improve release & docs documentation

README.md

@@ -57,7 +57,18 @@ The building loads can be defined multiple ways depending on the fidelity of the
 
 1. Create a branch named `Release 0.x.`
 1. Update version in pyproject.toml
-2. Update CHANGELOG using GitHub's "Autogenerate Change Log" feature
+2. Update CHANGELOG using GitHub's "Autogenerate Change Log" feature, using `develop` as the target
 3. After tests pass, merge branch into develop
-4. From command line, merge develop into main with: `git checkout main; git pull; git merge --ff-only origin develop; git push`
+4. From local command line, merge develop into main with: `git checkout main; git pull; git merge --ff-only origin develop; git push`
 5. In GitHub, tag the release against main. Copy and paste the changelog entry into the notes. Verify the release is posted to PyPI.
+
+### Build and release the documentation:
+
+During development we can [serve docs locally](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/creating-your-site/#previewing-as-you-write) and view updates as they are made.
+
+   1. Start a documentation update branch: `git switch -c <branch_name>`
+   1. `poetry run mkdocs serve`
+   1. Point browser to [http://127.0.0.1:8000/](http://127.0.0.1:8000/)
+
+- To deploy, push a commit in the `docs` folder to the `main` branch
+- Wait a few minutes, then verify the new documentation on the [docs website](https://nrel.github.io/geojson-modelica-translator/)