How long is your current to-do list? If your heart rate slightly increased as you read that, that’s an indication that there might be some crucial tasks that you’re putting off. One of those things might involve giving your brand’s website the attention it deserves.
In the early stages of setting up a business, entrepreneurs tend to procrastinate on this task because they’re unsure about the time involved in getting a professional site up and running. But this article will clarify just that so you can cast any doubts aside and start taking action.
So, how long does it take to build a website? Keep reading to find out.
How Long Does It Take To Build a Website?
The time needed to build a site depends on the time taken during these 4 fundamental stages:
- Planning
- Designing
- Development
- Final Review
Let’s now look at these stages in further detail with their respective time estimates.
Step 1: Planning (1-2 Weeks)
Your website is one of the greatest marketing tools in your arsenal. It’s more like a virtual salesman than an online business card. Therefore, make sure it’s doing everything to promote your brand to its full potential.
Before getting in contact with a website development team though, you want to create a clear vision of what your site looks like and does. The development team is there to bring your vision to life, but if you haven’t made a plan beforehand, prepare for a series of frivolous meetings.
The clearer your vision, the quicker the development team can get to work. Spending at least a week on this stage will save you hours going back and forth with the developers throughout the subsequent stages.
Step 2: Designing (1-3 Weeks)
Depending on the size and complexity of your website, this stage can easily take up to 3 weeks.
The development team will begin to flesh out your vision by presenting mockups of every page. These are like the blueprints of developing a website.
The mockups will help you to iron out any creases regarding the form and function of your site. There’s a lot of necessary “back-and-forthing” at this stage, but it will be to tailor your site to perfection.
Step 3: Development (1-2 Months)
This is usually the longest period of the process because, naturally, this is where the magic happens! Most web development agencies predict a 2 month development period allowing plenty of room for error if needs be, but they could finish earlier than proposed.
Expect a few more meetings to clarify elements from the mockups that may need tweaking at this stage. But once those details have been fine-tuned, you’re almost there…
Step 4: Final Review (1-2 Weeks)
By this stage, your website is pretty much ready to go. However, it’s only time in the real world that can reveal its true performance. The website only really comes to life when your clients interact with it. This activity may highlight some finishing touches that need to be made. A couple more weeks can help the web developers put the proverbial cherry on the cake.
Carpe Diem
So, how long does it take to build a website? All in all, you want to estimate 2 to 3 months for a professional website from the moment you conceive your vision until it’s ready to go. However, keep in mind that not all sites are created equal, so these figures are nothing more than a rough guide.
The point of this article is more about highlighting the urgency of starting to plan your website as soon as possible. Time waits for no one and every moment that your website is not online, your competitors’ websites are.
So, don’t put it off any longer! Contact our team and give your brand the website it deserves!