What are the basics to getting a good fit on a bike (other than being an inch over the top of the frame)? (For general road commuting, not mountain / trails)

Here's a calculator that will give you a rough idea of what size to try:

https://www.bikebuster.com/stelguide.cfm

Edit: the bicycle max and min. heights they suggest are the measured from the center of the bottomn bracket to the top of the seattube, this will be presented as the frame size by the producer/LBS.