Most people ask what a website costs long before they ask how long it takes, then the timeline is the thing that catches them out. The honest range is a few days to a few months, and the build itself is rarely the slow part.
A realistic timeline by type
- A template site you build yourself: a few days to a couple of weeks, mostly your own time.
- A freelancer or small build: two to six weeks, depending on the number of pages.
- A studio-built bespoke site: six to twelve weeks from brief to launch.
- A store or a platform with custom features: longer again, because there is more to build and far more to test.
These assume the project keeps moving. The gap between a six-week estimate and a six-month reality is almost never the building.
What actually causes the delays
The same handful of things stall most projects:
- Content and photography. This is the big one. A finished design sits waiting for words and product photos that only you can supply.
- Slow sign-off. Every round of feedback that takes a fortnight to come back adds a fortnight to the launch.
- Scope creep. "While we are at it" is how a clean six-week build becomes a sprawling one.
- Integrations. Anything that has to talk to another system (a booking tool, a payment provider, a CRM) adds testing time.
How to keep yours on track
Three things do most of the work. Have your content and photography ready before the build starts, not during it. Put one person in charge of decisions, so feedback is quick and consistent. And write a clear website brief up front, so the scope is agreed before anyone builds to it.
A launch checklist near the end keeps the final week from turning into a scramble.
The short version. Budget a few days for a template, weeks for a freelancer build, and six to twelve weeks for a bespoke site. Then protect that timeline by having your content ready and your decisions quick, because those are what actually move the date.
If you have a deadline behind your build, tell us about it when you start a project and we will be straight about what is achievable.
