--- title: "How Long Does It Take to Build a Website? Real Timelines" description: "Website timelines from Shopify, HubSpot, Wix and agencies that publish them: by site type and phase, what delays projects and a sample 12-week schedule." url: "https://dardo.studio/en/blog/how-long-to-build-a-website/" language: "en" translations: {"es":"https://dardo.studio/es/blog/cuanto-tiempo-toma-hacer-una-pagina-web/","pt":"https://dardo.studio/pt/blog/quanto-tempo-leva-para-fazer-um-site/"} updated: "2026-10-18T00:03:02.984Z" --- [Blog](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/) # How long does it take to build a website? Timelines by type and phase, from published schedules Published schedules put a professional marketing site at 10 to 16 weeks and larger builds at 4 to 6 months. Content and approvals, not code, set the date. By [Nicolás Cerón](https://dardo.studio/en/nicolas-ceron/) ·October 17, 2026 ![The inside of a clock tower at night: a glowing clock face without numbers, brass gears and ladders, and a long pendulum with a red bob at the centre.](https://dardo.studio/_astro/01M56524Y3YR39GQGJ8ARCBAAF_UGR5e.webp) ## Key takeaways - Published agency schedules put a 10 to 20 page marketing site at 10 to 16 weeks from kickoff, and e-commerce or heavily integrated sites at 16 to 28 weeks. - Platforms' own guides range from one week to five months (Shopify), two to five months with a professional (Wix) and five to six months including hiring the developer (HubSpot). - Shopify says a simple store migration might take 6 to 8 weeks and an enterprise replatform 6 to 12 months; thoughtbot lists 8 to 12 weeks for a web app's first version. - Late content and slow approvals are the delays published schedules name most; integrations, legal review and fixed waits such as domain transfers come next. - Fixed waits can't be rushed: registrars may refuse a transfer within 60 days of registration, nameserver changes can take 24 hours and Google's crawling a few weeks. ## The short answer A professionally built marketing website usually takes 10 to 16 weeks from kickoff to launch, and a larger or more custom one four to six months, judging by the schedules agencies and platforms publish. A landing page on a builder can go live in days; moving a simple online store to Shopify takes 6 to 8 weeks and an enterprise replatform 6 to 12 months; a web app's first version, 8 to 12 weeks with a small team. The build itself is rarely what sets the date. The published schedules keep naming the same delays: content that arrives late and slow approvals, with unscoped integrations and legal review close behind. A project that starts with final copy and one decision-maker avoids most of them. ## What the published timelines say We read the timelines that platforms and agencies publish on their own sites, on 17 October 2026. They measure different things (some count hiring the developer, some start at kickoff), so the table notes what each includes. | Source | What it describes | Published timeline | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [HubSpot](https://blog.hubspot.com/website/how-long-to-build-website) | A professionally built site, from choosing a developer to launch | 5 to 6 months | | [Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/blog/build-website-timeline) (May 2025) | Any website, simple to complex | One week to 5 months: a few simple pages on a pre-built theme in a week, a complex custom site 4 months or longer | | [Wix](https://www.wix.com/blog/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-a-website) (updated September 2026) | A site built with a professional | 2 to 5 months | | [iDesign](https://idesignny.com/blog/how-long-does-a-website-project-take), web design agency (May 2026) | Small business site, 10 to 20 pages, no e-commerce | 10 to 16 weeks | | iDesign | E-commerce, custom features or significant integrations | 16 to 28 weeks | | iDesign | Enterprise or highly custom | 6 months to a year | | [Huemor](https://huemor.rocks/blog/website-design-process-and-timeline/), web design agency (updated June 2026) | Its full design-and-build process, pre-kickoff to post-launch | About 26 to 36 weeks, adding its phases | | [Webflow](https://webflow.com/blog/6-week-website-launch) | Grafit's rebuild of Callstack's site, a case Webflow published | 6 weeks | The spread is wide because the projects are. Two things narrow it: the type of site, and how much of the content and decision-making is ready before the build starts. ## How long each type of site takes | Type of site | Typical published range | Sources | | ------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | Landing page | 1 to 2 days on a builder; 5 business days to 3 weeks with a studio | Wix; Macgráficas, Newemage and Cangrejo Digital (below) | | Small business site (5 to 10 pages) | 2 to 8 weeks with a studio, when content is ready | Cangrejo Digital, Newemage | | Marketing site with a CMS (10 to 20 pages) | 10 to 16 weeks | iDesign | | Online store | 6 to 8 weeks for a simple Shopify migration; 12 to 16 weeks with complex integrations; 6 to 12 months for an enterprise replatform | Shopify | | Web app MVP | 8 to 12 weeks for a first version with three people | thoughtbot | Some notes on the rows: - **Landing pages.