Like most things in life the number of steps to achieve an end result is often, not complicated nor long, but does indeed require focus and commitment ……..
1.Discussion.
most developers can’t discuss what you’re trying to get done and can only operate with directions. when you’re creating a new site and don’t yet have a design there’s just ideas and they’re more complicated to discuss. so a developer that convey what they’re thinking and can make you sure they know what you’re thinking – well that’s a click! a developer like that can show it to you and together with you make it live.
2.Affirmation.
a good developer should be able to write down in text in an email what the hell s/he is going to do. from that loose description you should be able to confirm to yourself that’s mostly what you want and they understand what’s next and what to do.
3.Expression.
the next step if expression meaning SHOW IT TO ME – and in this step you have to allow for evolution – the simple issue is start with something pretty good looking and clearly in the zone of what’s expected. see constant improvement to exactly what you love for the site’s home page.
4.Adjustment.
once you’re together on the expression of the site – you can start adjustment – where each iteration moves clearly closer and closer to what was expected and/or now loved/desired. as long as you’re happy seeing the progress in each adjustment – that’s the way it should work. rapid turnaround – but not like stuff is on fire.
5.Expansion.
after you’ve got the home page substantially done – you can move on to other pages and maintain the theme in various ways – some pages are full width, others left or right column, etc. backgrounds can vary and so on. at this point many of the pages should be created and for now content can be with dummy images and Latin text.
6.V0.
once the pages are constructed the actual content can be supplied and fit into the site with adjustments going along the way. good developers will create lists and report their status continually. as you find new modifications they’re added to the list and as completed they’re reported as done and removed from the list. cool, simple powerful system for you and your developer.
7.LIVE.
got a date? stick to it. don’t have a date? set one. stick to it. work iteratively. stay on top of things. keep lists. don’t make EVERY (almost every) item a hurdle, some things can be done after launch. AND don’t forget the act of launching is careful, slow, cautious, deliberate, and certain. in other words launching is an actual set of deliberate and usually partially or fully volatile actions. they take time and need to be done right.