So, how long does it really take to build a new website?

That’s the big question, isn't it? The simple answer is: it depends. A basic website for a local business might be up and running in 4 to 12 weeks. But if you need something more advanced, like a full online shop, you are looking at a 3 to 6 month project.

Your Website Timeline Question Answered

Every website project is different, but the one thing that always sets the schedule is complexity. Think of it like building a house. A simple, one-storey bungalow from a standard plan will go up quite quickly. A custom-designed home with several floors, special features and smart technology? That is going to take a lot longer.

It is the same with websites. Having launched over 200 of them, we’ve learned that a solid plan is the secret to keeping everything on track. Building a website is not just about coding. It is about creating a tool that helps your business grow. It is a key part of your success, which is why it has to fit in with your bigger goals.

To get a better idea of this, you can learn more about what a digital marketing strategy involves in our detailed guide.

Simple vs Complex Websites

What actually makes a website complex? It all comes down to the features and functions you need.

• Simple Websites: These are your classic business sites. They usually have a homepage, an 'About Us' page, a list of services and a contact form. Their main job is to give information and get new leads.

• Complex Websites: This is where things get interesting. We are talking about online shops with payment systems, custom-built booking tools, or links to your internal business software. Each feature adds another layer of design, development and testing.

To give you a clearer picture, here is a general breakdown of what you can expect.

Estimated Website Build Times by Type

This table gives a general idea of how long different types of websites take to build, from start to finish.

Remember, these are just estimates. The final timeline will always depend on the specific features, the quality of the content you provide and how quickly you can give feedback.

In this guide, we will walk you through the whole process, phase by phase. You will see exactly what happens at each step and understand why some websites take much longer to build than others.

The Six Key Stages of a Website Build

Building a website is not a single job. It is a journey with several important stops. I often tell clients to think of it like building a house. You would not start laying bricks without a detailed plan, right? The same logic applies here, which is why everything starts with Discovery and Planning.

This first phase is all about working together. We sit down with you to figure out exactly what your website needs to do for your business. We set your goals, get to know your target audience and map out the whole structure of the site. Getting this foundation right is the best way to avoid expensive delays later.

With a solid plan in place, we move into the Design stage. This is the fun part, where we decide on the layout, colours and overall feel of your online home. Our team creates detailed visual mockups so you can see and feel exactly how your website will look. This makes sure it is a perfect match for your brand before we write a single line of code.

From Design to a Live Website

Once you have approved the designs, our developers get to work in the Development phase. This is where the approved designs are turned into a real, working website. Our team carefully writes the code that brings every element to life, building all the features we agreed on during planning.

After the main structure is built, the next step is adding your Content. We carefully place all your text, images and videos onto the pages. A quick tip from our experience: having your content ready to go at this stage is a massive time-saver.

The final two stages are vital for a successful launch:

• Testing: We become your website's first and toughest critics. We check every link, button and form on lots of different browsers and devices. This makes sure that when a real visitor arrives, their experience is perfect.

• Launch and Review: This is the big moment when your new site goes live! But our job does not end there. We keep a close eye on its performance to make sure it is delivering the results you need.

This visual guide breaks down the main phases you can expect in a typical website project.

As the infographic shows, planning, building and launching are separate but connected stages. To get a better handle on how long each part might take for your project, it helps in understanding the website design process steps in more detail. A clear plan is what keeps everything on schedule.

What Speeds a Project Up or Slows It Down?

So, what makes the difference between a project that runs smoothly and one that gets stuck? From our experience, it really comes down to a few key things. The biggest factor, without a doubt, is complexity. A clean, simple website is always going to be faster to make than a complex online shop with hundreds of products and payment systems.

Your own involvement also plays a huge role. Projects where clients give us quick, clear feedback on designs always move much faster. In the same way, having all your content (the text, the images and the product details) ready from the start is a game-changer. Most of the time, delays happen simply because we are waiting for a decision or chasing for materials.

Common Project Delays

Certain features are known for adding time to a build. Anything custom, like a special booking system or a link to your current business software, will need more development and testing. It is like the difference between buying a suit off the rack and having one made to measure. The custom option takes longer, but the fit is perfect.

Here are a few classic things that can slow a project down:

• Scope Creep: Making big changes to the design or function halfway through the project is a sure way to add weeks to the schedule. It often means undoing and redoing work we thought was finished.

• Content Holdups: If the writing and images for the website are not ready, the project can grind to a halt. We can build the frame of the house, but we cannot furnish the rooms without the furniture.

• Technical Problems: Sometimes, connecting to another service (like a payment provider or an old database) causes unexpected issues that take time to solve.

We always tell our clients that they are the most important member of the project team. When you are involved, decisive and provide clear feedback, the whole process just works better for everyone.

Getting a clear picture of what your visitors need to do on your site is also very important. It's why we often talk to clients about what customer journey mapping is. It helps lock down the project plan from day one and avoids those time-consuming changes later on.

How Different Website Types Affect the Timeline

It is no surprise that not all websites are built the same way. The biggest thing that affects how long your project will take is what you need the site to do. Think of it this way: building a simple shed is very different from building a multi-storey office block. The simpler the goal, the quicker the build.

A basic blog or an online portfolio, for example, is on the faster end. These sites are all about showing information and images in a clean, simple way. Because they do not need complex functions, a site like this can often be ready in just a few weeks.

