How long does it take to build a website?

How long does it take to build a website? With me, a landing page takes from 10 days and a large business website up to 30 days, counted from the moment I have your brief and access. In practice, the calendar is decided less by coding and more by how fast decisions, content and approvals move on both sides.

That is why two similar projects can finish weeks apart. Below I break the timeline into stages, show where projects usually stall, and explain how to keep yours on schedule, including what to put in the agreement so a deadline means something.

Typical timelines by type of site

These are realistic ranges for my projects, assuming you reply to questions within a day or two and approve the copy without long pauses.

The exact dates are agreed before work starts and written into the contract. If a firm deadline matters, for example a spring launch for a landscaping company or a trade show, say so on the first call.

The stages of building a website

Every project with me follows the same path. Knowing it helps you plan your own time.

1. Intro call (free, 30 minutes). What the business does, who the customers are, what the site must achieve.
2. Brief and access. You fill in a short brief and give me access to the domain, current site, analytics and any ad accounts.
3. Structure and copy. I plan the pages and write the text. This is where most of the thinking happens.
4. Your approval. You read the copy, correct facts, and approve it. Up to three rounds of revisions are included.
5. Design and build. Pages are designed for phones first, then built and connected to forms and analytics.
6. Testing. Real phones, browsers, forms, speed, redirects from the old site.
7. Launch and handover. The site goes live, and I show you how to edit it.

Where projects lose time

From experience, delays almost never come from the code. They come from these places:

• Waiting for content. Photos of your work, the list of services, prices, licence numbers. If they arrive in pieces over three weeks, the project stretches by three weeks.
• Slow approvals. Copy sits unread because the owner is busy with jobs. Each round of feedback that takes a week adds a week.
• Too many decision-makers. A partner, a spouse and an office manager each have opinions. Agree who has the final word before starting.
• Changing scope. "While you are at it, can we add a store?" Good idea, but it is a new phase, not a small change.
• Access problems. Nobody remembers who registered the domain or the password to the hosting. Sorting that out can take days.

How to keep your website on schedule

A few habits make a big difference:

• Gather material before the start. Photos, prices, a list of services, the questions customers ask. The website brief template helps you collect it in one go.
• Block time for approvals. Put two short slots in your calendar for reading copy. An hour of focused reading beats a week of glancing at it between calls.
• Name one decision-maker. Others can comment, one person approves.
• Keep new ideas in a list for phase two. Launch first, then improve with real data.
• Answer quickly. I reply within one business day; the project moves fastest when you do the same.

Plan around your season, not the calendar year

In Canada, many businesses live by the seasons. A landscaping or roofing company wants the new site live before the first warm weeks, when people start searching. A snow-removal service needs it in early autumn. A tax preparer wants it ready before the spring rush, and a retailer before the holiday shopping weeks.

Work backwards from that date. Leave a few weeks after launch for Google to pick up the new pages and for ads to gather data. Then add the build time and a buffer for your own busy weeks. Starting a site in the middle of your peak season is the most common reason I see approvals stall: the owner is simply on the job site from dawn to dusk.

What I put in the agreement

A timeline is only as good as the paper behind it. My agreements state the deadlines for each stage, and late-delivery penalties can be written in if that matters to you. Payment follows the stages, 30/40/30, so you never pay for work that has not been done. You talk directly to me, not to an account manager, so there is no "I'll check with the team" delay. You can read more about this on how I work.

Rushing: when it works and when it backfires

Sometimes a business genuinely needs a site in days, for example to start ads before a busy season. The smart way to rush is to cut scope, not quality: launch a strong landing page for your main service first, then build the full site behind it. A landing page can be ready from 10 days and start collecting enquiries while the rest is being built.

What does not work is squeezing a full site into a week by skipping copy and testing. You end up with a site that launches on time and then needs fixing for months.

What happens after launch

Launch is not the end. In the first weeks I watch analytics and Search Console, check that forms deliver and that old addresses redirect properly. Support and a short training are included, so you know how to change prices, texts and photos yourself.

If you have a date in mind, tell me on a free 30-minute call or through the website brief. I'll tell you honestly if it is realistic, and if it is not, what could launch first so you are not waiting with nothing online.