TL;DR
Expect anything from 1-6 months for your initial website launch
- Your website timeframe depends on factors such as overall approach, website size, content and features
- Invest in your website to make it more worthwhile
- Your website will never truly reach the finish line, as maintenance and continuous improvements should be prioritised
Website creation from idea through testing to launch
The short answer is that you should expect anything from a month to half a year (and sometimes even up to a full year) to get your website launched. Many factors will affect this timeframe, so let’s have a look at the main ones:
Overall approach: DIY vs professionals
You might experience that a DIY approach is quicker than hiring a professional (yes, as a developer I still do admit that). Depending on your available resource and capabilities at hand, you could get your website up and running fairly quickly with a website builder and a generic template – without having to explain your needs and wishes to a third party. This could save you frustration if they misunderstand, or if they’re slow to respond and complete the tasks.
On the other hand, a professional web designer and developer will have a process in place. They will have the expertise to guide you on everything from choosing your platform/CMS, to site structure and overall look and feel including both UI (user interface) and UX (user experience). Saving you the trouble of having to fully learn a new platform, they already know where to start. And because they don’t rely on templates, the site will be built for you and your needs.
The DIY approach might be tempting if you’re not too invested in your website. If you just want a basic site with some information – a URL you can put on your business card to look more professional. But if you want to take it further – and unless you know websites well – I do recommend to do some research to get the right professional on board. This way, you can get guidance on UX, site structure, best practices, and even SEO – helping people actually find or even stumble upon your website through a Google search.
Website size
Kind of self explanatory, isn’t it? The bigger your site, the longer the timeline.
One-page websites are common these days, but more often than not, you’ll see that the websites you land on from that aforementioned Google search, have a lot more content than what is on their homepage (ignore the search results that are “Sponsored” as those are paid placements). Unless you are a well-known company, you will probably want more traffic to just “stumble upon you” – content is a good starting point to achieve this.
The bigger the website though, the more pages and layouts will be needed – that means even more design and development. A one-pager might take just a few days, but a website of 30 pages split across five main templates will take quite a lot longer. Very often, the initial build takes longer than the remaining templates and pages, so you don’t need to expect all of those 30 pages to take a few days each – unless they’re all very different and/or with highly complex visuals.
Depending on your brand guidelines and website goals, your visuals could take anything from days to weeks to create. Icons, illustrations, photography (stock versus professional photographer), video (film versus animations) – your options are many. The last thing you’ll want is a website that only has text and no visuals to break it up, so make sure you consider this.
Content
On the topic of content… You can write your content in one day. Or you can spend a couple of weeks – or more – to write copy that is true to your brand and that helps your customers.
Just make sure it’s relevant. Don’t write lengthy posts about your cat unless your business is cat related. Know your target audience – and speak to them! Focus on topics that hold value for them rather than your personal interests.
AI tools such as ChatGPT are a good starting point if you need some help, especially for your initial research and content feedback. But don’t let it do all the writing for you. I’ve reached a point where I can detect ChatGPT content within seconds just because of the way it’s written. Fancy words like “transformative journey” and “discover the impact” have taken over the internet and it doesn’t feel like anything the average Joe would say.
I have years of experience building several websites, and would be more than happy to help out with your content strategy.
Features
If you need a lengthy application, an online shop, real-time updates or other more advanced features, this will also require more development.
Should you need a longer application (more than contact details and a message), I highly recommend working with a professional to get help with the structure of the application. Field types, order of questions and overall flow can make a massive difference to your conversions and leads.
If working with a professional, how involved should I be?
The short answer is: very involved! It is your website. You know your business and customers better than most. A professional web developer can help define your website, but we need your involvement to get it right.
You also need to remember that if you are not responding and/or giving feedback in a timely manner, this will slow down both the creative and development process. If I send over a design for feedback, I cannot keep working on it until I hear from you and know whether or not you are happy with the overall direction.
What should the website process look like?
At Healthy Pixels, I’ve broken the website process down to four steps:
- Define the website: Identify goals, needs and requirements. Discuss domain, hosting and CMS. Get a detailed project plan including quote and expected timeline.
- Gather content: Writing content and getting visuals together. In a way it’s up to you how long this takes: If you have the resource available to get content together quickly, we can start the third step faster too.
- Design and development: A wireframe is created to put your content into a layout, before adding colours and visuals for your approval. This initial step is achieved in Adobe XD, without any code. Once you have approved, the actual development/coding starts, followed by testing.
- Launch: After thorough testing, the launch is a quick final step. With your final approval, we’ll agree on a launch date, and I’ll take care of the rest on that particular day.
Is there a stage after launch?
The truth is, your website will never fully reach the finish line. Even though you can expect launch within 1-6 months, you will always want to keep making improvements.
General maintenance is expected, and depending on your overall strategy you might wish to keep adding content to for example a blog or a knowledge hub. Consistent AB testing can also be an amazing tool that can teach you valuable information about how your visitors use your website.
Conclusion
While I understand you might be excited to get your website up and running yesterday now, I recommend you to be patient and give it the time and effort that it – and your customers – deserve. Do your research, get a strategy in place, and team up with a professional who can guide you through the process. Expect to spend a few months to get it ready.
At Healthy Pixels, you will be promised:
- A well-defined process with a transparent timeline
- An experienced designer/web developer who can help define and shape your strategy
- As few plugins as possible to optimise your website’s page speed and code
- An SEO strategy in place to help your site’s visibility
- A good and user-friendly CMS with a custom click-and-select builder
To discuss your options, why not get in touch with Healthy Pixels today for a no-obligation initial chat?
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