What we need from you

Nothing on this list can be worked around by writing more code. Each item below unlocks real, waiting tasks in the build — the fastest way through this is to clear a whole group at once, not one item at a time.

17
distinct items you need to supply
35
build tasks currently waiting on one of them
1 month · 4h/day · six milestone gates
paid only once you've seen each gate work — see the bottom of this page

Before day 1

The clock on the month doesn't start until this whole group is done. Nothing else below can begin for real until these five are in.

Your written yes to this plan: one month of work, paid at six milestones you can see and click.

Without a clear yes up front, scope quietly grows — and scope creep is the one thing that breaks a fixed price.

Waits on: every task in the plan — nothing starts for real without it.
Hand it over safely: reply in writing, by email or text. "Yes, go ahead" is enough — no account, no password, nothing to invite anyone to.
If it's late: the month hasn't started. Everything else on this page waits behind this one.

One direct way to reach you — phone, text, or email — that isn't routed through anyone else.

Quick questions (a photo, a yes/no) move fastest without a go-between relaying them back and forth.

Waits on: gate M1 — the first milestone can't be scheduled without a way to reach you directly.
Hand it over safely: just tell us the number or address to use. Nothing to invite, nothing sensitive.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M1.

A DigitalOcean account in your name, with the developer invited as a Team member.

This is the server the entire store runs on. It has to belong to you from day one, not to us.

Waits on: 10 tasks 01.301.501.1101.1201.1401.1502.104.806.106.8
Hand it over safely: create the account yourself, then send a Team invite to the developer's email address — never a password.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M1 — there is no server to build anything on.

A Cloudflare account in your name, with the developer invited as Administrator.

This sits in front of the server for security and speed, and it carries out the domain switch at launch.

Waits on: 12 tasks 01.401.501.601.701.801.901.1001.1101.1302.504.1006.8
Hand it over safely: create the account yourself, then send an Administrator invite to the developer's email address — never a password.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M1 — email, security, and the eventual domain switch all run through this.

A real number, in writing: is your catalog 1,423 products — what the current site shows — or closer to 3,000?

This changes the actual size of the catalog-import job. We build to the real count, not a guess.

Waits on: at least 2 tasks 04.804.9 — and the whole catalog-import stage before gate M2.
Hand it over safely: a text or email with the number is enough — or "yes, 1,423, that's everything."
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M2 — the catalog can't be called done without knowing the target.

By end of week 1

These don't block day one, but design and inbox setup run in week one — the clock is already ticking on these three.

Confirmation that your current returns, shipping, and international text is still correct — or the corrected version.

This text moves into the new store exactly as given; we don't invent or guess at your policy.

Waits on: 1 task 05.10
Hand it over safely: send the text by email, or just say "the current site is correct, use that."
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M3 — the policy pages can't be finished without real text.

One real inbox you check, for both the store's sales@ address and your own personal address to forward to.

Order emails and customer questions need a real destination, not a guess at your inbox.

Waits on: 2 tasks 01.1002.6
Hand it over safely: just the email address — no password, no login, nothing to invite.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M1 — email routing can't be wired to a guess.

An email address or phone number where you want to be told if something breaks — never the developer's own inbox.

Server and payment problems need to reach you directly and fast, not sit in someone else's queue.

Waits on: 2 tasks 01.1503.5
Hand it over safely: just the address or number — no account access needed.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M1 — monitoring ships switched off until this is named.

By week 3

The catalog-import stage runs through weeks two and three. These two decisions keep it from stalling partway through.

Maker, category, and condition for the roughly 1,419 products where your current export has none of this at all — or your go-ahead to pay for a review that fills it in.

This data doesn't exist anywhere in your current site's export. It has to come from you, or from a paid pass over the catalog.

Waits on: 2 tasks 04.704.9 — and the whole catalog gates on it before handover, gate M6.
Hand it over safely: a spreadsheet, a voice note, or a straight "yes, pay for the review" — any of those works.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M6 — handover can't happen with an incomplete catalog.

