OUTSOURCING WEB DEVELOPMENT

I recently posted a discussion on several professional marketing networks about the main issues encountered by agencies when outsourcing the web development. I was amazed by the number of participants who were frustrated from these experiences.
 
Here are the main challenges identified by my marketer peers when looking for a web development company:
 
To find a web development partner who:
 

• understands branding, design and most importantly marketing requirements
• listens to the agency's requirements rather than extolling the virtues of the technology used
• focuses on usability and information architecture
• does not limit the agency's creative ideas due to technical constraints
• is SEO savvy: integrates SEO at each step of the development process
• can not only produce appealing and engaging sites but also more sophisticated & secure solutions (good understanding and implementation of secure applications)
• has the expertise in large scale database and third party integration
• will not interfere with the agency's strategic marketing relationship with the client
• is highly dependable
• is profoundly trustworthy and who will not try to commission work directly from the agency's clients
• meets deadlines
• answers the agency's phone calls (time zone difference being sometimes a problem)
• can communicate in a non-technical language to agencies

 
Communication seems to be a recurrent issue to the "agency - web development partner" relationship, related concerns are:
 

• the web development company's interpretation versus understanding of the agency & clients' requirements
• the inability of the web development company to explain to the agency the
  complexity of information architecture, technical SEO and scope creep of the development work involved behind a marketing idea
• the lack of communication on how the assets should be delivered and how they affect the development

 
To avoid these issues, the web development partner should have in place:
 

• a strong communication process to facilitate the communication between
  the agency, their clients and the developers and make sure that all communication exchanges are registered in the system. A web development company providing an extranet system would avoid the communication going back and forth between the parties which can delay the project and gives room to information being missed out
• a good Service Agreement
• strong and clear methodology and development process

 
I would also add that marketing agencies should expect from their web partner:
 

• In depth technical review of the agency's clients requirements highlighting any issues before the contacts are signed
• An innovative use of technology
• A development project highlighting future sites' enhancements 

 
To the question: "What are the critical factors that will make you choose one web development company from another one?" (assuming that all criterion mentioned below were met), my marketing peers replied:
 

• Proven track of results - portfolio of clients should demonstrate the web development company's expertise
• Clients' recommendations

 
All clients who have come to us through recommendations so far have worked with us after a few meetings. And I am confident that White Label Development meets all criterion mentioned above. 
 
However, marketing agencies who come across the White Label Development's website will not find our portfolio. A web development company specialised in offering white label services to agencies has to protect their clients' identity. To counter this problematic, I'm planning on adding case studies without mentioning our clients' names, which I hope will help convincing agencies to meet with us. White Label Development's expertise can quickly be demonstrated during face-to-face meetings, with our clients' identity remaining protected.