** Wix says landing pages and one-page sites "can sometimes take one to two days" on its builder. Studios that publish delivery times quote more: in Colombia, [Macgráficas](https://macgraficas.com/diseno-paginas-web-bogota/) lists 5 to 8 business days and [Cangrejo Digital](https://cangrejodigital.com/diseno-web/cuanto-tiempo-creacion-pagina-web/) 1 to 3 weeks; in Mexico, [Newemage](https://newemage.com.mx/diseno-web/paquetes/) lists 1 to 2 weeks for its basic package. The difference is the copy, the design and the tracking, not the page count. Our guide to [landing page cost](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/landing-page-cost/) covers what each level includes. - **Small sites.** Cangrejo Digital, updated 29 September 2026, gives 2 to 4 weeks for a 5 to 8 page site and 4 to 8 weeks for a corporate site, and adds one to three weeks if the copy and photography still have to be produced. - **Stores.** Shopify's guide to managed migrations, published 19 March 2026, says "simple stores might complete in 6–8 weeks" and "enterprise migrations with complex integrations typically run 12–16 weeks" ([Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/blog/white-glove-migrations)). Its enterprise guide puts a full enterprise replatform at 6 to 12 months and a custom rebuild at 18 to 36 months or more to an initial launch ([Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/blog/platform-modernization)). - **Web apps.** thoughtbot, a product design and development consultancy, lists "Idea to Version 1" with three people over 8 to 12 weeks as a typical project in its [public playbook](https://thoughtbot.com/playbook/the-thoughtbot-way/operations/business-development), and writes that an MVP used to take "three or four months" before AI tools compressed prototyping ([thoughtbot](https://thoughtbot.com/blog/how-to-launch-a-lovable-mvp-in-2026)). Our guide to [web app development cost](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/web-app-development-cost/) covers scope and budget. ## How long each phase takes Three published schedules break the work into phases. They overlap in practice: content usually runs alongside design, and launch preparation alongside the build. | Phase | iDesign | Shopify | HubSpot | | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Discovery and planning | 2 to 4 weeks | 1 to 3 weeks (goals and information architecture), after 1 to 2 weeks choosing the CMS and hosting | 1 to 3 weeks of goal setting, then 1 to 2 weeks for an action plan | | Content | 4 to 8 weeks for a 15-page site, alongside other stages | Not listed separately | Not listed separately | | Wireframes and design | 1 to 3 weeks of wireframes, then 3 to 6 weeks of visual design | 1 to 2 weeks of low-fidelity and 2 to 3 weeks of high-fidelity wireframes | 2 to 3 weeks of mockups and feedback | | Build | 3 to 8 weeks | 4 to 10 weeks | 1 to 2 months | | Testing and launch | 1 to 2 weeks of QA, then 1 to 2 weeks of launch and stabilization | 3 to 5 days | 1 to 2 weeks of review and revision | Huemor's process is longer at most steps: 4 weeks of discovery, 8 to 12 weeks of creative work, 8 to 12 weeks of development and 2 to 4 weeks of pre-launch checks. The difference is scope: research, prototypes and content strategy are part of its process. When you compare quotes, compare the phases, not the end date. ## What delays website projects most The published schedules agree on the causes, and none of them is code. 1. **Content.** iDesign calls content that doesn't arrive on time "the single most common cause of timeline slippage." Wix: "Most website projects run long for reasons that have nothing to do with the tools. The biggest one is content." Copy, photography, product data, case studies and translations each need an owner and a date. 2. **Approvals.** Each review that takes a week to come back adds a week. Extra reviewers add rounds: Wix notes that one reviewer moves faster than three people commenting in separate rounds. HubSpot warns that development "could stretch to three or even four" months if you keep adding changes. 3. **Integrations.** CRM, booking, payments, inventory and single sign-on are engineering work, and their access, documentation and test accounts come from third parties. Shopify's managed-migration guide budgets one to two weeks of discovery just to map a store's data, integrations and technology stack. 4. **Legal and compliance.** Privacy policy, terms, cookie consent and accessibility statements need someone with authority to sign them off. Book that review in the first weeks, not the last. 5. **Fixed calendar waits.** Some steps can't be rushed, so start them early: | Step | How long it can take | Source | | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Moving a domain to another registrar | Not possible within 60 days of registration or of a previous transfer, if the registrar refuses; the transfer code must come within 5 calendar days of the request | [ICANN](https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/name-holder-faqs-2017-10-10-en) | | Pointing a domain at new nameservers | Up to 24 hours for the registrar to update them | [Cloudflare](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/setup/) | | Google crawling new or changed pages | "A few days to a few weeks" | [Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/ask-google-to-recrawl) | ## How to speed it up without cutting corners - **Have the content before design starts.