Photos of any items you want listed that aren't already photographed on your current site.

Your existing photos migrate as-is; new product photography is not part of this build.

Waits on: gate M2 — the catalog-import stage, before it's called complete.
Hand it over safely: text or email the photos, or drop them in a shared folder link.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M2 — those items ship without photos, or ship later.

Before launch

These unlock the highest-risk stretch of the build — real money and the actual domain switch. Line them up before gate M4.

Either your GoDaddy login, or ten minutes on the phone with us to make one DNS change yourself.

The domain switch at cutover happens inside GoDaddy — someone has to be able to make that change.

Waits on: 4 tasks 01.401.501.1306.5
Hand it over safely: the phone-call route needs no password at all. If you'd rather hand over the login, change it again right after cutover.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M5 — the new store is built and tested, but the domain still points at the old one.

A PayPal Business account, opened in your name, not the developer's.

Real money has to move to you directly — we never hold or touch customer payments ourselves.

Waits on: 3 tasks 02.506.405.11
Hand it over safely: open it yourself, then add the developer as a limited user for setup only — never share your PayPal password.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M4 — there's no live account to prove a real payment on.

Approval for card payments — not just a PayPal balance — switched on inside that same PayPal Business account.

Most customers will pay by card, not a PayPal balance, so this has to be approved before go-live.

Waits on: shares 1 task 06.4 with the PayPal account above — both prove out at the same gate.
Hand it over safely: this happens inside your own PayPal settings once the account exists — nothing extra to hand over.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M4 — PayPal alone isn't the full proof this gate needs.

A one-hour window, agreed in advance, when you're reachable while we switch the domain over.

If anything looks wrong in that hour, we need you to confirm it live, not find out by email the next day.

Waits on: 2 tasks 01.1306.5
Hand it over safely: just agree a day and hour with us — nothing to hand over but your attention for that hour.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M5 — cutover doesn't run without a confirmed window.

After launch

These three don't block the build at all — they're what keeps the store running once it's fully yours.

A decision, in writing, on who pays the small recurring monthly server and Cloudflare bill after handover.

The store needs a server every month, for as long as it runs — someone's card has to be on file for that.

Waits on: 1 task 06.8
Hand it over safely: a one-line answer is enough — "I'll pay it," or an agreed arrangement.
If it's late: the month still finishes — but the store's account can lapse right after handover without this.

Agreement on when the 30-day post-launch support clock starts — the day of cutover, not the day of signing.

Free bug-fixing and small corrections run for 30 days from go-live, then stop — this needs to be clear on both sides.

Waits on: 2 tasks 06.706.9
Hand it over safely: nothing to hand over — just confirm you understand the clock starts at cutover, gate M5.
If it's late: no pause — but a misunderstanding here is where free support quietly turns into a dispute.

A password manager — any one you choose — that you open and control, to hold every credential this build creates.

Every account (server, Cloudflare, PayPal) ends up in your name. They need one place you own, not scattered emails.

Waits on: gate M6, handover — the point everything gets handed across.
Hand it over safely: pick any password manager, open an account, and tell us once it exists — we add entries, you keep ownership of the vault.
If it's late: the month pauses at gate M6 — handover can't finish with passwords sitting in email threads.

The six gates

The month starts the day the "Before day 1" group above is fully checked off. Each gate below ends with something you can see and click — never a status update — and is paid only once you've seen it work.

M1
Staging online
5 real products, live on a staging URL
M2
Catalog imported
The full catalog, browsable on staging
M3
Design done
Every page styled like the finished site
M4
Live payments proven
A real purchase, on the live setup, refunded
M5
Cutover
Your domain switched over, live for real
M6
Handover
Every account and password handed to you
Paid only as each gate above is seen working — never before.
The whole build is one month of work, 4 hours a day, 5 days a week — about 80 hours total. That month begins the day every item in the "Before day 1" group above is checked off, not the day this page is read. Every later group has its own deadline inside that month, named on each card above, so a late item pauses the specific gate it blocks rather than the whole project.