7 team management tools for website development
As startups and small businesses — including web development companies — evolve and continue to grow, so do their processes and demand for tools that can handle the complex task of project management. The proper team management tools are vital to ensure that you’re managing the needs of your business currently, and in the future as you scale up and grow.
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Finding the right team management tools can be hard
It can take some trial and error before you find the tools that stick and truly address most of your needs. You’ll need to consider a number of different factors you’re trying to solve for, including business development, financials, time tracking, marketing and more.
If you’re still using an Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheets to help your team keep track of projects and important tasks within your business, you might want to consider switching to a project and team management platform that can help your team get organized.
This list of project and team management tools is created with a few things in mind:
- Most startups and small businesses have smaller, less complicated projects, that will eventually grow into more complex ones.
- Web development startups and other small businesses need tools that are cost-effective, yet allow them to create processes, workflows, and accurately track time and resources to create accurate proposals.
- Startups need project management tools that allow their teams to stay on track, remain organized, and can help them scale as they board new employees and take on larger projects.
Some of these tools will be great for businesses that simply need a way to track progress and communication, and others will be great for those that work off of hourly rates and need tools to keep track of employee workload.
7 team management tools for website development
Whether you need to track projects or people, these tools will help you accomplish your goals more efficiently:
- Asana.
- Flow.
- Wrike.
- Podio.
- Basecamp.
- Trello.
- 10,000ft.
Let’s explore these tools more in-depth and break down the pros and cons of each one.
Note: All costs noted for the tools below are current at the time of writing but are subject to change.
1. Asana
When you need a more robust project management system that’s still affordable and easy to use, Asana might be the answer. Asana is a popular project management tool that’s loved by many marketing agencies, but it can also be a great solution for other project types like software development and other internal projects.
These tasks can each be assigned a due date, a team member, and can be added into a flow chart to map out the correlation of each task within each project for easy project visualization.
Asana also takes advantage of various project management methodologies like scrum, agile, Kanban boards and PRINCE2.
Pros: Asana does a fantastic job at combining different features into a single project management tool. It can be used for the small day-to-day stuff, and can also be used for larger and more complex projects. Projects can be easily duplicated to allow you to build a workflow once and replicate it when similar projects come along. Asana also has great resource reporting so you can forecast the upcoming workload.
Cons: Asana can be too much for smaller businesses that are just starting out. For small teams, this tool is overkill and may need to be shelved for another time when the company is truly in need of a robust tool like this.
Related: The difference between client management and project management
2. Flow
Looking for a tool that’s a good balance between a simple project management tool and an enterprise-level one? Flow is an awesome tool that does exactly that, and more. Flow can help your team stay organized and on top of the day-to-day tasks, and also be as productive as possible with the larger, more complex projects that require a little more planning.
It’s a platform that can help your team start building the workflows and processes it needs to scale and remain organized as the company continues to grow.
Flow lets you create tasks and subtasks, keep every team member on point with start and end dates, and create recurring tasks (huge for agencies that have things like social media marketing plans and content calendars that require recurring tasks).
Pros: Flow is not too much for the needs of a smaller business, and not too little for larger projects. It prices lower than the larger platforms (at just $7.99/user per month for Flow Pro), and comes with all of the premium features. You won’t feel like you’re overdoing it with a project management tool, and you’ll be confident that as the company grows you’ll have created a solid foundation to build upon.
Cons: While other PM tools have a great mobile app, Flow’s could still use some work. Flow is still working to get more integration with third-party apps and tools.
Related: 8 great productivity tools for web designers and developers
3. Wrike
Wrike is one of the most robust end-to-end project management tools out in the market for various reasons.
For businesses that have a growing number of random projects that keep coming in (or the same projects over and over), it allows project managers to get a hold of everything and organize projects.
The use of Gantt charts is one of Wrike’s most valuable features, as it’s a great way to visually check on the status of projects.
Wrike has also taken into account the varying needs of multiple industries like creative agencies. For example, Wrike has a creative approval process built into it, so teams can approve creative projects quickly. The platform also has built-in intake forms for new projects to help you gather all of the crucial data you know you’ll need to fulfill a project.
Pros: Even at a free level, Wrike allows your business to use simple task management features for up to five users at no cost. Wrike allows you to track time and resources used for every project so you can create budgets and forecast the needs of the business with additional projects. Wrike offers robust features that your business can grow into.