** Final copy for the main pages, real photos, the product or service list. Design approved against placeholder text gets redesigned. - **Name one decision-maker, and agree turnaround times.** Two business days per review keeps a 12-week plan at 12 weeks. Webflow's six-week example credits "decisive ownership" with removing "the usual delays." - **Use fewer unique layouts.** Thirty pages built from four templates ship faster than ten pages that each need their own design. - **Launch in phases.** Put the pages that sell on the first release; the blog archive, the resource center and the second language can follow. - **Choose standard integrations first.** A form that emails your team and writes to your CRM through a native connector ships in days; a custom sync with an internal system takes weeks. - **Start the fixed waits on day one.** Registrar access, DNS, payment-provider accounts, legal review. Speed has limits worth respecting. If a fast schedule means skipping the analytics baseline, redirects from the old site or testing on phones, it costs more later. If you're replacing a site that has search traffic, our [website redesign checklist](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/website-redesign-checklist/) lists what has to happen before launch. ## A sample schedule: one marketing site in 12 weeks This is an example, not a quote: a 15-page marketing site with a CMS, a blog, a contact form connected to a CRM, and an existing site to replace. It assumes the content owners deliver on the dates below and each review comes back within two business days. It sits at the shorter end of iDesign's 10 to 16 weeks. | Week | Work | What the client provides | | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------- | | Before kickoff | Brief, budget range, decision-maker named | Access to analytics, Search Console, domain registrar | | 1 | Discovery: goals, audiences, analytics baseline, content inventory | Interviews with sales and support | | 2 | Sitemap, URL plan, content plan with owners | Approval of the sitemap | | 3 | Wireframes for the main templates | Feedback within two days; copy drafting starts | | 4 | Visual direction on the home page | One consolidated round of feedback | | 5 | Design of the remaining templates and the component library | Drafts of home and service page copy | | 6 | Design approval; CMS content model set up | Final approval of the designs | | 7 | Build: components and templates | Remaining copy and images | | 8 | Build: CMS, forms, CRM connection, analytics | Test CRM account | | 9 | Build complete; content entry begins | Final copy for all pages | | 10 | Content complete; redirect map, metadata, accessibility pass | Review of the staging site | | 11 | QA on phones and browsers; speed and accessibility checks; fixes | Sign-off on legal pages | | 12 | Launch: DNS, redirects, Search Console, form tests | Someone with registrar access available | | 13–14 | Stabilization: fixes from real traffic, analytics checks | Reports of anything odd | Weeks 3 to 6 are where schedules slip. If week 5's copy arrives in week 8, launch moves by three weeks too. ## Before you ask for a schedule Write down the page list, who writes the content, the integrations and the date you need, and send the same brief to each studio so their timelines are comparable. Our [website brief and RFP builder](https://dardo.studio/en/tools/website-rfp-template/) does that in a few minutes, and the [website cost estimator](https://dardo.studio/en/tools/website-cost-calculator/) gives a published-price range for the same scope. When the proposals come back, our guide to [comparing design studios](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/compare-design-studios/) covers what to check beyond the date, and [how much a website costs in the US](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/website-cost-united-states/) puts the quotes in context. If you'd like Dardo to plan and build it, see [web design](https://dardo.studio/en/services/web-design/), [web development](https://dardo.studio/en/services/web-development/) or, for an existing site, [website redesign](https://dardo.studio/en/services/website-redesign/). ## Common questions **How long does it take to build a website from scratch?** With a studio, a custom-designed marketing site of 10 to 20 pages usually takes 10 to 16 weeks from kickoff, judging by the schedules agencies publish, and larger or more integrated sites four to six months or more. On a website builder with a template, a simple site can go live in days. Most of the difference comes from content and approvals, not from coding. **Can a website be built in a week?** A landing page or a small site on a builder can, if the copy, images and decisions are ready. Shopify's own guide says a simple site with a few pages can be built in a week using a pre-built theme. A custom-designed site with several templates, a CMS and integrations takes longer, because design, content and review rounds each need time. **How long does a website redesign take?** About as long as a new build of the same size, and sometimes longer, because the old site adds work: an analytics baseline, a content inventory, redirects for changed URLs and checks after launch. Plan the same 10 to 16 weeks for a mid-size marketing site, and more if the platform changes too. **What slows down a website project the most?