Enhance your business growth and provide exceptional user experiences with UX design outsourcing.
A user-friendly website is your business’s digital storefront that can help you increase sales and revenue growth. As per Gartner's Market Guide for Strategic Website Agencies, marketing leaders invest 9% of their budget into website design and user experience. Moreover, 36% of the surveyed CMOs reported that their investments in design and UX increased in 2023.[1]
While a business website can be your best frontline salesperson to attract and convert customers, many businesses aren’t able to draw its maximum benefits. This is because most small business owners adorn multiple hats (marketer, salesperson, product developer, and more) simultaneously. Often leaving little time to focus on UX design.
As SMB leaders can’t manage the expense of maintaining an in-house UX team, hiring a UX design agency can help them provide a better user experience. This guide will help you know the benefits and potential challenges of outsourcing user experience design, and provide steps to find the right UX agency for your business.
What is a UX agency, and what services do they provide?
A UX agency is a team of specialists dedicated to crafting intuitive and enjoyable experiences for users interacting with your digital products, including your website, mobile app, or even internal software. The UX design services offered by an agency often depend on the scope of your needs but usually include:
User research: Understanding visitor pain points through surveys, interviews, persona development, and other strategies to conduct thorough user research.
Information architecture: Structuring platforms and content to ensure easy findability. A smooth user experience across all your digital platforms can encourage sales.
Interactive design: Crafting intuitive navigation and interfaces for websites, mobile apps, and software to provide an engaging user experience.
Visual design: Applying branding with style guides and assets across varied touchpoints.
Usability testing: Evaluating new designs with representative users before applying them to the main platforms.
Content strategy: Optimizing copy and messaging to guide and attract visitors.
Building a great user experience is crucial for every business, but small-and-midsize-businesses (SMBs) often struggle to get it right because of limited resources. A UX agency can help your business:
Improve website usability and navigation
Enhance user engagement and satisfaction
Increase conversion rates and drive revenue
Gain a competitive edge in the digital marketplace
Benefits of outsourcing UX design
As your virtual storefront, your digital platforms should be welcoming and engaging. If your website or mobile app is confusing, cluttered, or difficult to navigate, potential customers may not return. This translates to lost sales and missed growth opportunities. Outsourcing UX design can help prevent this and unlock varied other benefits that can propel your business forward.
Saves on costs
Building an in-house UX design team requires significant investment, including employee salaries, benefits, training, and adequate infrastructure. Fortunately, UX outsourcing is a cost-effective alternative. Gartner's The CMO's Guide to Maximizing Agency Relationships states that CMOs allocated just over 23% of their major resource budgets to agencies in 2023.[2] The shift in trends highlights the growing recognition of the cost-efficiency and flexibility that outsourcing can provide.
Justin Sachtleben, Executive Experience Design Leader at Leva, emphasizes the financial advantage of UX design outsourcing by saying, “It brings a fresh perspective...without significant time investments and persistent resources.”[3]
Provides access to experienced design experts
Finding and retaining a top UX designer can be difficult for small businesses with limited resources. Outsourcing your UX team connects you with a wider pool of specialized talent. Third-party agencies hire people with diverse experience and industry knowledge to deliver the best to their clients. This broader perspective, as Sachtleben notes, “can be a catalyst for change,” bringing in cutting-edge design patterns and niche expertise.
Improves flexibility
Building an in-house UX team requires a long-term commitment. You're responsible for employee salaries, benefits, and ongoing training, even during project downtime. Outsourcing UX design offers greater flexibility, allowing you to scale up your resources for critical projects and reduce them during slower periods. This agility helps you to optimize costs and avoid overcommitting financially.
Increases quality output
Experienced UX design agencies have proven processes and methodologies to deliver polished, data-driven designs. As Mads Rechenburg points out, UX agencies can "turn your website from just a digital brochure into a customer magnet."[4] With UX design, you can elevate your website from a simple information portal to a dynamic platform that captures user attention and drives conversions. This focus on effectiveness, combined with expertise, often leads to higher quality outputs compared to building UX capabilities from scratch.
Challenges of outsourcing UX design
Outsourcing UX design services to a specialized agency can be a powerful move for SMBs, but it's not without challenges. Here are some key hurdles that businesses often encounter:
Communication
Lack of communication with the hired design agency can significantly impact your user experience, and aggravate misunderstandings and delays. Justin Sachtleben emphasizes that one way to bridge the gap between the third-party agency experts and your internal team is to "include some in-house UX expertise and orchestration." An internal point person can ensure clear communication of your vision and expectations.
