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How to Outsource React Development? Complete Guide
Created by Jordan Walke, an engineer at Facebook (now Meta) in 2011, React is one of the most popular frameworks used for mobile and web applications.
Since its launch in 2013, React has seen a steady rise in adoption, and these days both React Native & React JS are the preferred choice for developers globally.
It was initially developed for FaceBook's News Feed and then continuously improved for performance, scalability, user-friendliness & speed allowing front-end developers to build rich applications with an outstanding UI.
React's Popularity
Alongside Vue.Js, React has been one of the most preferred frameworks by front-end developers and this has been growing steadily till 2020, before tapering off recently. Vue.Js and React are hotly debated among developers as to which is the best framework for front-end development.
React boasts several advantages when it comes to versatility, performance, and simplicity. There are many features that you can implement using React such as infinite scroll. React also boasts a wide number of content and component libraries available, check out our piece on rich text editors for React to know more about them, among all types of web and mobile application frameworks, React is second only to Node.Js
A survey of JavaScript developers done by Statista showed that around 40% of Javascript developers preferred working with React for their development projects.
The Cost & Global Trends
Initially, only a handful of developers at Meta were accustomed to this new framework before Meta made it open-source for the developer community.
Naturally, this led to widespread adoption of the framework globally and the development communities in countries with a high depth and volume of developer expertise were quick to adopt this framework that was built on top of Java, which was already quite popular.
The supply-demand disparity in several nations and general cost of living gaps between countries inevitably gave way to outsourcing react development services and countries like Ukraine, India, Brazil, Pakistan, and several Eastern European countries became a hotbed for offshoring these requirements. Check out our deep dive into the best countries when outsourcing software development if you want to learn more about what the best choice for react development is.
If you want to learn more about costs in software development, you can read more about:
Why Outsource React Development?
It's now easy to understand how a react development offshoring industry came to be, but if you think cost is the only reason for this, you'd be mistaken.
- Depth of Expertise: Since its launch, developer communities for React began springing all over the globe and some countries have a robust foundation for this. This invariably led to pockets of react developer expertise in some countries, which directly translates to high-quality work and a better speed of delivery. It's common for reputed react development companies to charge higher than some of the lesser-known companies in the West.
- Breadth of Expertise: Being a front-end framework, React JS's application is fairly limited, however, companies generally also wish to complement this expertise with back-end, DevOps, Design, and Mar-tech expertise and well-known full-service development companies are generally stacked with resources that can manage these as well.
- Unavailability Of Expertise: Most developed countries do have a large pool of skilled react developers, unfortunately, demand far outweighs the supply and some organizations have no choice but to outsource the work.
- Scalability: As is often the case with most development work, the scope of the project always changes and new requests keep piling on. Even though the project was initially viable to be undertaken domestically, it's wiser for organizations to outsource in the first place to prevent unreasonable cost-overruns due to changes in scope later on
- Time to market: For the same reasons mentioned in #1 and #2, the speed of development is generally much faster when projects are outsourced since multiple resources can be mapped to any given project to ensure timely delivery
That being said, not all react development projects are alike and in some cases, they should probably not be outsourced; or, at least, one should consider developing this expertise in-house.
1. Security-Sensitive Projects
These can include React projects for state-run companies that carry a national security risk, defense projects, company projects that include customer databases and sensitive information like government identification numbers, etc.
That being said, with the recent advancements in development processes, it is entirely possible to independently code for these projects and merge codes and branches only with internal approvals without any actual access to the codebase or the database in question. So one should assess the risks adequately before outsourcing a team for such projects, especially abroad.
2. Small & Fixed Scope Projects
As mentioned earlier, the real benefits of outsourcing any react project come through when the most beneficial aspects of seizing the cost advantages, accessing deep technical talent, and improving delivery times are seized.
For smaller projects, that are either a small portion of the entire development cycle or simple react front-end tasks, the initial costs and efforts may not justify the realized savings.
3. Company's Core Services
This is particularly pertinent for SaaS companies, data-management companies, FinTech firms, or companies wherein any piece of technology is at the center of the business like the application for a taxi booking company or a website for an e-commerce store.
