A landing page is usually live after 5 to 7 working days, a compact business website after 2 to 4 weeks, a website with a CMS and more pages after 3 to 4 weeks, and an online shop after around 2 to 3 months. The biggest time factor is almost never the development itself, but how quickly content and decisions arrive.
In this article we walk you through a realistic timeline by project type, explain the individual phases, and give you a checklist so your project does not stall.
How long does it take to have a website built? The overview
Duration depends mainly on scope, not on the provider. For orientation, here are the typical timeframes:
| Project type | Scope | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page | 1 page, contact form | 5 to 7 working days |
| Core | Business website, 1 to 3 pages | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Growth | 5 to 10 pages + CMS | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Online shop | Products, payment, shipping | approx. 2 to 3 months |
| Web app / client portal | Custom logic, login | depends on scope, quoted individually |
These timeframes hold once copy, images and approvals arrive promptly. For package details and pricing, see our article What does a professional website cost in 2026?.
What phases does a website project go through?
Every serious project runs through the same basic steps, only the time each phase takes changes with scope.
- Briefing: Goals, target audience, desired pages and features are clarified. Usually a 30 to 60 minute call.
- Concept: Page structure (sitemap) and a rough content plan are set, often with a clickable prototype or wireframe.
- Design: The visual identity takes shape, colours, typography, layout, tuned to your brand.
- Development: The design is built technically, including forms, integrations and mobile display.
- Content: Copy and images are added, ideally in parallel with development, not only afterwards.
- Testing: Functionality, load time and display across devices and browsers are checked.
- Launch: The website goes live, including technical checks such as the SSL certificate, redirects and tracking.
For a landing page, many of these steps happen compactly within a few days. For a Growth website with a CMS, concept and content noticeably take more time, simply because there are more pages and structures.
What most commonly delays a website project?
In our experience it is almost always the same three causes.
1. Missing or late content
Copy and photos are often the biggest bottleneck, not because they are technically demanding, but because they require decisions: what do we actually want to say? Without finished content, development stalls even if the design is long done.
2. Too many feedback rounds
Every extra round of revisions costs time, especially when feedback comes from several people and contradicts itself. A clear process with a fixed number of feedback rounds helps both sides.
3. No clear decision-maker
When every approval has to pass through several people inside the company, that slows every project down. One person with clear authority to approve noticeably speeds things up.
How can you speed up your project?
You have more influence over the timeline than many people think. These points help the most:
- Prepare copy: Even a rough bullet-point document per page speeds up alignment considerably.
- Gather visuals: High-resolution logo, current photos, product images if relevant, ideally in one shared folder.
- Name one point of contact: A single clear contact who bundles feedback beats several voices inside the company.
- Give feedback promptly: The longer an approval sits, the more the whole timeline shifts.
- Set realistic expectations: A solid website in four weeks beats a rushed one in one week that then needs constant fixing.
What about especially fast or especially large projects?
Not every project fits neatly into the standard timeframes. Two special cases come up often in practice.
You need a website online especially fast, before a trade fair, a product launch, or because the old website has gone down. In this case, a landing page almost always makes more sense than a full business website: one page, one clear goal, live within 5 to 7 working days. Additional pages can be added later, without leaving you with no presence at all while the bigger build is underway.
Your project is significantly larger than Growth, a client portal, a website in ten or more languages, or integrations with several internal systems. Here, duration is hard to state as a blanket figure, because custom logic, integrations and testing phases dominate the timeline. We quote such projects after a more detailed concept discussion, with an individual timeline, often in sprints with interim results rather than a single big launch date.
What happens during testing before launch?
The testing phase is often underestimated, but it costs little time relative to its value. It includes at least:
- Functional testing: forms, buttons, links and embedded tools are clicked through, not just glanced at.
- Device and browser testing: display across common smartphones, tablets and desktop browsers.
- Load-time check: a slow website costs you visitors before they even see your offer.
- Legal basics: the imprint, privacy policy and cookie banner are present and correctly linked.
- Tracking check: if you want to measure visitors or enquiries, the setup is tested before launch, not discovered missing afterwards.
A clean test run keeps you from spending the first week after launch fixing bugs instead of promoting the new website.
Checklist: what to prepare before kickoff
- Website goals are clearly defined (enquiries, bookings, sales, information)
- A point of contact for feedback and approvals is named
- A high-resolution logo is available
- Copy, or at least bullet points per page, is prepared
- Current photos are available, or you have a clear idea of the desired image style
- Desired features are listed (form, appointment booking, multiple languages, shop)
- A rough timeframe with a target date is set
- The budget range is agreed internally
Conclusion: plan realistically instead of rushing
How long a website takes depends less on technology and more on content, decisions and feedback. Get those three right, and you get a landing page in a week and a full business website in three to four weeks without sacrificing quality. It is worth taking a few days for preparation; it pays off across the whole project.
Want to know how long your specific project would take? Describe your project in a few steps and you will get a realistic assessment of timeline and cost. More answers are in our FAQ, and more on how we work on our web design & development page.