You can craft a well-structured brief to explain your needs to the agency. Mads Soegaard, Founder of Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF), highlights the importance of a comprehensive brief: "Take your time to work out exactly what you need…before you even begin looking around."[5] This reduces ambiguity and ensures the agency understands your goals, target audience, and brand identity.
Regular communication and feedback loops are essential. Utilize collaboration tools and schedule frequent calls to promptly maintain alignment and address concerns.
Quality control
While partnering with experienced agencies minimizes risk, it is important to maintain quality control. As Mads Rechenburg mentions, “The biggest one is ensuring that the UX designer truly gets your brand's vibe and vision.” Bridging the gap between your brand's personality and the designer's vision can be a hurdle when outsourcing UX design.
Establish clear deliverables and milestones throughout the project to avoid any confusion. Conduct regular reviews and provide constructive feedback to ensure the designs meet your expectations. You can also use design prototypes and user testing tools to gather feedback and iterate on the designs.
Cultural differences
Cultural nuances can pose challenges when working with global teams. Mads Soegaard says, “While outsourcing your UX designer gives you access to a global talent pool, the flip side is they may not have a deep understanding of your audience.” Outsourcing UX design offers access to a wider range of talent, but the designer might not be familiar with the cultural nuances of your target market.
Choose a UX design services agency with experience in your target market or one that demonstrates a willingness to immerse themselves in your cultural context. Communicate your brand voice and target audience, and hire an agency that believes in inclusive marketing.
How to find the right UX agency for your business
Finding the perfect UX agency for your SMB involves a strategic approach that includes thorough research, clear communication, and a deep understanding of your business needs and goals.
1. Define your needs and goals
Before starting your search, clearly define your project scope, goals, and target audience. Knowing the user problems you are trying to solve and the brand experience you want to create will help you craft a clear roadmap for your project and propose fitting solutions.
2. Research and leverage resources
Start your search by exploring trusted directories, such as Capterra's User Experience Design Agencies page. Filter by industry, size, and the UX design services offered to find agencies specializing in your needs.
3. Evaluate portfolios and case studies
When reviewing agency portfolios, prioritize projects similar to yours in terms of industry, size, and goals. You should look beyond aesthetics and analyze their understanding of your target audience. Assess their case studies to check if they adopt a user-centric approach, offer creative solutions, and ensure measurable results for brands with similar offerings to yours.
4. Consider cultural fit and communication
As Mads Soegaard emphasizes, “Cultural fit and adaptability are just as important.” Cultural alignment is equally important to a UX designer's qualifications. Choose an agency that understands your target audience's cultural context. Strong communication skills and a willingness to collaborate are crucial for a successful partnership.
5. Prepare a comprehensive RFP
Develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) outlining your project details, goals, timeline, and budget. This will help agencies customize their proposals to your specific needs and ensure you receive relevant information for comparison.
6. Conduct in-depth interviews
Shortlist a few agencies and schedule in-depth interviews. Ask insightful questions about their process, methodology, team expertise, and experience handling similar projects. Justin Sachtleben suggests having some “in-house UX expertise” to navigate this stage effectively. If someone on your team has some UX knowledge, include them in the process to navigate this stage effectively.
Here are some questions to ask a UX designer:
Can you walk me through your typical UX design process for projects similar to mine?
What experience do you have in designing for my target audience and industry?
How do you ensure clear communication and collaboration throughout the project?
Can you share examples of how you've measured the success of your UX design projects?
Do you have experience working with companies of our size and budget?
7. Negotiate and finalize terms
Ensure the contract outlines expectations about deliverables, timelines, costs, communication channels, and dispute resolution procedures. Consider starting with a smaller pilot project to assess the agency's capabilities and cultural fit before committing to a larger engagement.
Start your UX transformation journey
A website might be considered as a simple online brochure in the past, but today, user experience (UX) design is a powerful tool to attract, engage, and retain customers. But, for small businesses with limited resources, an in-house UX team may not fit the budget.
We've explored the benefits, potential pitfalls, and key steps to finding the perfect partner for your small business. You can confidently start your outsourcing journey by carefully considering your needs, conducting thorough research, and asking the right questions. For more information on outsourcing, design agencies, and UX, check out these resources: