How Long Does it Take to Design a Website?

How Long Does it Take to Design a Website?

Getting a new website or redesigning an old one can be a daunting challenge for new or old companies. Gaining a foothold in the digital marketing world is complicated and time-consuming. Building a website comes in stages, and how long designing a website takes will depend on a lot of different factors.

How a finished website looks and performs can give a false impression that building such a thing is easy or, at the very least, quick. To create even a simple website, designers and developers work on more than just what a customer sees on the page. At the lowest level of web development, there are skilled independent contractors that work on some of the least complex custom websites. At the highest level, are the large marketing giants with developer teams. Regardless of the level your business is at; developers tend to use the same process for website development.

The process can be broken down into four main steps. Each of these steps is important to the development time and might vary in what they include depending on the needs of your website.

Timing is a big part of negotiating with a web developer to create a website. Here at Power marketing international, we design contracts and outlines specifically to fit the needs of our clients. This allows us the flexibility to optimize the design process and cut down on the amount of time it takes to make your dream website.

The first stage of development is often referred to as the development research and planning phase. Here at PMI, we believe this is the foundational stage of development. Through exploring the needs of our clients, we seek to build a working relationship that gives us the best possible view of what needs to be done for your business.

Stage one begins with outlining the plan for the website, what it will include, and its main goals. This will help in determining the scope of work to be done. The research will also be conducted to see the competition and current digital marketing landscape for your business’s field of expertise. Initial steps in this area may take a couple of weeks. It can take less time if communication is excellent and if your vision for the website is set in stone.

Stage 1 – Planning
Stage one is about getting the web designer and client to have similar pictures in mind of what the final product will look like and how it will function. In practice, this stage is all about questions and communication of ideas via email, zoom, or phone. This completes the planning phase of the operation.

Stage 2 – Design
Stage two is where planning becomes design. After those initial communications, stage two is generally for the web developer to create mockup content for the client to approve. It is not building the entire website but rather testing out the basics and getting the website’s image down.

A typical website stage 2 can take up to 3-4 weeks. Sometimes it is necessary to create multiple design options before committing to a specific style. This is an important stage of development because it will set the tone for the bulk web development in stage three.

Stage 3 – Development
Stage three takes all the planning and design work of the previous phases and uses it as a skeleton to hang the rest of the body of work onto. This is the main development portion of website design, and here is where all the technical work is done to ensure you have a fully working website.

This is the section of work where you can expect delays and setbacks as almost no project goes off without any problems. Good developers will give you an overestimate of the time this stage takes to accommodate for any of the issues that crop up during website development.

This part of the development will typically take the longest and come in around 1-3 months, depending on how large the project is. It is crucial that you stay in touch with a developer and be proactive about anything you are worried about or want to add to the project.

Stage 4 – Review
Before your website is ready for full launch, a final review is necessary to test functionality and assess if anything more needs to be changed to meet the client’s needs. This is where you will want to look at how every piece of your website functions and interacts with a customer and make the final decision to launch
Review can take a couple of days to about two weeks. With most projects, there are always last-minute changes and fine-tuning to give a final polish to the website look and content.

Bonus stage 5! – Launch
Launch day for your website can be nerve-wracking. Just remember that you and the development you might be working with have taken the necessary steps to ensure the best possible outcome. Problems and issues will continue to crop up throughout the life of a website, so don’t get nervous on day one as there are still things to iron out. No website is free from long-term maintenance and care.

All in all, the process for building a website generally ranges from a minimum of a few months to half or three-quarters of the year. Knowing this ahead of time can help you plan your business’s online debut more effectively.