How Long Does it Take to Design a Website? Breaking Down the Timeline
Judgment gets thrown on businesses 75% of the time by consumers if their website reflects poorly. This is leaving business owners wondering…”How long does it take to design a website?” From bad functionality and lag times to poorly done mobile design or a bad design in general, businesses are bound to fail at web design.
It can take months to build something suitable for your brand if you aren’t sure how to pull it off. This is crucial time that businesses don’t want to waste not having an online presence.
97% of businesses rely on the internet for multiple things. These reasons aren’t only for web hosting and driving traffic. The chance for a website means relying on communication channels and fulfilling service orders.
A website is a lot more than a place where your potential customers land when they find your brand. It’s the digital face of your business and with technology today, it’s the operations, communications, and potential growth of it as well. Keep reading to learn exactly how long it takes to design a website and to get a look at the exact timeline for a project like this.
How Long Does It Take to Design a Website?
If we’re speaking generally, a website can take anywhere from one to six months to build if you’re taking the ‘from scratch’ approach. However, you want to keep in mind that building and designing a website are two different things. However, they both complement each other because neither is possible without the other.
Web design actually comes before the development of it all. In general, it takes anywhere from 10 to 14 weeks to design a website. This time frame represents the process from ideation to actual execution.
However, every project is different and many will vary. Throughout the design process, teams have to develop the scope of the project and visualize design elements. Then the design process begins and later the development portion.
It’s slightly more complicated than this but in a nutshell, it’s not too hard to follow. When wondering how to design a website, it’s best to better understand the process step-by-step.
Goal Identification: Time Depends On the Team
Your goals should include what your team wants to accomplish but it should also consist of actual SMART goals. This means that you should try to convert your preset goals into smart versions. This means making them specific to something attainable.
Make them measurable so that you can monitor your progress and use them as metrics later on. Ensure they’re relevant to your business model and goals. Your project goals should be timely as well because you want to limit downtime for your web design.
Additionally, during the goal identification process, be mindful of evaluating your goals as you move through the process and reviewing them at the end of each stage to determine any changes needed before they’re published.
Project Scope Layout: Four to 12 Weeks
The scope of the project will involve turning your goals into a project timeline. It’s essentially a written plan that the designer will use as directions as they move your goals from ‘ideas’ to actual implementation. Overall, it’s the blueprint the designer will need to complete the project.
Another way to look at it is as a layout of your requirements. Writing out your must-haves ensures that nothing is left out. It’s also a written account of all major deliverables you can expect upon completion.
Complete Web Design: 10-14 Weeks
Web design completion comes after all segments of the project become combined. An effective design will consist of a design structure that’s easy to follow and has good functionality. The main thing that will help your site succeed is to make sure you have an engaging aesthetic.
You will also want your design to fit into mobile use cases and to have all of your content be concise and clear to consumers. There are a few key things that a professional designer won’t let you overlook. Less is more is one of those things meaning that while your design should be engaging and match your business, also needs to be simple so it doesn’t overwhelm consumers.
You will need an innovative design that isn’t too distracting and your design should be done with the user in mind and not just your preference. Time to completion will fluctuate based on the size of your team and this step isn’t a standalone portion of the process. It’s actually a compilation of all the steps that’re involved to help you reach completion.
Content Creation: 15 Minutes-15 Hours
Content creation is something that can be worked on by your content team while a designer is implementing your site requirements. This isn’t necessarily something that will fall onto the designer, although the structure of how you want your content to be displayed on your site will.
This is why it’s important to at least have an idea of how you want your content to be displayed if you haven’t come up with a finalized copy before the design starts. This part of the process can be done quickly to get a preliminary draft but could take hours to come up with a finalized copy.
Visualization Process: 48 Hours
This part of the process is when you’re visualizing your design ideas. A lot of the time, it doesn’t take more than a couple of days to pull off. Visualization is also another way to explore different design elements.
Walking through your design concept with a professional can make it more likely that your design will resonate well with your target audience. This portion of the project focuses on the aesthetics of the project. This will include things like imagery and font choices. You will also need to decide on the color scheme and other elements you want to see on your finished website.
Web Development: 16 Hours
Front-end web development could take less than a day for experienced developers. For some, it could take even less time. However, for front and back-end development with revision needs, it’s more likely to take anywhere from one to six months.
Keep in mind that with development, you’re pairing functionality with design. Coding can be difficult for those that aren’t experienced and this is one of the top reasons companies decide to work with professionals.
Design Execution and Website Launch: 10-14 Weeks
Executing your website is similar to the previous step where you will be completing your design but this is the second form of completion. At this point, the actual development of the site’s done which means your design and the functionality of your site are combined. At this stage, you will be able to assess how your site looks and works as a pre-launch product.
Grouping the Process Into Four Primary Stages
As far as designing a website goes, the process is often broken into two main stages. These stages will consist of;
- Design layout; the architecture of the site
- Content and SEO development
- Multimedia implementation
- Web launch preparation and execution
During the design process, this is when teams decide on the theme of the site. This will involve configuring the layout of the website itself. Putting together the content often comes before the graphics.
However, keep in mind that during the architectural portion of the process, a lot of UX research and UI placement is done. Content creation will come after the actual design, but it’s a crucial step in the lifecycle of this type of project. The content you create will fill in the outline you create for the design.
It’s the part of the project where you get a better idea of how your site’s information will look in the design. Graphics and color decisions will often follow. While this is the usual order of web design, a lot of teams already know the theme and color scheme they want to work with.
A lot of the time, the multimedia portion is done before the content and even before the design depending on how far along you are with the ideation portion of things. Lastly, the website launch follows. This stage consists of revision needs, site analysis, and a soft launch of your site.
The soft launch allows you to test out functionality and design response. Each of these stages can vary in how much time it will take to complete. Overall, it shouldn’t take longer than 3.2 months and this is often representing if you aren’t already experienced with web design.
Why Working With a Web Designer Is Beneficial
Working with a professional web designer will streamline your project and get it done quickly. You will have a higher chance of achieving increased revenue through your site and getting more traffic than if you took a DIY approach.
The main thing is that your site will have a better opportunity to get higher rankings on Google. Also, designers make it easier to maintain brand consistency and give off a strong first impression. With all of these advantages, businesses are wondering about the cost to design a website and it depends.
A web designer could charge anywhere from $30 to $80 per hour and sometimes more. Keep in mind that when you hire a website designer, some may even charge a weekly rate or base the price on the project itself. It just depends on the designer and the company.
Regardless of the hourly rate, you will see ROI quickly, save time, and sustain your resources for other projects. Working with professionals through an experienced group such as ETOS Consulting LLC can help with this.
Turning Ideas Into Designs
Business owners are often asking, “How long does it take to design a website?” The truth is, it depends on your idea and the designer you’re working with. Some projects are seemingly simple while others are more complex but you can maintain simplicity with a professional designer.
To learn more about leveraging your business ideas, keep reading our helpful content.
