I've been involved in many projects where the site has gone live around the same time as the contract has been finalized. That's not to say it's the safest way to manage a project; it's not. The purpose of the contract is to ensure that responsibilities and deliverables are clear, as well as providing a framework for resolving issues should they arise. If you have a good relationship with your client and are able to resolve things amicably, a contract is more like an insurance policy should things go wrong. The idea is to not let things go wrong in the first place; that's why there's greater value on customer collaboration rather than contract negotiation. If you're spending more effort working on clauses in a contract, you're not focusing on the project and delivering a working site. The contract is a part of the process, no doubt, but it shouldn't take precedence over dealing face to face with your client to work things out.