Victoria Elizabeth is a content executive for Expert Market, a B2B marketplace for office products and services.

Whether you’re a budget conscious small business owner, or a corporate manager who’s strapped for time, you’ve probably thought about outsourcing more than once since starting your business.

More small businesses are relying on outsourcing today for a host of different activities, and marketplaces for finding designers and agencies are hardly in short supply. One of the most daunting tasks you may consider outsourcing is web design and development work, since hiring someone in house, or bringing in extra hands for the project, may prove too expensive and time-consuming.

But while outsourcing may be a quicker and less expensive option than hiring, planning is still essential and requires dedicating time and effort to manage expectations along the way.

Here are some tips to keep in mind if you’re thinking of having an outside agency design or redesign your site:

#1 Know What Your Website is Going to Do
#2 Cement Your Measurement Tactics
#3 Compare Yourself to the Competition
#4 Explain the Limitations of Your Project
#5 Wrap All This Information Up Into a Brief

Read more: How To Successfully Outsource A Web Development Project in Five Simple Steps