Cons: Wrike is a large platform that may require some training and some upfront work to get things up and running. The UI can be a bit confusing, which can slow things down for companies that just need something simple and easy to use. Wrike will be overkill for small agencies and companies that require a simple project management tool.
4. Podio
Podio is another great tool that’s excellent for both small and large businesses. It’s a great tool to build your workflows and processes upon and be confident that your team will be able to follow it as it grows.
With built-in tools like automated workflows, meeting scheduling, and even integrated chat, Podio has all of the features that your business needs without having to find other tools to do so.
Podio also has a wide range of third-party integrations and extensions that can be added to track time spent on each task and project.
Pros: Podio can be used for different facets of the business, from sales to marketing. Tasks can be automated to save your team’s time, and meetings can be scheduled right from the platform to keep everything organized. Podio makes it easy to track resources and time with third-party integrations, so you can accurately create quotes for upcoming projects.
Cons: Core features that are essential to growing businesses, like time tracking, are dependent on third-party integrations, and are not fully built into the platform. Free accounts don’t have too many features, which forces smaller businesses to upgrade to get the full use out of the platform.
Related: Web design estimates, quotes, bids and proposals — What’s the difference?
5. Basecamp
For teams and companies that are new to project management tools but still need flexibility and essential features, Basecamp is a great option. This tool allows teams to organize their projects in one place, create to-dos with assigned team members, and keeps communication in one central location.
While Basecamp is used more by creative agencies, it is also great for companies that have recurring projects or tasks internally and need to keep all stakeholders on the same page.
Basecamp also has great email integration that’s useful for keeping all communication logged and readily available for reference.
Pros: Basecamp is a great starter tool for companies with flat-rate pricing of $99 per month for unlimited users. It’s very simple to navigate and build processes and workflows internally without much of a learning curve. Basecamp has a great mobile app that helps team members stay connected when they’re on the go.
The bad: Basecamp has basic reporting, but no time tracking, making a tool that simplifies communication and streamlines processes, but not great to track budgets and resources.
6. Trello
When you’ve got a small business that needs project management quickly and at a low cost, Trello can be the easiest tool to get up and running. Trello can be a solid tool for creative teams that don’t have complex tasks. You can easily create boards for every category of project or client. Within boards, you can create “cards,” which serve as individual projects or tasks.
Within each card, Trello allows you to add team members, assign a due date, create checklists, leave project descriptions, upload attachments, and leave comments. Your workflow can be created in columns within each board for each stage of the process.
Pros: Trello is great for small businesses that need an easy-to-use project management tool that can help them keep track of all the moving pieces and stay organized. Internal processes can easily be created with columns, and new team members can learn workflows quickly. Trello is also very affordable when compared to other PM tools.
Cons: Trello is made for simple projects that don’t demand complex workflows. This tool would not be a highly scalable solution and is built for rather small teams and agencies that keep their projects simple and don’t have too many moving pieces. Time and resources used in each project are not easily measured. Additionally, Trello relies on third-party integrations for most reporting.
Related: 90 essential tools for WordPress designers and developers
7. 10,000ft
If you’re into resource forecasting and deep analytics, then 10,000ft might be exactly what you’re looking for. 10,000ft is a team and resource management platform that has rich time and resource tracking features like project staffing, resource management, and even bill rate forecasting and tracking.
10,000ft would solve the needs of an organization that juggles between various freelancers with different hourly rates and availability, or that relies heavily on the availability of multiple people to get the job done. 10,000ft has plenty of reports to forecast staffing needs and even built-in invoicing software to help you keep projects within budget.
Pros: 10,000ft is a true team management platform in the sense that it’s heavily focused on making sure project managers have proper staffing and availability for projects. Time tracking and predictive timesheets are big features and can help budget-conscious agencies stay on track. 10,000ft also has great reports that let you keep track of the entire team.
Cons: 10,000ft can be a great tool to make sure a project will have the proper resources and availability from a large team, but you might still need to find a separate tool to handle the inner workings of projects like task assignments, due dates,and team communication.
Finding the right fit for team management
When considering the right tool for your company, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Each of the tools mentioned here has its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses that must be considered.
Successful startups and small businesses spend time vetting out various tools, and when they find one that works, they build processes around project and task intakes, task management, and creating the proper reports to be able to accurately forecast the future needs of the business as it continues to grow.