How Long Should It Take to Build a Website?

This is one of the most common questions we get: 'How long will it take?' The honest answer is: it depends on scope. But here's a realistic guide to what to expect.

Simple Brochure Site (4–6 Pages)

A clean, well-designed site covering Home, About, Services, Blog, and Contact — with professionally written copy and a few custom sections — typically takes 3–5 weeks from briefing to launch. Less if you're responsive with feedback. More if you keep changing your mind on direction.

Medium Business Site (7–15 Pages)

More pages, more complexity. Custom functionality, animations, integrations with CRMs or booking systems. Realistic timeline: 5–8 weeks.

E-commerce Site

Even a relatively simple Shopify store takes 4–6 weeks when you factor in product photography requirements, payment gateway setup, shipping rules, and copy for all the product pages. Complex stores with hundreds of SKUs, custom functionality, and integrations can take 3–6 months.

Custom Web Application

If you need something genuinely custom — a membership platform, a booking system, a marketplace — you're looking at months, not weeks. These projects require detailed discovery, architecture planning, and extensive testing. Anyone promising this in three weeks is doing something wrong.

Red Flags on Either End

Too fast: a full custom website delivered in one week usually means a template with your logo dropped in. These sites look generic, perform poorly, and often need to be rebuilt within a year.

Too slow: four months for a five-page brochure site is a sign of poor project management, unclear process, or a team that's overloaded. Ask for a detailed timeline with clear milestones before you sign.

What Slows Projects Down

• Waiting on client feedback and approvals
• Scope creep — adding new pages and features mid-project
• Content not ready (copy, photos, logos)
• Unclear decision-making — multiple stakeholders with different opinions

At Dab Hand Marketing, we've refined our process to be fast without cutting corners. Most of our sites go from brief to live in 3–4 weeks. Get in touch to find out what we can do for you.