How to Choose the Best Web Development Company in Ukraine

For many ambitious startup owners, outsourcing is the last resort – a great opportunity to launch a project without an in-house team. For others, this is a choice. While you want to put web development into the best hands, it’s critical to verify the expertise of an outsource provider first. For the last decade, choosing web development company in Ukraine has become a new trend. In this article, we analyze what’s the value standing behind the popular search “outsource web development Ukraine” and how can your company benefit from it.

Why choose Ukraine for web development outsourcing

100+ R&D centers and 200,00 IT specialists expected by 2020 – these are the real numbers that define Ukrainian outsourcing. With the abundance of expertise and low cost of development, compared to the Western world, Ukraine is a top choice for small companies around the globe. How did we arrive here? Let’s look at the numbers and facts to illustrate the standing of the industry.

Facts and statistics about IT industry in Ukraine

1. 68 institutions in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, offer specializations related to IT.
2. All around the country, there are lots of attractive spots for opening an R&D office, from Kyiv with two international airports to Kharkiv which is home to R&D centers of such corporations as Microsoft and IBM.
3. World-known IT events are held in Ukraine annually. For instance, Lviv IT Arena which takes place every September in Lviv is known as the buzziest IT conference in Eastern Europe.
4. Ukraine is known globally for giving life to such product companies as Readdle, MacPaw, and Serpstat.
5. The annual export of web development services from Ukraine amounts to $3 billion over the last few years.
6. Apart from Russia, Ukraine has the largest number of IT professionals in Central and Eastern Europe.

Benefits of outsourcing web development to Ukraine

Undeniably, Ukrainian IT industry is thriving. But for companies abroad who want to outsource web development from Ukraine, the main question is what are the benefits for them and why should they choose the expertise of Ukrainian developers over the others. We’ve collected the biggest pros for you:

1. A comfortable spot for collaboration. Located at the heart of Europe, it has great commuting patterns. Also, since Ukrainians are allowed visa-free travel, clients from the Western countries can collaborate with their remote teams more flexibly than, say, if they hire web developers in India or South America.
2. Affordability. Compared to web development cost in the US, Germany, or Scandinavian countries, outsourcing web development in Ukraine is way cheaper. The average web developer rates are $25-45 per hour.
3. English fluency. Most of web developers in Ukraine are fluent or almost fluent in English, which means they can easily communicate with teams and clients all over the world.
4. Expertise. In Ukraine, there are lots of web development profis cooperating with outstanding corporations around the world, from Microsoft to Atlassian. The collective expertise these companies own will greatly complement any advanced web development project.
5. Innovation. Experimenting with agile practices and methodologies, Ukrainian development teams keep up with the most progressive web development trends.

Safe to invest. According to IT Ukraine Association, the export of web development service from Ukraine grew to $3.6 billion. And it’s growing fast. The low cost of doing business makes Ukraine one of the top destinations to invest. Organizations like UkraineInvest list tons of options you can use to invest with minimum risks.

Top 5 tips for choosing a web development company

First and foremost, if you decide to outsource from Ukraine, choose whether you want to cooperate with freelance developers or hire via an outsource company. The benefit of working with freelancers is you don’t have to pay a fee to an outsource service. Plus, if you get lucky, you can come across talented developers whom you’ll hire repeatedly in future. For startups that search a cohesive team, there are too many risks, though. You can’t expect any guarantees on the quality, milestone completion, or timeframes. On the contrast, a team hired by an outsource provider is fully supervised throughout the project. To pick a company that suits your project requirements, pay attention to the following five criteria:

Developer skills

So here’s the truth: Soft skills are important, but you hire developers to write code. This means, technical skills should also be a top priority when choosing a web development firm. You can inquire that a company provides some samples, prepare technical tests for developers, or ask to participate in the process of interviewing. Once you’re satisfied with tech stack and developers’ proficiency, there are a few more things for you to consider:

• Communication: Make sure developers are willing to communicate and discuss your project in terms of methodologies, workflow, and team goals.
• Teamwork: If you’re hiring an extended team, ensure they are going to sync regularly with your in-house specialists.
• Problem solving and accountability: Embracing responsibility for their work and willing to work on improvements.

Experience

Depending on the type of your project, check whether a web development company has relative expertise. Thus, if you aim to create a killer app, it’s important the developers have a solid experience in mobile development. You can directly contact outsource providers to find out about their expertise or check out related info on their official websites. On MWDN website, you’ll find a section on our experience that explicitly tells you about the types of services the company is proficient in – from medical software development to R&D for startups.  

References

For sure, testimonials are dying – slowly and steadily. But since there’s been no decent alternative implemented yet, they remain the only source for verifying company’s expertise. When researching outsource providers, look for pages titled something like “customer references about us.” Pay attention to the companies that your provider has cooperated with before – ideally, you’ll come across projects similar to yours.

Portfolio

But it’s not enough to know what a company is specialized in, it’s also about how your outsource provider is able to actually implement the solutions it is offering. To find out more about the approaches and specific cases, you’ll need to check out the company’s portfolio. For instance, if you land on the page called “our portfolio” on the MWDN website – a software development company with R&D center in Ukraine – you’ll find a list of successful cases a company has implemented. You can search through the categories you’re interested in such as mobile, healthcare IT, design, etc. For each of them, there’s a number of short case studies that may potentially resonate with your experience.

Prices

While developer rates in Eastern Europe are significantly lower than in the USA, you’ll save a lot cooperating with Ukrainian outsource providers. Still, there are significant differences in price-performance ratio across companies. To make the most profitable choice, inquire what pricing policy an outsource provider uses. The recommendation is to have a clear understanding of operational costs and any extra expenses. Ask your web development company to explain how the costs will be distributed (compensation, office management, legal services, snacks, etc.). Also, ensure you know developers’ hourly rates – if it’s $25 per hour, a team of 4 developers will cost you $800 per day. So if you’re searching a web development company, Ukraine has much to offer. With tons of successful cases in their pockets, outsource providers can offer a world-class team working on your project, as well as ongoing support and supervision. Choose a firm that specializes in relevant web development services, go through its expertise and pricing, and get a world-class dedicated team to work on your project.