Thank you for sharing these detailed, practical suggestions.

I have been looking into hiring a website developer, and found the entire research process rather exhausting. After all, if I wanted to become a micro-specialist, I would build it myself. On the other hand, I have to know the right questions to ask and how to describe the desired features. The problem becomes more complicated when you are hiring somebody long distance.

One practice that I've found effective is providing a list of "best practices" and/or features. In this case, I have been bookmarking sites that include features that I want to incorporate in my future website.

Again, thank you.