In Saint-Étienne and across the Loire, you’ll find both web agencies and independent professionals who can build your website. Both can do excellent work; the real question is which one is right for your project. I’m a freelancer myself, but I’ll try to be honest: there are cases where a web agency in Saint-Étienne is the better choice. Here’s how to weigh up the two options.

Web agency or freelancer: what really changes

On paper, agencies and freelancers sell the same thing: a website. In practice, four things change.

  • Who you talk to. At an agency, you often deal with a project manager, who passes your requests on to the designers and developers. With a freelancer, the person who listens to you is the one who designs and codes your site.
  • How the work is organized. An agency splits the work among several specialists. A freelancer covers several skills personally, or teams up with partners from time to time.
  • The price. An agency has offices, employees and a sales team to pay for. For a comparable service, an independent professional is often cheaper.
  • Capacity. An agency can put several people on a big project at the same time. A freelancer works on a limited number of projects at once.

When a freelancer is the right choice

For the vast majority of business websites for tradespeople, self-employed workers, independent practitioners and small businesses, an experienced freelancer is an excellent choice:

  • a single point of contact from the first meeting to the launch, with no information lost along the way;
  • a budget under control, with no overhead costs;
  • responsiveness for discussions and changes;
  • long-term follow-up from the person who knows your site in detail.

That’s how I work on my WordPress website design projects: I take care of the design, the front-end build, the SEO and the launch, and you always know who to talk to.

When a web agency is a better fit

Let’s be frank: an agency makes sense in several situations:

  • a project that requires many different profiles at the same time: developing a custom application, running an advertising campaign, shooting a video, writing hundreds of pages;
  • very short deadlines on a large volume of work, which mean several people have to work in parallel;
  • a large company that needs a dedicated team and continuity guaranteed by an organization.

For a site of a few pages up to a few dozen pages, these advantages rarely outweigh the extra cost.

7 questions to ask any provider

Agency or freelancer, these questions will spare you most unpleasant surprises:

  1. Can you show me sites similar to mine? An online portfolio and verifiable reviews are worth more than a promise.
  2. Who will actually build my site? Some companies outsource everything abroad without telling you.
  3. Will the domain name be registered in my name? It should be, always. It’s your address on the internet.
  4. Will I have administrator access? Your site belongs to you: you must be able to change it or switch providers.
  5. Will I be able to edit my content myself? Ask whether a training session is included.
  6. What happens after launch? Updates, backups, security: who takes care of them, and at what price?
  7. Is SEO included? A beautiful site that nobody can find won’t bring you a single customer.

Warning signs

Be wary if you come across any of the following:

  • a very low price for a “custom website” that turns out to be a barely customized template;
  • no detailed written quote, or a vague schedule;
  • a domain name registered in the provider’s name;
  • a website “rental” contract over three or four years, with monthly payments that add up to far more than the price of a site you would actually own.

What a web agency actually costs

A web agency’s quote covers the time of several people: the salesperson who meets you, the project manager who coordinates, the designer, the developer, and sometimes a copywriter. Each of them brings their expertise, and each of them has a cost. To compare with peace of mind, ask every provider, whether it’s a web agency or a freelancer, for a breakdown of what’s included: number of pages, custom design or template, copywriting, SEO, training, maintenance. A site built on a free, widely used technology like WordPress remains easy to develop further or to hand over to another professional, whoever built it in the first place.

Does proximity matter?

Working with someone from your area has two concrete advantages: you can meet in person, and they know your market, your competitors and the searches your customers make, which helps with local SEO. That said, most of the exchanges in a web project work very well over video calls nowadays: don’t choose a provider just because they happen to be nearby.

The bottom line

For a business website or a redesign, a freelancer often offers the best balance between price, quality and follow-up, with a single point of contact. For a very large project that calls for many different skills, an agency has its strengths. Either way, insist on a detailed quote, a domain name in your name and access to your site.

You can judge for yourself: browse my portfolio and my clients’ reviews, then let’s talk about your project during a free 30-minute first call.