It is usually the first question in any website conversation, and the hardest to answer in one line. A focused marketing site and a platform with bookings, payments and integrations are very different projects. What we can say is where the time goes, and which decisions stretch or shorten it.
The four phases
- DiscoverGoals, audience, content and technical requirements. The decisions made here shape everything after.
- DesignStructure and wireframes first, then the visual design of key pages and components, reviewed together.
- BuildDevelopment, content entry, integrations and testing across devices and browsers.
- LaunchFinal checks, redirects, go-live and the first weeks of monitoring.
As a rough guide, a focused custom marketing site typically takes around two to three months end to end, and larger platforms longer. The phases overlap: content can be written while design progresses, and development can start on agreed components before every page is designed.
What makes it longer
In our experience the biggest schedule risks are rarely technical:
Content. Copy, photography and translations arriving late is the most common cause of delay. A site can be finished and still not launch because the words aren't ready.
Integrations. Connecting to CRMs, booking systems, payment gateways or internal tools depends on access, documentation and third parties.
Decision loops. Many stakeholders reviewing each stage in sequence can double the length of design.
Most website projects are not delayed by building. They are delayed by waiting.
What keeps it on track
A single decision-maker with the authority to approve, content planned from the first week, clear rounds of feedback with dates attached, and a scope that separates what must be there at launch from what can follow in phase two. Launching a strong core and improving it is almost always better than waiting for everything.
It is the one part of the schedule only you can deliver.
Planning your launch date
If the launch is tied to an event, a campaign or a product release, tell us at the start. We plan backwards from that date, agree what has to be in the first release, and build in time for testing and review rather than squeezing it at the end.