Organizations must be weary of data theft, revealing business secrets, and exposing critical infrastructure to the outsourced company and avoid outsourcing key elements as far as possible.
Adding layers of compliance, like non-disclosure agreements, that can be enforced in line with domestic law is a great way to safeguard one's vulnerabilities but is generally not enough and should only act as a last line of defense.
For example: A data intelligence company like Apollo.io should avoid outsourcing critical elements related to its data warehouse, A CRM company should avoid exposing its CRM codebase and a Taxi booking platform should only outsource the more granular aspects of the Mobile Application Development.
What Can You Outsource in React Development?
React is a versatile JavaScript framework and thus enjoys the advantages of JavaScript which means that almost all types of React applications can be outsourced. React also has a sister framework of sorts for mobile app development called React Native, you can read the differences between React and React Native here. This framework allows you to also outsource the development of mobile apps that are made in React Native.
React is also a good front-end framework when it comes to building custom microservices using Node.js for the back-end, learn more about microservices with Node.js and React here, apart from this many other software development types utilize React, and the availability of React developers worldwide allows you to outsource it to anywhere in the globe.
If you are interested in hiring an offshore firm to build custom software and applications in React for your business, then check out our:
Types of Outsourcing Models to Consider for React Development
Outsourcing has popularly been associated with fixed price models wherein a company outsources almost all of its requirements at a predetermined fixed price or an hourly model.
In recent times, however, especially with an increase in global software outsourcing solutions, the number of models has adapted and evolved to represent the market requirements a lot more accurately.
Offshore React Development
In almost 70% of the cases, we recommend companies to go offshore, simply due to the benefits it offers. In this article below, we will discuss a bit more on how exactly should one evaluate offshore countries to outsource to.
Staff Augmentation
This is a fairly new model and is a fairly common outsourcing model wherein the internal staff is supplemented (or accentuated) by an offshore team that can intervene to supply additional development expertise or replace internal talent in the event of a planned absence or unplanned emergencies.
A fairly common model, especially among react development companies that medium to large companies can stand to benefit from.
Dedicated React Resource
Also a popular model, but mostly for smaller and mid-size companies. A junior or senior react JS or react native developer will be assigned to you/your team for taking up projects and this resource will either be wholly dedicated towards this requirement or will work a certain number of fixed hours a day on a specific project.
Since the resource is outsourced, the organization need not worry about payroll expenses and other people management overheads that come with hiring a full-time resource. Another great benefit is that the outsourcing company can always intervene on particularly complicated projects and fix issues that cannot be handled by the dedicated resource.
Nearshore React Development
In simple terms, Nearshoring refers to outsourcing react development out of one's national borders but only within reasonable limits, preferably to immediately neighboring counties with similar time zones, cultural aspects, working styles, and professional demeanors.
Read More: What are Offshore Development Centers? How to Outsource to an ODC?
Where to Outsource React Development?
If you're a company based in any of the Western countries like the EU, UK, United States, Canada, or Australia; one of the first decisions to make is whether to cater to the requirements in-house or take the requirements outside of the national borders.
To arrive at the decision more effectively, Some of the best questions to ask are;
1. Is the react development requirement a non-critical piece of a larger project?
2. Is the requirement likely to increase in scope, thus requiring additional resources in the medium or long term?
3. Do I need a team with specialized skill sets that have not only experience in React Native or React JS but also in other tech stacks used by my org?
4. Will a substantial cost-saving on an ongoing basis help with the wider organizational goal of sustainable growth while curtailing excessive spending? (assuming no compromise in quality of development)
5. Will it be beneficial to work with a specialized team that is likely to deliver the project much faster?
If the answer to the above questions is a resounding yes, then you should go all guns blazing on finding your next offshore react development partner.
Down below, We've listed 6 of the countries with the widest possible talent pool and the most value to offer as far as react development solutions are concerned and we've tried to include at least one country from different geographic and socioeconomic status.
Before we proceed, we have made a few reasonable assumptions to shortlist this list of countries.
1. We're using the average salary of a React developer in the country as a proxy metric of what the development cost in that country will be.
2. We're using the average monthly react developer salary reported by Glassdoor for different countries as the metric. The data may be skewed more in favor of junior/senior developers, thus leading to inaccurate conclusions.
