How long does it take to build a website?

The short answer

A website built by a professional usually takes two to five months from first call to launch. That is the range in Wix’s guide to website timelines. Shopify’s timeline guide gives a wider span, between one week and five months, and puts the development stage alone at four to ten weeks.

Building it yourself is faster to start but not free: Wix says a small business site built yourself takes roughly 20 to 40 hours, spread over a few weeks. Bigger projects take longer. Clutch says most web design projects reviewed on its site last seven months. With our website development, the timeline is agreed in writing before work starts.

Timelines by type of project

Published figures, read on 23 October 2026. They describe the market, not any one project.

Why published timelines differ so much

The ranges above are wide because they measure different things. A builder template with your own words can be live in days. A custom design for a business with several services, a blog and connections to booking or payment tools takes months, and most of that time is spent waiting for decisions, words and photos rather than building.

Clutch’s seven months covers projects big enough to be reviewed on a directory. A small business site with six pages and a clear brief sits at the shorter end. Before you sign, ask for a written plan that names each stage, what you need to supply and by when, and what happens to the date if something arrives late.

The stages, and what slows each one

• Planning. Agreeing the pages, features and who the site is for. Slow when too many people have a say, or when nobody can decide.
• Design. Drawing the pages before anything is built. Slow when feedback comes in late or changes direction after sign-off.
• Content. Writing the words and gathering photos. This is the most common cause of delay, because it is the owner’s job and it competes with running the business.
• Building. Turning the approved design into a working site. Slow when features are added halfway through.
• Testing and launch. Checking the site on real phones and browsers, setting up tracking and pointing the domain. Slow when the domain login has been lost.

How the options compare

Descriptions of the other routes are general, and yours may differ.

How to get your site live sooner

• Write the words for your main pages before the project starts, even roughly.
• Pick one person to give feedback and sign off the design.
• Find your domain and hosting logins early.
• Launch with the pages you need now and add the rest later.

Where Blue Leopard Media fits

Business websites start at $1,499 for up to six pages, and growth websites at $2,999 for up to twelve pages plus a blog. The pages, features and timeline are agreed in writing before any work starts, and you approve every screen before any code is written. See the prices.