Our opinion to this question is ‘No’. The main reason is it is not safe/ it is not secure.
Here are things to be aware of:
For over 10 years many Australian based Website Design Agencies and Freelancers have been sending the work off-shore to people located in areas such as:
- Bangladesh
- India
- Philippines
- Bali
- Thailand
Like many industries that have been ‘off-shoring work’ for many years, the Website Design Agencies and Freelancers who are doing it are:
- Attempting to make more money
- Avoiding paying Australians. This means fewer jobs in this industry for Australians living in this country.
- Paying these people anywhere from $7 USD to $20 USD per hour (often on the cheaper end), but billing them out for a LOT more. By doing so they maximise their profits.
It is very easy to find off-shore workers in these countries. You don’t have to travel there to find them, nor ever meet them in person. These people are very easy to find when using online job marketplace websites like Upwork.
Often the Agencies and Freelancers who do this will NOT tell you they are ‘off-shoring the work’. They will keep this a secret. They don’t want you to know, because they realise that you may object, especially once you know how non-secure and how unsafe it is.
Why is it NOT Secure nor Safe?
Off-shore workers need Admin level login access (and/or very high ‘developer level’ login access) to your website to build it and/or to update it. When an Agency or Freelancer gives high-level access to your website to someone they have never met who is located in one of these countries (and other countries), they are potentially compromising your website. Often an Agency or Freelancer will give your website logins to people off-shore they barely even know; as in, people who have only recently started working for the agency or freelancer. These people located off-shore can then do anything with your website including but not limited to:
- Clone your website
- Hacking your website
- Give other people Admin level access to your website
- Access your private data
- Install viruses on your website
- Change the words, images, etc in your website… including adding expletives
- Create backdoors into your website (secret login access points that only they know about).
- Anything they want
Another major concern is that agencies and freelancers who give login access to off-shore workers may not always transfer these logins to them in a safe way. This then can lead to 3rd party hackers gaining login access to your website. They can do this by using Phishing techniques, intercepting non-encrypted emails and other ways.
Please also note: People located off-shore in these (and other) industries are not always highly skilled and/or dedicated to getting work done on time. This can mean:
- They can slow down a project
- Write poor code which slows down the speed of your website
- Introduce code bugs into your website
- Cause time delays and ultimately lead to your project deadline being exceeded
- Be complacent and not build the website correctly, not allow search engine bots in to index the website and many other things that will directly negatively affect the success of your website. As in, will turn your website into a liability…. which will mean the entire activity of getting a website becomes a WASTE of your time and your money!
They can also get your website hacked if:
- They don’t run up-to-date anti-virus and anti-malware software on the computers they use to login to your website. This is yet another way your website can get hacked
- By using older computers, older software, older website browsers and other older technology that may have security vulnerabilities.
- By not keeping software, operating systems, website browsers, etc up to date with the latest security updates.
Our Advice:
If you have an existing website, ask the Agency or Freelancer who looks after it: “Who does the work on my website?” Ask for their specific names and where they are each located. It is best to ask them this Face to Face in person or via a Zoom or Skype (or similar) call. Gauge their reaction, and look out for lying. We recommend even asking to be introduced to the people working on your website.
If you don’t yet have a website but are looking for the right Agency or Freelancer to create it, ask the same question: “If I give you this website project, who will be doing the work on my website?” Again, judge if they answer truthfully or not, ask for their names and where they are each located and also ask to meet them.
Please note:
ALL the work we do is done right here in Australia by Australians! When you work with us your money stays in Australia; in the Australian economy. You are supporting fellow Australian families. We also massively care about your privacy and security. And we care about doing all work on time (if not ahead of time) and getting the best results for you! PLUS, we never take short-cuts!
Jay Daniells has been doing advanced Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) work for clients since 2010. He is an SEO specialist. He first started doing SEO work in 2005. He has also been creating websites full-time since 2003. Amongst things Jay is also a graphic designer, digital marketing consultant and creative person. His focus is helping businesses, community groups, clubs, charities, organisations and other entities achieve their goals. He is the owner of Green Valley Digital.