How Long Does It Take to Design a Website for Your Business?

 

If you don’t have a website, you’re basically ushering your customers over to your competitors. That means you’re losing money. 

But how long does it take to design a website? With your schedule already overflowing as it is, will you be able to build a website and keep your company running at the same time?

The answer to that is probably no, but that’s okay. You don’t have to build a website by yourself. 

We’ve put together this guide to show you what you can expect from the website design process when working with a professional, how long it will take, and what you’ll get in the end. So let’s get started!

How Long Does It Take to Design a Website? 

It depends on what you want. 

On average, most businesses spend about two to three months building their websites, but if your site needs a lot of extra pages or complicated features, it can take up to six months. Who you work with also impacts the overall timeframe. Trying to build your website yourself or working with an inexperienced designer will make the process take longer. 

Investing a bit more money in a professional custom website design company won’t just give you better results. It will give you a quality website in the fastest amount of time possible. 

But no matter who you hire, you should plan to spend at least two to three months creating your website. We’ve broken down the different steps of the web design process so you can see what your waiting will get you. 

Phase 1: Planning  

Before you can start building anything, you need to figure out what you want your website to do and what type of features it needs in order to do those things. Think about your business goals and how your website can help you reach them. For example, maybe you’ll have an online store, a subscription option, informative posts showing you’re an authority in your industry, etc. 

If you aren’t sure where to start, set up a call with your website designer and bounce ideas off them. They’ll be able to help you plan the right layout for your site. 

They may also give you a questionnaire to fill out about your website. This will help them get more familiar with your business, your products/services, your goals, your needs, and more. 

The entire planning process can take anywhere from a few days to an entire week (and in some cases, it can take much, much longer). 

 

Phase 2: Building a “Mock-Up” 

Once you and your designer have established what you want your website to look like, they’ll create a mock-up of your site. Your designer is working from scratch, so they’ll have to build the “bones” of your website first before they can even get started on the design. 

In other words, this is one of the longest steps in the web building process. 

At the very least, this part will take your designer about two weeks to complete it. So be patient. Although it might seem like a lot of waiting, your website won’t run well (or look good) if the designer rushes through this step. 

 

Phase 3: Review and Critique 

Now you get to see your website for the first time, but remember, it isn’t the finished product. What you’re looking at in this phase of the game is like the rough draft of your website. 

This is also where you get to start being more involved in the process. 

Scroll through every page of your website and find the things you like, the things you don’t like, and the things that need improvement. Take notes and set up a meeting with your design to talk about what needs to be updated. Once they fix the issues, they’ll send it back to you for another review. 

This process can repeat several times until you catch everything, which makes it difficult to put a timeframe on this step. If your website is simple and doesn’t need a lot of alterations, it may only take a few days. However, you may end up spending several weeks on the review. 

Phase 4: Building the Real Deal 

At this point, your designer will start building your official website. Even though they already have something to work off of, the building process can still take a week or two to finish. 

 

Phase 5: Review, Review, and Review Again

Just because the designer finished your website doesn’t mean it’s ready to go. You need to start the review process all over again. Take your time studying your website for any last mistakes or revisions. Since you’ve already done this before, this step should only take a few days. 

But don’t rush through it! Otherwise, you may overlook something that can turn into a problem later. 

Phase 6: Launch 

After the designer makes any final updates, they’ll launch your site. This should only take a day or two, and when it’s done, it will be visible to your customers. 

Faster Isn’t Always Better 

So, how long does it take to design a website?

It’s hard to put an exact timeframe on this project, but you should expect to spend at least three months planning and building your website. And remember, although you might want to get your website up and running as quickly as possible, faster isn’t always better. 

Rushing through the process can make the end result full of bugs or not user-friendly. It’s worth spending extra time and money to get a website you and your customers will love. 

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