Online purchases are anticipated to total more than 2.14 billion individuals this year. This statistic provides a straightforward lesson. You need an online presence, which begins with a website, for your brand to be successful.
While design and price are frequently the top priorities, there is another important factor. Time is of the essence when developing these frameworks for delivering digital material. More prospective clients are lost the longer it takes to develop, test, and launch your website.
But what would a reasonable schedule entail? What processes are involved in creating a website, and how long does each one take? What alternatives do you have for developing and launching your website? and how do they affect the total amount of time needed?
What you need to know about how long it actually takes to create a working website from scratch is provided here.
Website Development: An Overview
Although it is feasible to design and construct a website in-house, most companies choose to work with freelancers or professional web development companies to guarantee the dependability and usability of their website.
Many websites appear straightforward when seen from the outside: You’re done with a few menus here, a few buttons there, a few links, and a few photos, right?
Not exactly. Underneath the user interface that is visible to staff and customers, a lot is actually happening, including the use of HTML, CSS, PHP, Java, and other computer languages to achieve the desired outcome.
In reality, creating a website with a development company often involves six steps:
- investigation and selection
- Initially speaking and defining objectives
- Making a plan of action
- feedback and design mockups
- extensive development
- Review and amendment
Let’s examine each of these stages in greater depth and see how long they usually take.
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Research and Selection (1 week – 1 month)
The selection of your developer is the first stage in developing a website. This stage of the process could take a week to a month, depending on your requirements and spending capacity.
A brief comparison of various smaller website-building companies, for instance, may be all that is necessary to choose one and begin the process if you are a small business looking to build a straightforward webpage that gets your message and brand online. This stage could be prolonged by several weeks if you own or manage a larger organisation with several management levels participating in the decision.
The following crucial factors are the same in both situations: You want a development company that not only fits with the appearance and style of your brand but also has a proven track record for completing projects on time and within budget. The second factor is far more subjective, therefore it’s important to compare different service providers to choose which one best embodies your brand’s vision.
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Initial Communication and Goal Setting (1 – 3 weeks)
The next phase in the process after choosing a developer is to touch and specify fundamental design objectives.
There are two options here. Based on the details you offer regarding the vision, objective, and desired result of your brand, you may let the developer make all the decisions. Alternative: Have a rough notion of how you want the final result to look before you start.
Giving your developer a blank slate saves you time in the beginning, but it also requires them to spend more time examining your brand and developing multiple proposals. Developers can get started right away and provide detailed comments on what works, what doesn’t, and what could be added to increase the effect of your website if you provide a rough overview.
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Creating an Action Plan (1 – 2 weeks)
Developers will draught a number of fundamental website plans based on your specifications and share them with your team. You will examine these action plans to see if they meet your needs or fall short. You’ll also offer specific suggestions for additions or changes if they meet your standards, which will cause your developer to produce new plans.
As you consult with your developer to decide the best course of action, anticipate this stage to take one to two weeks.
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Design Mockups and Feedback (2 – 3 weeks)
The next step is feedback and design mockups. Consider these mockups to be a very simplified version of the finished website. These mockups, which are also known as wireframes, show the basic scale of items like text, photos, and buttons as well as where they will appear on your website.
Every page that will be present on your website should be mocked up. You’ll need a mockup of each page if you’re employing a developer to construct your homepage, about us page, service pages, and product pages.
Giving specific input at this point is ideal. Speak up if you disagree with something or the placement of an element or an image. Changing them is simple because no real progress has taken place as of yet. Changes are still conceivable if you wait until the primary development phase, but they may cause a major delay in your timeframe.
Before you decide on a design that is accepted, prepare for two to three weeks of emails and mockup iterations.
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In-depth Development (1 – 2 months)
The most important phase of website construction is next: in-depth development. Here, your developer will take the mockups you’ve approved and transform them into a finished website with all the material you’ve given the go-ahead for.
This step could take one to two months, or possibly more if obstacles arise, depending on the size and complexity of your website. Don’t be fooled: Nothing ever goes precisely as planned, but smart developers will factor in extra time to ensure that projects finish on schedule.
Your developer should be in touch with you frequently during this phase to give you updates on the project and status updates. Mention anything you notice that isn’t going according to plan or doesn’t resemble the mockup to them. Even though there may be slight delays, it’s preferable than having to take your entire website offline after it goes live since the problem wasn’t dealt with in a timely manner.
It usually takes one to two months to develop a website, but if you often add new content or make modifications, it may take three or even four months.
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Review and Revision (1 – 2 weeks)
Your developer will email your team a draught of your website for review and revision when it has been developed, tested, and optimised. The goal of this stage is to assess the finished product and make sure it functions and appears as planned.
Only modest adjustments will be required if earlier steps went according to plan; simple problems like font size or colour selection can be fixed without much difficulty before your site goes live. As your team examines the website and seeks out any problems, plan on this taking one to two weeks.
It is noteworthy? After evaluation and revision, website design and development are still ongoing. A few weeks or months from now, you might find upgrades or additions that would make your site function more efficiently. In order to ensure effective website operations, it is a good idea to look for a developer who gives both upfront and ongoing assistance.
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DIY Website Development
Overall, it may take five to six months to plan, develop, and launch a professionally built website.
You can choose to build a website yourself (DIY) if you can’t wait that long or don’t have the money to hire a professional website design company. Here, resources like CMS Hub and adaptable themes that make it simple to create and connect pages for a seamless user experience can help you quickly build and optimise new websites.
Your website design costs and launch time can be significantly decreased by using a DIY tool. Your website can be launched in a matter of weeks as opposed to months.
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Pros and Cons of DIY Website Development
Uncertain about whether to DIY or hire a professional for your website? Here are the benefits and drawbacks of both professional and do-it-yourself website development.
Professional Development
Pros:
- Your website can be totally customised by experienced experts.
- Before launching, websites are thoroughly tested and optimised.
- Your developer manages all alterations and adjustments.
Cons:
- pricier than do-it-yourself options
- a five- to six-month time frame from beginning to end
- constant communication is necessary to ensure consistency.
DIY Development
Pros:
- 1-2 weeks faster than professional development
- Less expensive – a lot of website construction tools are free or really inexpensive.
- Corporate assets and data are kept entirely internal.
Cons:
- few possibilities for customisation
- Teams must prioritise constructing the site over other tasks.
- It is necessary to conduct ongoing support and maintenance internally.
Take the Time to Get It Right
It’s time to ensure you have a trustworthy and responsive website that represents your brand and makes it simple for potential customers to locate what they’re searching for, regardless of the strategies you decide to employ.
If you choose DIY tools, your build should be more time and money efficient, but be aware that you’ll be constrained by particular templates and frameworks.
While you will have complete control over the design and content of your site if you choose professional development, plan on a schedule of five to six months and higher costs.
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