"How long will this take?" is one of the first questions on almost every scoping call, and it deserves a real answer instead of a vague "it depends." Here's what timelines actually look like, and what actually moves them.
Realistic timelines by project type
- Simple 3-page site: 1–2 weeks
- Custom 6-page business site: 3–4 weeks
- Larger site (10+ pages, CMS, animations): 5–6 weeks
- E-commerce store (Shopify or WooCommerce): 2–4 weeks depending on catalog size
- Custom web app with backend/user accounts: 6–10+ weeks
These assume a scoped, fixed-price project, not an open-ended retainer.
What actually happens week by week
For a typical 4-week custom site:
- Week 1: Discovery, content gathering, and initial design direction (usually 1-2 homepage concepts)
- Week 2: Design refinement and approval across all pages
- Week 3: Development, turning approved designs into a working site
- Week 4: Content population, QA across devices, revisions, and launch
The two things that actually blow up timelines
It's rarely the design or development work itself that causes delays. In order of how often we see them:
- Slow client feedback. A design sitting in someone's inbox for a week is a week added to the timeline, dollar for dollar. Fast feedback loops are the single biggest lever a client controls.
- Missing content. Projects that start development before copy, photos, and product data are ready end up either delayed or launched with placeholder content that never gets swapped out. Gathering content in week one, in parallel with design, is what actually keeps things on schedule.
What doesn't usually cause delays
Scope creep gets blamed a lot, but on a properly scoped project (clear page count, clear feature list, agreed upfront) it's rarely the culprit. Estimated delivery times referenced across our own pricing page are typical ranges assuming a scoped project with timely feedback, not guaranteed deadlines regardless of how the project actually goes.
If you want a specific timeline for your actual project instead of a general range, tell us what you're building and we'll give you a real answer on the scoping call.