When bringing your small business online, you’ll likely wonder how long it takes to build a website. And if you’ve already done some research on this subject, you’ve probably found that there’s no concrete timeline. On average, websites take around one to six months to complete. That’s a huge range, but there are ways to ensure you’re staying on target without sacrificing quality.
Below are the factors that influence how long websites take to build.
DIY vs Developer
One of the main predictors of how long it will take to build your site is the approach you take. Are you going to hire a web developer to handle things for you? Or are you going to build your own site using a website builder?
If you create your own site, you can get it done sooner, but there is a learning curve involved. You’ll also be responsible for sourcing all of the images, adding contact forms and more. While website builders can streamline the process, they can be limited in their functions.
Hiring a developer will likely take longer due to the complexity of the site, but you can use this time to focus on other aspects of your business. Also keep in mind that the more pages you want, the longer your site will take. For a quick launch, it’s best to focus on the core pages of your site.
Available Resources
A great way to speed up the process is to have the resources you need within reach, such as a content writer, SEO expert, web developer and web designer. Magna Technology handles the web design, development and management, and we work alongside content writers and SEO teams that we can refer you to. This way, you’ll have all the resources you need in one place, streamlining the process.
Initial Planning
Having a plan is important, so consider your answers to the following questions:
- What is your target demographic?
- What type of website do you want?
- Will your website include a blog?
- What color scheme and design elements do you like?
As part of the initial design, it’s helpful to create a sitemap. This file provides information about your website – pages, videos, content, etc. Search engines like Google will also use your sitemap to crawl your pages more efficiently.
Content Creation
You don’t want to wait until after launch to create content. This should get done while your web developer is building your site. You’ll be able to add content later on, but you should still be launching your site with high quality content and a blog.
Some of the most important pages to focus on are your Homepage, About Us, Services/Products, Testimonials, Contact and Blog. Your SEO team should also provide you with a list of keywords to include in your web content.
Web Design
In this phase, your website starts taking shape. You can choose the format of your site. Do you want it to be a single scrolling page, a complex site with many pages or a mobile app? A mockup is typically created to show you what your website will look like.
Take time to review your mockup. If there are things you don’t like, now is the time to change them. How do the colors flow together? Do you like the theme and font? Does the navigation make sense? How does the site appear on different devices?
Testing and Review
Now it’s time to make sure that your website is functioning the way you expect. There are many elements that need to be tested before launching such as:
- Site speed
- User experience
- Content quality
- Plugins
After testing and making necessary changes, you are in the home stretch! It’s time to launch your website and build your digital footprint.
Speak with Our Web Developers Today!
There are many steps involved in building a website, and if you go with a professional web developer, you can expect them each to last a few weeks to a few months. To speed things up, you’ll want to have a cohesive team right away, along with a firm vision for your project.
It’s also important to be available to answer questions, approve content and provide feedback. This keeps the project moving along. Some clients even set up a dedicated email so that they don’t miss any communications.
To discuss your plans for a website, contact Magna Technology today. We build responsive websites and have hands-on teams that allow for a fast and optimized experience.
