Whenever someone reaches out about getting a website built, one of the first things they ask is: how long will it take? And honestly, I get it. You're probably juggling your business, your customers, your inbox, your life. You want to know when you'll have a site up and running that does what it needs to do.
The short answer? It depends. But that doesn’t help you much, so let me break it down based on my experience building websites for small businesses, solo entrepreneurs and a few more established brands.
Starting off in the discovery phase
This bit is all about figuring things out. Before a single line of code is written or any design is touched, we need to have a good old chat. What do you need the website to do? How many pages are we looking at? Are there any specific features like booking systems, contact forms, or member areas?
This stage can be quick or painfully slow, depending on how ready you are. If you’ve got a clear idea of your content, branding, and goals, we can wrap it up in a few days. But if you’re still deciding on colours, page names or what you even want the website to do, we’ll be circling this bit for a week or two. And that’s okay.
By the end of this phase, we should have a sitemap, rough wireframes (basically a sketch of the layout), and a list of features.
Design phase starts
Now we’re into the fun part. This is where I crack open Figma and start bringing your brand to life online. A basic five-page site usually takes me about a week to design, assuming you’re quick with feedback. Longer if we’re adding things like animation, complex layout ideas or custom mobile versions.
One of the biggest hold-ups here is waiting for feedback. I’ll send you the homepage and you’ll either love it or have tweaks.
The end goal here is getting full page designs approved, so we’ve got a visual guide before starting the build. Once you sign off, we move into development.
Build Phase: Turning Design into a Website
This is where I stop sending pretty pictures and start writing code. I’ll usually build the site on WordPress (unless we’re doing Shopify or Webflow), and start piecing everything together. Headers, footers, responsive bits so it works on mobile — the whole lot.
Basic websites with a few pages and no complicated functions can be built in 1 to 2 weeks. Add in ecommerce, memberships, booking systems or custom forms and you’re looking at closer to 3 or 4 weeks.
One mistake people make here is assuming once the build starts, everything is smooth sailing. Truth is, sometimes weird stuff happens. Plugins don’t play nicely or there are unforeseen issues that need to be resolved.
Still, this is where things get real. You’ll get a link to preview your site in action and start spotting all the bits that didn’t jump out in the design phase.
The Feedback Loop: Revisions & Tweaks
At this point, I usually do one big round of revisions. We’ll go through the live preview together and I’ll note anything you want changed. Typos, padding, layout swaps, button colours – all that good stuff.
It’s easy for this stage to drag on if we’re not careful. Some clients start changing their minds here, like wanting a new page added or reworking something we already agreed on. That’s totally doable, but it might push us over the original timeline and price agreed.
I always say to get everyone involved at this point. If you’ve got a team, a partner, or just a mate with an eye for detail, this is when to rope them in.
Usually, this phase lasts around 3 to 5 days. Unless someone disappears on holiday. That’s happened more than once.
Go Live: Final Bits and Launch
Once everything’s been tested and approved, we’re almost there. This part includes hooking up your domain, setting up email if needed, connecting Google Analytics, making sure your site is secure and loading fast.
This can be done in a day or two if we’re on the ball. Sometimes domain access or dodgy DNS settings cause a bit of a delay though.
The actual launch is always a bit nerve-wracking. I double-check everything, click around like mad, and once we hit the button, it’s out there in the world. It still gives me a buzz, even now.
So, How Long Does It All Take?
Here’s a rough breakdown:
- Discovery: 3 to 10 days
- Design: 5 to 10 days
- Build: 7 to 20 days
- Revisions: 3 to 5 days
- Launch: 1 to 3 days
All in all, most business websites take 4 to 6 weeks from start to finish. Some quicker. Some slower. But if someone promises a full site in under a week, they’re probably cutting corners.
Every website is different. Some clients know exactly what they want. Others figure it out as we go. That’s part of the job. As long as we’re clear about timelines, keep communication going and don’t ghost each other, things move along just fine.
