Studio, agency or freelancer? Who should build your website or software.

When a business decides to build a website or a piece of software, the first real decision is who builds it. There are three broad options, and each one is right for someone.

A freelancer

One skilled person, and usually the most affordable option. Good freelancers are fast and personal, and you talk directly to the person doing the work.

• Best for a well defined job with a clear end, such as a small site or a single feature.
• The risk is coverage. Design, development, search and hosting rarely live in one person, and a holiday or an illness stops the project.
• Ask who looks after the work after launch.

An agency

A larger team with account managers, designers, developers and project managers. Agencies can run big programmes and many projects at once.

• Best for large budgets, many stakeholders and formal procurement.
• The risk is distance. The people who pitch are often not the people who build, and every change passes through layers.
• Ask exactly who will work on your project, and meet them.

A studio

A small, senior team that designs and builds from start to finish. Fewer people, but the ones you meet are the ones doing the work.

• Best for a business that wants one team to own the brand, the build and what happens after launch.
• The risk is capacity. A studio takes on fewer projects at once, so timing matters.
• Ask what they have shipped for themselves, not only for clients.

Questions that matter more than the label

• Who owns the code, the accounts and the data when the project ends?
• Can they show work that is live and used, not only mockups?
• Will they tell you when you should not build at all?
• What happens in the month after launch, when most problems appear?

Where Karyu Labs fits

Karyu Labs is a studio. We design and build websites, software, portals and AI tools, we run products of our own, and the code and accounts are always in the client's name. If a freelancer or an existing product would serve you better, we will say so.