There’s no single timeline that fits everyone: it depends on how many pages you need, how many special features you need and how quickly information, photos and approvals come in. A site with a few pages takes less work than one with bookings, several languages or an online store. Whoever builds it should give you a written estimate together with the quote, before you sign: if they don’t, ask for one.
The stages, start to finish.
A custom website almost always goes through the same steps. Some depend on whoever builds it, others depend on you.
| Stage | What happens | Who it depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Consultation | You describe your business and what you want to achieve | Both |
| Quote | You get a written proposal, with terms and a time estimate | Agency |
| Gathering materials | You send information, logo, photos and logins | You |
| Design | Pages, structure and style are decided | Agency |
| Copy | The content is written and checked | Both |
| Revisions | You review the preview and ask for changes | Both |
| Launch | The website goes live on your domain | Agency |
As you can see, half the journey runs through you. That’s why two similar websites can take very different amounts of time.
What timing depends on.
- The number of pages: a page for each service helps you get found on Google, but every page has to be planned, written and checked.
- The features: online bookings, custom forms, several languages or a catalogue take more work than a site that simply presents your business.
- The materials: if information and photos are ready, work flows; if they have to be hunted down, everything waits.
- The decisions: every choice you put off holds up the next step.
What really slows things down.
Delays rarely come from the technical work. They almost always come from simple things:
- Photos that never arrive, or have to be retaken because they’re dark or blurry.
- Lost logins: nobody remembers who manages the domain or the password for the old site.
- Copy waiting to be checked that sits untouched in a folder for ages.
- Too many people signing off, each with a different opinion.
- Feedback in instalments: one message today, another tomorrow, another next week.
- New ideas halfway through: an extra section or feature changes the project, and so the timeline.
How to get online sooner.
- Prepare your materials in advance. Story, services, price lists, opening hours, logo and photos: our guide on what to prepare before your website gives you the full list.
- Track down your logins. Domain, current website and social profiles: find out now who has them, not on launch day.
- Pick one person to make decisions. Ask for as many opinions as you like, but replies to the agency should come from a single voice.
- Collect your changes in one message. Go through the preview calmly, on your phone and on a computer, and send everything together.
- Start with the essentials. If you’re in a hurry, launch the pages you need first and add the rest later.
Time and price go hand in hand: more pages and more features mean more work. You’ll find what drives the price in our guide on what a website’s cost depends on.
Rebuilding a site you already have.
Rebuilding an existing website takes a few extra steps compared with starting from scratch. You need to check which pages bring in visitors, decide what to keep, point the old addresses to the new ones and move the domain without the site going dark. These checks protect your Google rankings, and they need to be built into the timeline. We cover them on the page about how to redesign your website without losing Google.
Beware of promises made sight unseen.
An exact deadline given before anyone understands your business is just a number pulled out of the air. A serious estimate comes once it’s clear how many pages and which features you need, and it’s written into the quote together with what you’ll be asked for, and when.
Timing with Aleryc.
Aleryc doesn’t give standard timelines: the estimate comes with the quote, before you sign, so you know when your website will be online before we even start. The process is always the same: a free consultation, a written quote, contract and deposit, questionnaire and materials, development, launch after the final payment, then ongoing support. The guided questionnaire gathers everything in one go, because what slows delivery down is almost always the materials. We write the copy; you provide the photos, following our guidance.
When the site is complete you see it in a private preview, visible only to you; revision rounds, meaning batches of changes grouped together before publishing, are 1 with Basic, 2 with Standard and 3 with Premium, and the site goes live once you’ve approved the preview. Write to us (in English, by email or WhatsApp) to find out more about our websites.