The honest answer is "it depends," but it depends on a few things you can mostly control. A simple site with five or six pages can launch in about four weeks. A custom site with a lot of pages, a booking system or a store usually takes eight to ten.
What happens, week by week
A typical small business site moves through five stages:
- Planning (week 1). Goals, the list of pages, and what each page needs to do.
- Content (weeks 1 to 3). Page copy, photos, team bios, service details. This runs alongside design.
- Design (weeks 2 to 4). The homepage first, then the other page types. One or two rounds of changes.
- Build (weeks 3 to 7). The site gets built, connected to forms, analytics and search tools, and tested on phones.
- Launch (final week). Redirects from old pages, a last check, and the switch.
What actually slows a project down
It's rarely the design or the code. It's almost always content.
- Waiting on copy. Owners are busy, and writing about your own business is hard. A copywriter who interviews you for 30 minutes can save weeks.
- Waiting on photos. Stock photos are fine to start, but plan the shoot early if you want real ones.
- Too many decision makers. Pick one person to approve each stage.
- Scope creep. New pages and features added mid-project push the date. Write them down for phase two.
How to launch faster
- Launch with the pages that bring in business, and add the rest after.
- Have your logo, colors and any existing copy ready before kickoff.
- Book your review time on the calendar so approvals don't sit for a week.
Need something live this month?
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