How Long Does It Take to Build a Website?

"How long will it take?" is usually the second question after "How much?". The honest answer: the build itself is often the quick part. Most delays come from waiting for content, feedback and approvals.

Here are realistic timelines for different kinds of websites, and what you can do to launch sooner.

Typical timelines

• One-page or simple 5-page site: 3 working days to 2 weeks, once content is ready.
• Business website you can edit (6 to 15 pages): 1 to 4 weeks.
• Online store: 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the number of products, payment and shipping set-up.
• Custom web app or portal: 2 to 6 months, planned in phases.

The stages of a website project

Most projects move through the same steps:

1. Brief: agreeing what the site needs to do and which pages it needs.
2. Content: gathering text, photos, logo and product details.
3. Design: a look and layout you can review before building.
4. Build: pages, forms, payments and mobile layouts.
5. Review: you check everything and request changes.
6. Launch: connecting the domain, final checks and going live.

What slows a project down

In our experience these cause most of the delays:

• Content that is not ready. Writing the About page often takes longer than designing it.
• Too many decision-makers. Feedback that has to go through several people adds days to each round.
• Changing the scope midway, such as adding a store after the design is approved.
• Domain or hosting access. Lost passwords for an old domain can hold up launch.

How to launch faster

You can cut weeks off your timeline with a little preparation:

• Prepare your text and photos before the project starts. Our content checklist shows what you need.
• Pick one person to give feedback and approve.
• Send examples of websites you like, so the designer knows your taste.
• Start with the pages you need now, and add the rest after launch.

How we keep timelines short

At Elemention, timelines start once we have your complete content, so the clock only runs when we can actually work. Then:

• Seed: live in 3 working days.
• Sprout: 7 working days.
• Bloom: 14 working days, including copywriting.
• Harvest Lite online store: 14 working days.

See what is included in each on our website plans.