How long does it take to build a website?

A typical Stryx website project takes about 6 to 8 weeks from the signed agreement and paid invoice to launch. That is for a standard business website. An online shop, a site with a booking system or a site that connects to other software usually takes longer. A single landing page takes less.

The number of pages matters less than most people expect. What moves the date is how much has to be decided, written, approved and connected.

What happens in those weeks

A website project runs through the same stages whatever its size. Some overlap, and the order can shift, but none of them can be skipped.

1. Research. Goals, audience, keywords, competitors and content gaps. The research sets the page list, and the page list sets the scope.
2. Structure and content. The sitemap is agreed. The words and images for each page are gathered or written.
3. Design. Layouts are designed desktop-down and then checked at every screen size.
4. Build. The site is built on a staging server, so the live site stays untouched until launch.
5. Review. The client goes through the staging site and sends changes.
6. Pre-launch checks. Forms, tracking for enquiries, calls and bookings, redirects from old URLs, and speed on phones and desktops.
7. Launch. The new site replaces the old one, and the checks are repeated on the live address.

The Stryx process page sets out these stages in more detail.

What makes a website take longer

• Content that is not ready. A page cannot be finished without its words and images. Content and feedback are the parts the client controls, so this is where a timeline most often stretches.
• Slow or split feedback. Changes that arrive from several people over several weeks, and contradict each other, cost more time than the changes themselves.
• Scope added mid-project. A new section, a new language or a new feature added after design is approved moves the launch date.
• Online shops. Products, variants, shipping rules, tax settings and order emails all need to be set up and tested. Payment providers also verify a business before it can take payments, and that runs on the provider's timetable. See the guide to payment gateways in South Africa.
• Bookings and integrations. Connecting a website to a booking engine, a property management system or accounting software depends on what the other system allows and on how quickly its support team answers.
• Replacing an existing site. Old content has to be moved and every old URL mapped to a new one, so that visitors and search engines are sent to the right place.
• Regulated content. Sites in fields such as healthcare need an extra round of review before the copy is final.

What makes a website go faster

• One decision maker. One person who collects feedback and gives a single answer.
• Content early. Text, photos, logos, team details and logins handed over at the start, not at the end.
• Agreed review windows. A fixed number of days for each round of feedback, kept by both sides.
• A must-have list. Decide what the site needs on launch day and what can follow in a second phase.
• Access sorted out first. Domain, hosting, analytics and any third-party accounts, with working logins.

How the type of site changes the timeline

• A landing page for a campaign is shorter than the typical range, because there is one page, one goal and little content.
• A standard business website with service pages, an about page, a contact page and a blog or resources section is the 6 to 8 week project described above.
• A corporate website with many stakeholders takes longer, mostly because of approvals.
• An online shop takes longer, in proportion to the number of products and the complexity of shipping and payments.
• A site with bookings or integrations takes longer, and part of the timeline depends on the third party.

A template site on a do-it-yourself builder can be online much sooner, because most of the decisions have already been made for you. The trade-off is covered in WordPress vs Wix and Squarespace.

When the clock starts

A timeline counts from the day work starts, not from the first email. At Stryx, a quote follows an initial discussion, and work starts once the agreement is signed and the invoice is paid. Clients follow progress in a client portal, so it is always clear which stage the project is in and what is waiting on whom.

The firm date for a specific project comes from its scope. Ask any designer you speak to for a timeline in writing that lists each stage, who is responsible for it and what happens to the date if content or feedback arrives late.

To talk through a project and its likely timeline, get in touch with Stryx.