.
- Time and Material: This payment model, also known as Pay as You Go, is commonly used in Agile development. It involves agreeing upon an hourly rate for each developer and paying based on the actual time spent on development. This model suits projects where the scope of work is difficult to determine in advance and where clients may require changes to requirements during the process. The number of app features and their complexity
- The infrastructure of the backend
- UX/UI design complexity
- Methodology for development
This is an approximate list of factors affecting the custom web development price. However, do not forget about some “hidden” costs. Often, they are not taken into account in the rough estimate, but this is a mistake. Unexpected expenses can be: marketing, maintenance, security of the program and its production, servers, hosting, and others. In addition, you will likely have to make changes in the middle of the development process, which also costs time and money. Consider all these nuances when estimating web development cost.
Now we come to the main question: Why are American businesses increasingly choosing web developers from Ukraine?
Reasons to Hire Web Development Company from Ukraine
Like many other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Ukraine has experienced significant growth in its IT sector over the past decade. Initially, the government regulatory apparatus did not pay much attention to the industry during its early stages of development, but as it grew in complexity and importance, it became impossible to overlook.
The current political leadership, including the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, is composed of former IT specialists who possess firsthand experience in the field and a forward-looking vision. These individuals are actively promoting the Ukrainian IT brand on both national and international levels.
The IT sector in Ukraine has evolved beyond just outsourcing and outstaffing. Numerous Ukrainian startups have emerged and gained global recognition, transforming into internationally acclaimed brands. Simultaneously, a vast number of IT companies in Ukraine provide comprehensive solutions ranging from design and development to implementation and post-development support. The adaptability and flexibility of Ukrainian developers have played a crucial role in driving this progress. Latin countries offer geographical proximity and minimal time difference, while India and China offer significant cost reduction and speed, sometimes compromising on quality.
What Ukraine has to offer is a unique combination of quality and price. The average salary in Ukraine is higher than in Asia but lower than in Latin countries. We don’t promote ourselves as a cheap solution, but when it comes to quality, Ukraine is a happy medium for most.
Pros and Cons of Ukrainian Developers
Ukrainian developers are highly competitive in the global job market, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. They possess several advantages that make them stand out:
– Experience and Expertise: Ukrainian developers have experience working on international projects, including solutions for leading corporations across various sectors. They offer a range of expertise and can be found at different levels of seniority.
– Business Environment: Ukraine’s IT industry has traditionally faced minimal regulatory pressure, and the country’s EU membership further liberates the market, creating a favorable business environment for IT companies.
– Values and Culture: Ukraine shares similar values and culture with the Western world as part of Europe. This alignment translates into management agility, effective cross-cultural communication, and a high level of English proficiency among Ukrainian developers.
– Attractive Investment Potential: Investing in Ukraine’s IT sector carries strong potential for value delivery, with relatively low risks compared to other startup environments.
– Strong Team Augmentation Potential: Many companies choose to augment their development teams with Ukrainian developers who quickly integrate into new environments and contribute effectively.
However, there are certain challenges associated with the external environment in which Ukrainian developers operate:
– Ongoing War: The war in Ukraine has disrupted the ability of some IT specialists to work, which may create short-term operational risks. However, IT firms in Ukraine have been addressing this issue and finding ways to mitigate its impact.
– Weaker Managerial Control: Outsourcing a team of developers in Ukraine may entail weaker control due to the geographic distance. However, modern technology tools like Redmine, Jira, and Zoom help minimize this risk by facilitating consistent communication and task management.
– Delayed Synergy Effect: As with any new team or external company, it takes time to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness. The initial efforts invested in team augmentation or hiring an external firm translate into long-term benefits over time.
