How long does it take to build a website? A small business site of 5-10 pages typically takes 3-6 weeks, a larger custom-designed site 6-12 weeks, an online store 6-20 weeks depending on integrations, and a web application three to six months or more. These are typical ranges that vary with scope and team.
The honest answer, though, is that coding is rarely what sets the pace. Content, feedback and decisions from the client side decide whether a six-week project finishes in six weeks or sixteen.
How long does it take to build a website of each type?
These ranges assume a team working steadily on your project, with content and feedback arriving on time. They are typical market ranges, not promises, and a well-prepared client often lands at the short end.
| Project type | Typical scope | Typical timeline | What usually sets the pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing page | One page, one form, analytics | 1-2 weeks | Copy and approvals |
| Small business site | 5-10 pages on WordPress or similar | 3-6 weeks | Content and photos |
| Custom-designed business site | 15-40 pages, custom design, blog | 6-12 weeks | Design rounds and stakeholder feedback |
| Standard online store | Shopify or WooCommerce, up to a few hundred products | 6-10 weeks | Product data and payment setup |
| Store with integrations | Custom design, ERP or inventory sync, migration | 10-20 weeks | Third-party systems and data migration |
| Web application MVP | Logins, dashboards, workflows | 3-6 months | Scope decisions and testing |
| Large replatform | Hundreds of pages, several systems | 4-9 months | Content migration and redirects |
If a quote promises a custom-designed 30-page site in two weeks, ask what has been left out. If it says six months for a five-page brochure site, ask why.
What happens in each phase of a website project schedule?
Most projects move through the same phases, some of which overlap. Durations below are for a mid-size business site.
- Scoping and discovery (1-2 weeks). Goals, audience, pages, features, integrations and constraints agreed in writing.
- Sitemap, wireframes and content plan (1-2 weeks). Page structure and what each page must say, before any visual design.
- Visual design (1-3 weeks). Homepage and key templates first, then the rest, with an agreed number of revision rounds.
- Development (2-6 weeks). Templates built, CMS set up, forms and integrations connected, all on a staging site.
- Content entry and migration (1-3 weeks, overlapping development). Final copy, images, products and old pages brought across.
- Testing (1-2 weeks). Devices and browsers, forms, speed, accessibility, redirects and a client review.
- Launch and aftercare (a few days, then two weeks of watching). DNS switch, redirects live, analytics checked, early fixes.
A web application adds design of the data model, user roles and permissions, and more testing time. An online store adds product data, payments, shipping rules and test orders.
Why do website projects run late?
Most delays come from waiting: for content, for feedback, for access or for a decision. Very few come from code taking longer than expected.
The usual causes:
- Content not ready. Copy, photos, team bios, product descriptions and prices are needed before pages can be finished.
- Slow or conflicting feedback. Five people commenting separately on a design, days apart, can double the design phase.
- Scope growth. "While we are at it, can we add a booking system?" is a new project, not a tweak.
- Third-party approvals. Payment gateway merchant accounts need business documents and approval; in Nepal that means onboarding with providers such as eSewa or Khalti, elsewhere verifying a Stripe or PayPal account.
- Access. The domain or hosting is held by a former developer who is slow to respond.
- Legal review. Privacy policy, terms and cookie consent wording left until the final week.
- Holidays. Plan around public holidays on both sides; for teams in Nepal, Dashain and Tihar in the autumn; for many Western clients, late December.
How long does an e-commerce website take?
A standard store on Shopify or WooCommerce typically takes 6-10 weeks; a store with custom design, integrations or a migration from another platform commonly takes 10-20 weeks. The ecommerce website timeline stretches mainly because of data and money, not pages.
What adds time to a store build:
- Preparing product data: names, descriptions, variants, prices, weights and images for every item.
- Setting up payment gateways, including merchant approval and test transactions.
- Shipping zones, rates, tax or VAT rules and delivery partner integrations.
- Syncing stock with a point-of-sale or inventory system.
- Migrating customers and order history from an old platform, plus redirects for every product URL.
- Testing orders, refunds, emails and edge cases such as out-of-stock variants.
Our comparison of Shopify, WooCommerce and custom e-commerce covers how platform choice affects that list.
What does a realistic six-week schedule look like?
Here is an illustrative schedule for a 10-page service business website on WordPress, with custom design and a contact form connected to a CRM.
| Week | Developer's work | What the client provides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scope, sitemap, wireframes | Goals, brand files, access to domain and hosting |
| 2 | Homepage and service page designs | One set of consolidated design feedback |
| 3 | Remaining designs, development starts on staging | Final copy for all pages |
| 4 | Templates built, CRM form connected | Photos, team details, review of staging |
| 5 | Content entered, testing, speed and accessibility checks | Final review and a list of fixes |
| 6 | Fixes, launch, redirects, analytics checks | Sign-off and a named person for launch day |
Notice that the client has something to deliver every week. When any of those slips, the schedule slips by the same amount or more.
How to shorten a website development timeline without cutting corners
The fastest projects are the best prepared, not the most rushed.
- Write a clear brief before you ask for quotes; our website project brief template is a starting point.
- Start writing content while the design is being done, not after.
- Name one decision-maker who consolidates feedback from everyone else.
- Agree a feedback window, such as two business days per review round.
- Hand over domain, hosting and analytics access on day one.
- Launch a smaller first phase with the core pages, then add the blog, extra services or a second language afterwards.
- Use an established design system or theme as a base if a fully custom look is not essential.
How Meritbyte plans a timeline
Meritbyte Technologies is a Nepal-based web and software development company, and every project starts with a free scoping conversation that ends with a scope, a timeline and a number. The first milestone is fixed-price. After that, work runs in two-week blocks with a demo at the end of each, so the schedule is checked against reality every fortnight rather than at the deadline.
You get a staging URL you can open at any time and a written update every week that lists what we need from you next, which is where most timelines are won or lost. Because Nepal is UTC+5:45, work also moves forward during the night for clients in the Americas; see how that works for clients in the USA. Our web development and e-commerce development pages describe what each build includes. If you are collecting proposals now, our guide on how to compare web development quotes will help you check the timelines they promise.
Frequently asked questions
Can a website be built in one week?
A single landing page or a very simple site built on an existing theme can be, if all the content is ready on day one and one person approves everything quickly. A custom-designed multi-page site cannot be done well in a week, because design, content entry, testing and launch checks each need time. Be cautious of offers that promise otherwise without asking what you need.
How long does it take to build an e-commerce website?
A standard store on Shopify or WooCommerce typically takes 6-10 weeks, and a store with custom design, stock integrations or migration from another platform commonly takes 10-20 weeks. The biggest variables are product data preparation, payment gateway approval, shipping and tax rules, and testing orders and refunds. These are typical ranges that vary with catalog size and integrations.
Why does my developer need so long for a small site?
Building the pages is often only a third of the work. Scoping, design rounds, content entry, testing on different devices, speed and accessibility checks, redirects from an old site and launch all take time. Waiting for content and feedback usually adds more. Ask your developer for a week-by-week schedule showing their work and what they need from you.
What is the quickest way to get a website live?
Prepare your content before the project starts, name one decision-maker, give access to your domain and hosting immediately, and agree to launch a smaller first version with only the essential pages. Using a proven theme or design system rather than a fully custom design also saves weeks. Extra pages, languages and features can follow once the site is live.