From Brochure Sites to Online Shops

The next step up is what we often call a brochure site. This is your classic business website, with pages for your services, an 'About Us' section to introduce the team and clear contact details. Its main job is to be your digital front door, giving potential customers a professional first impression and all the key information they need. These projects are usually in the middle ground for timelines.

Where the timeline really gets longer is with e-commerce websites. Building a fully working online shop is a much more complicated job.

From our experience launching over 200 websites, the jump from a simple brochure site to a proper e-commerce platform is massive. It's not just about looks. It adds a whole new layer of security, performance and user experience that must be perfect.

An online shop needs individual product pages, a smooth shopping basket and secure payment systems. And that is just what the customer sees. Behind the scenes, you need a strong system for managing orders, stock and customer data. Each of these parts adds a lot of time for development, testing and changes.

How Common Features Impact Project Timelines

The list of features you want has a direct effect on the final delivery date. Let's look at how some popular extras can make your website build take longer.

As you can see, what starts as a simple project can quickly become more complex. The more your website needs to do for your business, the more time and care it will need to build properly.

Why Smart Planning Saves You Time and Money

It is always tempting to jump straight into the fun stuff, like design. But trust us on this one. After launching over 200 websites, we have learned that the best thing you can do for your project is to plan properly from the start. A clear plan is your project's roadmap, simple as that.

This first step gets you, our designers and our developers all on the same page about what we are actually building. It cuts through confusion, reduces mistakes and most importantly, stops expensive changes down the road.

A solid plan starts with two basic questions: who is this website for, and what do we want them to do? To get this right, you need to think like your ideal customer. If you are not sure where to begin, our guide on how to create buyer personas can walk you through it.

The Value of a Clear Roadmap

The key part of any good plan is a well-defined statement of work (SoW) that explains all the tasks and who is responsible for them. This document is vital because it details exactly what pages and features are needed to meet your goals.

In our experience, projects that start with a detailed plan almost always finish faster and stay on budget. They just get better results because everyone knows where they are going before the journey even begins.

So, what are the real benefits here?

• Fewer Changes: When everyone agrees on the plan from day one, there are far fewer surprises and less need for time-consuming changes later on.

• Accurate Timelines: A clear plan allows us to give you a much more realistic answer to the big question: "how long does it take to build a website?"

• Budget Control: It stops 'scope creep' in its tracks, which is the sneaky process where extra features get added, increasing the final bill.

To put it bluntly, a few days of focused planning at the start can easily save you weeks of delays and thousands of pounds. It is the foundation of every successful launch.

Getting Your Website Ready for Launch Day

With the main development finished, you might think we are ready to go live. Not quite. This is where we shift from building to polishing. We make sure your new website does not just work, but performs brilliantly from the moment it is live. The big focus here is on site speed, because no one has the patience for a slow-loading page.

This final stage is all about careful optimisation. We get under the bonnet to refine code, compress images and test server performance to make the site as fast as possible. A fast website is not just a technical detail. It is a key part of keeping your visitors happy and interested.

Think about it this way: a one-second delay in page load time can reduce sales by 7%. That has a real impact on your business, which is why we take this final step so seriously.

Final Checks and Polishing

This last round of testing is what separates a good launch from a great one. It is not just about giving visitors a smooth experience, but also about showing quality to search engines like Google. For a local company, a fast, reliable site is the first step to being found online. Our guide to local SEO for service businesses covers this in more detail.

Our pre-launch checklist is very thorough, but it always covers these key points:

• Speed Optimisation: Every image is compressed, and the code is fine-tuned to make sure pages load in a flash.

• Browser Testing: We make sure the site looks and works perfectly on all the major browsers, like Chrome, Firefox and Safari.

• Mobile Checks: With so many people browsing on their phones, we double-check that every single page is perfect on any screen size.

Flipping the switch is the easy part. A successful launch means showing off a website that is polished, professional and ready to start winning you business from day one. This final push is how we get you there.

Your Top Questions About Website Timelines, Answered

Over the years, after launching more than two hundred websites for UK businesses, we have found that the same questions tend to pop up. Let's get straight to them with some honest, simple answers based on our experience.

How Can I Make the Process Go Faster?

You absolutely can, and it often comes down to one thing: being prepared. The biggest way to keep a project moving is to have your content (your text, images and brand files) ready to go before we even begin.

Think of it like building a house. If the bricks and windows are not on site, the builders cannot do much. It is the same for us. Quick decisions and fast feedback on designs also work wonders for keeping things moving. A clear vision from day one helps us avoid those time-wasting changes later on.

Is Redesigning a Site Quicker Than Building One From Scratch?

It can be, but it is not always guaranteed. Sometimes, a redesign can reveal hidden problems, especially if we are dealing with an old system to move your content.

On the other hand, if your content structure is staying mostly the same and you just want a new look, then yes, the process can be much quicker. You already have the foundations in place. We are just building a much nicer house on top of them.

The real project killers? Waiting for content and delayed feedback. While the technical development is often the longest single phase, it is the communication back and forth that decides if a project hits its deadline or drags on for months.

Ready to get a clear, realistic timeline for your new website? Milktree Agency builds high-performing websites that turn visitors into enquiries. Start with a free discovery call to find out how quickly we can get you live.