3. Since the data only covers the costs without measuring the output, it will be difficult to pinpoint the best value that a company can derive from outsourcing to any given country.
However, the dataset is indicative and provides a general direction on where exactly one should look as far as React JS or React Native development is concerned.
Poland
A surprising mention to this list, not many know that Poland is emerging as a hotbed for technical talent. Folks over at IT Imagination have detailed the reasons and quality of Polish React Developers and IT professionals in general
The average monthly salary of a Polish developer as reported on Glassdoor is somewhere in the Ballpark of $3,800.
A few things that work well for Poland's case
Javascript remains the most preferred language for Polish developers. Since React is closely linked to JS, this is a strong positive
Deep technical experts in React Js are particularly dense in Poland, strongly indicating that it's a great destination to offshore in case one prioritizes expertise over all else.
Some mannerisms and professional standards closely match Western requirements leading to smooth operations.
A few downsides include;
1. Only about 30% of working professionals in Poland speak English making communication a bit difficult and making it difficult to find a react company to contract the project to.
2. While the deep expertise is present, it comes at a heavy cost that is not too different from the cost in your home country.
India
Not a surprising entry to this list, since the early 2000s, India has witnessed a solid surge in IT demand and supply and in recent times, the industry has matured, specialized and paved the way to great technical skills at quite an affordable cost. This makes India cheaper for outsourcing and effective at the same time.
The average monthly salary of a React developer in India as reported by Glassdoor is in the ballpark of $900
A few advantages of outsourcing to India include;
1. Almost 85% of working professionals in India are conversant in English and are quite comfortable with Western dialects and accents
2. The developer community within India is fairly robust and extensive
3. After considering all aspects, it probably offers the most value as far as React Development is concerned. Although, it is certainly not the cheapest
4. The political and economic climate is pro-business and pro-service exports that allow several IT companies to claim benefits, benefits that in some way or form are passed onto the customer.
Some of the potential issues;
1. The time zones are not particularly favorable for folks operating in Mountain Time, CDT, and EST. While many IT companies, especially the ones focusing on React do operate night shifts for smoother operations, it still is something that should be doubly verified.
2. The market is quite fragmented and several smaller development agencies and small businesses without the right infrastructure, compliance, or skill sets may be enlisted without adequate background checks etc which can be disastrous. One should ask for verified references, scour through online information available, and thoroughly vet the agency before enlisting their expertise.
Mexico
The best option for Nearshoring, Mexico has only recently begun to emerge as an IT hub. Since the concept of Nearshoring has gained popularity, several Mexican developers have found a platform for a global presence
An average React developer's salary in Mexico is $2,917 per month
Here are a few reasons to work with Mexican React developers
1. Proximity concerning timezones and geography
2. The government's push towards technical skill sets is quite encouraging
Here are some reasons that you may want to avoid
1. While it is true that Mexico churns out just as many STEM graduates as Mexico, only a small % of these professionals are into software, IT, or computer sciences.
2. The cost advantage, while present, isn't exactly enormous and may not be worthwhile to offshore, especially considering the time and effort involved in sifting through vendors and vetting one thoroughly.
Pakistan
An unlikely entry to this, list and this may come as a surprise to some. But Pakistan is also emerging as a hotbed for startups. In fact, for almost all incoming inquiries for PHP development, Shopify Development, and even some Java development, we refer the business to our partners in Pakistan.
The average monthly salary of a React developer in India as reported by Glassdoor is in the ballpark of $600
Here are some reasons why you may want to consider Pakistan for your react requirements.
1. If cost is your primary consideration, Pakistan may suit your requirements due to its low development cost
2. Around 40-60% of working professionals in Pakistan are conversant in English
Few reasons why you may not want to consider Pakistan,
1. As far as React JS or React native expertise is concerned. The talent pool and expertise are rather sparse and you'll likely find it difficult to work with a trustworthy offshore react partner
2. The political and economic climate in Climate is not exactly pro-business and aspects like continuity of business and security-related aspects etc are at risk due to lack of contractual enforcement.
3. Pakistani timezones are quite different from Western timezones and can be quite a bit of an issue in so far as management is concerned.
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