How long does it take to build or design a website?

I think this mainly depends on the client. Some clients have deadlines and timetables, some don’t. Some clients get everything that you need right away and some take their sweet time.

One of the longest periods of time during website development is the initial mockup design phase. Often, I will design 1 or 2 mockups for a client. Sometimes I will do 1 mockup and show it to the client – they like it, but they want to tweak it. This back and forth cycle can take up too 2 weeks easy. Make a change – show it to the client – they get back to you in a day or two – make another change – show it to the client, etc. Some clients are pickier than others. That’s not a bad thing, it just means that as a designer I need to try and understand exactly what it is the client is looking for.

Another time killer during web site design is waiting on content. When the website design is complete and then you say, ‘ok, I need to know everything you want to say on the homepage’.

Writing copy for a website is hard, I’ll admit it. I don’t like doing it either. But it is important to say the right thing and so many clients spend a good amount of time thinking over exactly what they want to say.

Sometimes it’s not always copy – sometimes it’s waiting on images. I did one website for a client who wanted a different header image on every page. So that client went to a stock photography site and hand picked every image they wanted. Not saying that was a bad thing, just saying that kind of stuff takes time. Searching for the right image can take awhile, trust me – been there.

But, I have to be honest, we designers can also kill some time as well. I am very picky about my web designs. If I don’t like it, I don’t show it to the client. I have to like it too. I often do multiple versions of a design until I get it just right. This can take a week easy.

My general rule of thumb is about a month for a basic 5 – 10 page website. I figure a week for the design phase, a week waiting for content, another week for popping in content and then the last week is for final review by the client and any last minute changes and updates before going live.