Web studio or freelancer: who should build your website
The difference is not code quality — a good freelancer writes no worse than a studio — it is what happens when something goes wrong, and who is accountable for the result.
What actually differs: not skill, but accountability structure
A freelancer is one person combining designer, developer and sometimes copywriter roles. That gives a lower price and direct communication. But if a freelancer gets sick, leaves, or simply disappears mid-project — which happens more often than expected — the client is left with no working mechanism to recover the process.
A studio splits tasks across several people and usually runs a process: a spec, staged approvals, testing by someone other than the developer. That adds cost but reduces the risk of a project stalling because of one person.
The price gap is not always what it seems
A freelancer is usually 20–40% cheaper than a studio for comparable work, since there is no overhead of multiple staff. But that gap often disappears at the support stage: a freelancer has no formal SLA for fixing issues.
What to check with a freelancer
Ask for a portfolio with live, not archived, links — proof past clients still use the site. Confirm who will be available for support after launch and get it in writing.