How Long Does It Take to Build a Website? A Realistic Timeline
A typical business website takes six to ten weeks. The agency is rarely the slowest part. Here is the timeline and where the time really goes.
Everybody wants to know how long a website will take, and a straight answer is more useful than a vague promise. For a typical small business site of five to fifteen pages, six to ten weeks from the first conversation to launch is realistic. Simple one page sites can be faster and larger or more complex projects take longer. What matters more than the number is understanding where the time goes.
Weeks one and two: discovery and planning
The project begins with understanding your business, your customers and your goals, agreeing the pages and the structure and confirming the scope and price. This stage is quicker when you can answer questions promptly and have examples of sites you like.
Weeks two to four: design
Wireframes and visual design are produced for you to review. Most projects include a couple of rounds of feedback. Decisions made by one person are faster than decisions made by a committee.
Weeks four to eight: build
Once the design is approved, the site is built, tested and connected to forms, analytics and any integrations. Content is added as it arrives. This stage depends heavily on content being ready.
Weeks eight to ten: testing and launch
The site is tested on real devices, search settings, redirects and speed are checked and a launch date is agreed. A calm, planned go live is worth waiting for.
What causes delays
Content arriving late is the single biggest cause, followed by slow feedback, scope that grows during the build and decisions that are reopened. Waiting on third parties, such as a logo from another designer or access to old accounts, also adds time.
How to speed things up
Prepare your content early, name one decision maker, gather your photographs and logos before you start, give feedback in a single consolidated round and be clear about what is in scope. Tell your agency about any fixed dates up front.
What a fast launch costs
It is possible to launch quickly, but rushing usually means cutting testing, content or search work. A staged approach, launching a strong core site and adding more later, often gives the best of both.
K4O5 agrees a timeline in writing at the start, tells you what we need from you and when, and keeps you updated each week, so there are no surprises.