How Long Does It Actually Take to Build a Small Business Website?

"How long will this take" is one of the first things every client asks, often because they're working around a launch date or a season.

The realistic range

For a typical small business website, around 5 to 10 pages, custom design, not e-commerce, most agencies and freelancers quote somewhere between 4 and 8 weeks from kickoff to launch. Simpler sites move faster. Anything with bookings, e-commerce, or custom functionality takes longer.

What the timeline looks like

• Discovery and planning (week 1): understanding your business, your audience, and what the site needs to do.
• Design (weeks 2 to 3): structure, layout, and look, usually with a round or two of feedback.
• Build (weeks 3 to 5): turning the design into a working, mobile-friendly site.
• Content and SEO setup (overlapping): copy, images, page titles, and basic technical SEO.
• Review and launch (final week): testing everything, fixing what needs fixing, and going live.

What slows it down

Timelines rarely slip because of the agency. They slip because of waiting on content. Photography that hasn't been taken yet, copy that needs writing, feedback that takes two weeks to come back: each can add real time to a well-planned project. Having your content ready before the build starts is the single biggest thing you can do to keep things on schedule.

Setting your own timeline

If you have a hard deadline, a launch event, a seasonal push, an investor meeting, say so upfront. Most designers can work around it if they know from day one rather than week four.

Got a date in mind? Tell us what you're working towards and we'll tell you honestly whether it's realistic.