How long does a website take?
Most sites take four to ten weeks. The build is rarely the slow part.
| Type of site | Typical timeline |
|---|---|
| Single landing page | 1–2 weeks |
| Small business site (4–8 pages) | 4–6 weeks |
| Larger brochure site | 6–10 weeks |
| Ecommerce | 6–14 weeks |
| Custom application | 3 months+ |
Where the time actually goes
- Week 1: brief, questions, gathering what you already have.
- Weeks 2–3: design concept, your feedback, revisions.
- Weeks 3–5: build, content loading, testing.
- Final week: checks, fixes, launch.
Notice that roughly half of that is waiting on decisions and content, not on design work.
The one thing that makes projects late
Content. Not design, not development, not technical problems. Copy and photos arriving late is the cause of the overwhelming majority of missed launch dates.
It happens because content feels like the easy part, so it gets postponed until the "real" work is done. Then the build finishes and there is nothing to put in it.
How to avoid it
- Write your copy before the build starts, or agree in advance that the designer will.
- Book a photographer early. Good photography takes weeks to arrange, not days.
- Nominate one person to approve things. Committees add weeks.
- Agree what happens to the launch date if content is late, in writing, at the start.
If a designer never asks about your content, that is worth noticing. It usually means the timeline they quoted assumes it appears by magic.
Common questions
01Can it be done faster?
Yes, if scope is tight, content is ready, and one person decides. A focused landing page can be live in days. What cannot be compressed is the feedback loop — if you need a week to review, that week is in the timeline.
02Why do some designers quote two weeks and others eight?
Usually different assumptions about content and revisions. A two-week quote often assumes you supply everything and approve quickly. Ask both what they assume you are providing.
03What happens if we miss the launch date?
This should be agreed in writing before you start — specifically what happens if the delay is yours versus theirs. Most disputes about deadlines are really disputes about whose fault the delay was.
Get a fixed quote in writing
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