** Content that arrives late is the cause published agency schedules name most often, followed by slow or multi-round approvals. Integrations with CRMs, payments or internal systems, legal review of privacy and terms pages, and access to the domain registrar are the next most common delays. **How long after launch does a website appear on Google?** Google says crawling can take from a few days to a few weeks. Submitting a sitemap in Search Console and linking to the new pages from pages Google already knows helps it find them. Appearing for competitive searches takes longer and depends on the content and links, not only on indexing. **How long does it take to build an online store?** Shopify says simple store migrations to its platform might take 6 to 8 weeks and enterprise migrations with complex integrations 12 to 16 weeks, while a full enterprise replatform typically takes 6 to 12 months. Catalog size, payment and shipping setup, and integrations with inventory or ERP systems drive the difference. ## Sources & further reading Sources behind this page, with further detail from the original publishers. - [HubSpot: How long does it take to build a website?](https://blog.hubspot.com/website/how-long-to-build-website) · blog.hubspot.com - [Shopify: How long does it take to build a website? Steps and timeline](https://www.shopify.com/blog/build-website-timeline) · shopify.com - [Wix: How long does it take to build a website?](https://www.wix.com/blog/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-a-website) · wix.com - [iDesign: How long does a website project take? (2026)](https://idesignny.com/blog/how-long-does-a-website-project-take) · idesignny.com - [Huemor: The ultimate website redesign process and timeline](https://huemor.rocks/blog/website-design-process-and-timeline/) · huemor.rocks - [Webflow: Inside a 6-week website launch](https://webflow.com/blog/6-week-website-launch) · webflow.com - [Shopify: White glove migration, a guide to fully managed replatforming](https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/blog/white-glove-migrations) · shopify.com - [Shopify: Platform modernization for commerce, a decision framework](https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/blog/platform-modernization) · shopify.com - [thoughtbot playbook: Business development (typical projects)](https://thoughtbot.com/playbook/the-thoughtbot-way/operations/business-development) · thoughtbot.com - [thoughtbot: How to launch a lovable MVP in 2026](https://thoughtbot.com/blog/how-to-launch-a-lovable-mvp-in-2026) · thoughtbot.com - [Cangrejo Digital: Cuánto tiempo toma la creación de una página web](https://cangrejodigital.com/diseno-web/cuanto-tiempo-creacion-pagina-web/) · cangrejodigital.com - [Macgráficas: Diseño de páginas web en Bogotá (prices and delivery times)](https://macgraficas.com/diseno-paginas-web-bogota/) · macgraficas.com - [Newemage: Paquetes de diseño web](https://newemage.com.mx/diseno-web/paquetes/) · newemage.com.mx - [ICANN: Name holder FAQs on domain transfers](https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/name-holder-faqs-2017-10-10-en) · icann.org - [Cloudflare DNS docs: Change your nameservers (full setup)](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/setup/) · developers.cloudflare.com - [Google Search Central: Ask Google to recrawl your URLs](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/ask-google-to-recrawl) · developers.google.com [Nicolás Cerón](https://dardo.studio/en/nicolas-ceron/) Nicolás Cerón is the founder of Dardo, a brand, web design and development studio in Bogotá, Colombia. ## Related articles - [**How to compare web design studios before you hire one: criteria, questions and red flags**A fair way to tell the studios on your shortlist apart: what to check on their live client sites, what to ask, and the red flags to watch for.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/compare-design-studios/) - [**Website redesign checklist: what to do before, during and after launch, with the SEO checks**A website redesign checklist by phase: what to export first, what to build, how to keep SEO, what to test at launch and what to watch for 90 days.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/website-redesign-checklist/) - [**How to hire web developers and designers in Colombia: vetting, contracts and payments for US companies**How a US company vets, contracts and pays a web team in Colombia: business checks, IP clauses that hold under both countries' laws, W-8 forms and red flags.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/hire-design-team-colombia/) - [**Nearshore web development in Latin America: 7 countries compared for US companies**Time zones, English scores, developer counts, holidays, payments and IP rules for Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile and Uruguay.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/nearshore-web-development-latin-america/) ## Keep exploring. - [Service · **Custom web design for the US and Latin America**](https://dardo.studio/en/services/web-design/) - [Your project · **Start a conversation**](https://dardo.studio/en/contact/)