How long does it take to create a website?
Time Expenditure, Influencing Factors and Project Phases – A Guide for Practice
Creating a professional website is a multi-layered process, the time required for which depends largely on planning, scope and complexity, as well as cooperation with the client. In this blog post, you’ll get a detailed chronology and real-world examples of the typical phases, delays, and timeframes of modern website projects.
1. The importance of realistic planning
The foundation of any successful website is thorough pre-planning. Here it is decided how many pages and functions the site should include, which target groups are addressed and what content is needed. Experience has shown that this phase lasts 1 to 2 weeks, but can be extended depending on the complexity of the project.
2. Influencing factors: Why does it sometimes take so long?
Several variables determine the duration of the project:
- Pages: The more content pages (e.g. subpages, landing pages, product pages), the longer the implementation.
- Special Features: Add-ons such as shops, forms, filters, member areas or multilingualism provide additional effort.
- Design Complexity: Individual layout requests, special animations and adjustments extend the development time.
- Cooperation: Rapid feedback and complete content delivery by the customer accelerate, delays usually lead to project delays.
- Project organization: Clear distribution of tasks, regular coordination and professional communication are crucial.
3. Typical stages of a website creation
a) Strategic planning and conception
Clear goal definition, competitor analysis, site structure and wireframes: 1-2 weeks.
b) Design & Theme Development
Development of drafts, final design coordination and adaptation of a template or the development of your own theme: 1–4 weeks (for individual projects up to several weeks).
c) Technical implementation
Installation of CMS (e.g. WordPress), integration of plugins, system settings, development of functionalities: 1–2 weeks.
d) Content creation and maintenance
Texts, images and videos are created and entered. Often the biggest time waster, as customer content is often delivered later than planned. Time required: 1–4 weeks, partly parallel to technology and design.
e) Test phase & acceptance
Error control, mobile optimization, browser tests, correction loops: about 1 week.
f) Go-Live & Post-Processing
Final setup of the live system, launch and, if necessary, SEO basics or initial marketing: 1–2 days.
4. Concrete timeframes at a glance
A small website with a standard design and a maximum of 10 content pages:
Estimate: at least 2–4 weeks, 4–8 weeks until the launch are often realistic.
Medium-sized company presence (up to 30 pages, certain individual features):
Estimate: 2–3 months, but often more like 3–4 months.
Large-scale projects with many functions (shop, member area, multilingual):
Estimate: 4–6 months, sometimes longer, especially in the case of external development and larger coordination rounds.
5. Scheduling: Practical examples and stumbling blocks
a) Fast implementation is possible – but rarely realistic
In exceptional cases (e.g. one-page, existing content, standard template, quick decisions), a website can go live in 1-2 weeks. In everyday life, however, unforeseen tasks, change requests and feedback times from the customer often lead to delays.
b) Why do projects sometimes take months?
Delayed content delivery, short-term rescheduling or elaborate features are the most common time wasters. Vacation time/work absences on the customer side or correction loops can also cost weeks.
c) Checklist for optimal planning:
- Formulate project goals precisely
- Deliver content early
- Involve decision-makers, enable quick feedback
- Clearly distribute and document tasks
6. How does the time required relate to the scope of the project?
The more complex the project, the more detailed and longer the project implementation. Guidelines from practice:
| Project size | Pages | Typical duration | Sample content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small-scale project | 5–10 | 2–4 to 8 weeks | Website Business Card, Blog |
| Medium | up to 30 | 2–3 to 4 months | Company Page, Portfolio |
| Major | 30+ | 4-6 months and longer | Shops, portals, e-learning, etc. |
7. Collaboration as a time factor
The rapid provision of all content and the active cooperation of the clients noticeably accelerate the project. Close-knit communication, bundled feedback rounds instead of individual emails, and decisiveness lead to a faster go-live.
8. Conclusion: What matters
- Conscious and realistic scheduling protects against disappointment.
- The better the conception and content preparation, the faster the implementation will succeed.
- The complexity, feature requests and the close cooperation between customer and service provider significantly control the time frame.
In everyday life, 4–12 weeks are common for small to medium-sized websites; Large-scale projects can take 4-6 months – this can only be achieved with efficient, committed project work and clear processes.
FAQ: How long does it take to create a website?
How long does it take to build an average WordPress website?
Creating a small to medium-sized website typically takes 3 to 8 weeks, depending on the scope, complexity, and collaboration between the client and developer. Smaller sites with few individual requirements can often be implemented within 1 to 4 weeks, while large company sites or shops can take several months.
Which factors have the greatest influence on the time required?
The most important factors are: scope of the website (number and type of pages), complexity and individual features (such as shop, member area, special forms), quality and completeness of content delivery and the speed of response to queries and correction loops.
What specific time phases should I plan for?
Typical are:
– Planning and concept: 1–2 weeks
– Design and layout: 1-3 weeks
– Technical development: 1–3 weeks
– Content creation and maintenance: 1-4 weeks
– Test and feedback loops: 1 week
These phases can overlap or vary depending on the size of the project
Can I influence the duration myself?
Yes! The faster you deliver texts, images and feedback, the faster the website can be completed. Short-term change requests can also influence the schedule – which is why good planning and close communication are worthwhile.
What are typical reasons for long project durations?
The most common causes are missing or delayed content, unplanned additional features, many correction loops and too late or unclear feedback from the client. Vacation periods, resource bottlenecks or unforeseen technical challenges also play a role.
How much time should I allow for complex projects?
A large website with many individual features, extensive content migration or multilingualism often takes 4 to 6 months – sometimes even longer if decisions and content are delayed.
Is a quick website launch possible?
With a clearly defined range of functions and ready-made content, a simple website, e.g. a one-page or landing page, can often go online in a few days to two weeks – especially with ready-made themes and few individual adjustments.
What is the time required for pure redesigns?
If the content is adopted, but the design and technology are redesigned, a relaunch can realistically succeed in 2 to 4 weeks – but only if no far-reaching structural change is necessary.
Can I parallelize individual project phases to save time?
Partly yes: Content creation and design/technology can overlap, as long as the concept is in place and communicated early. But all core decisions and content must be available in time so that development does not come to a standstill.
How do I calculate realistically?
Good planning and professional communication shorten the duration. Allow 3-6 weeks for small projects, 2-3 months for medium-sized and 3-6 months for large individual websites – depending on scope, participation and coordination.
