How long does a website take? Timeline

Key takeaways

A typical company website takes 8 to 12 weeks at 404media from first call to launch; a lean landing page is much faster.
Content and feedback on the client side cause most delays, not development.
Shops, several languages and integrations add weeks, because they need set-up and testing.
You can shorten a project by delivering content early, naming one decision maker and fixing the scope in writing.

Short answer: a typical company website takes 8 to 12 weeks from the first call to launch at 404media. A single landing page can be live in a few weeks, an online shop or a multilingual site with integrations takes longer. The calendar is decided less by the developers than by how fast content and feedback arrive.

“How long will it take?” is the second question after the price. A fair answer depends on scope, but there are patterns. Below you see where the time goes, which factors stretch a project and what you can do to shorten it. The timeline figures for 404media projects are our own experience; other types are rough guide values, not promises.

Typical timelines by type of website

Type	Guide value	What takes the time
Landing page	a few weeks	Message and copy, one strong design
Company website (5 to 10 page types)	8 to 12 weeks (our typical project)	Strategy, content, design rounds
All-inclusive package with funding	3 weeks, under 2 hours of your time (our package)	Clear template, content delivered early
Online shop	longer than a company website	Product data, payment, shipping, tests
Multilingual or custom build	longer, set in the quote	Translation, integrations, back end

Guide values. The binding timeline is written into your fixed quote. See the [funded package](/en/website-funding).

Where the time goes

A project is a chain of phases, and each one waits for the previous one. In the order they happen: call and quote, strategy and structure, content, design, development and launch. We describe each one in the process in 7 steps.

Strategy and structure: one to two weeks, faster if goals are clear.
Content: runs in parallel but is the most common bottleneck.
Design: one or two feedback rounds; each round waits for your answer.
Development: the most predictable phase, because the plan is fixed by then.
Testing and launch: phones, browsers, forms, legal pages, redirects.

What slows a project down

Content arrives late: texts, photos and references that are written after the design starts.
Slow or split feedback: several people reacting at different times.
Scope growth: “can we also add…” without adjusting the plan.
Integrations: every connection to another system needs testing.
Old site migration: redirects and content transfer, see relaunch without losing SEO.

How to launch faster without losing quality

Fix the scope in writing, and put new wishes on a list for phase two.
Name one person who decides and collects feedback.
Deliver content early, or have the texts written for you.
Gather photos and legal details before the project starts.
Block time in your calendar for the feedback rounds.

If speed is the main goal, start with a lean first version and extend later. A good foundation, such as Next.js, lets you add pages and features afterwards without rebuilding.

Get a realistic timeline for your project

In a free 30-minute call we look at your scope and tell you honestly how long it will take. The timeline goes into your fixed quote.

Book a free call

Frequently asked questions