On this page
Where the weeks of a business site go
A six-week business site, per phase
- Copy and structure 2 weeks
- Build and integrations 1.5 weeks
- Scope 1 week
- Design 1 week
- Test and launch half a week
Lead time per type of siteUpper end of the usual range, in weeks
- One-pager2 to 3
- Business site4 to 8
- Webshop6 to 12
- Site in three or four languages6 to 12
Building is rarely the slow part
People who commission a site expect the build to take long. In practice a project waits more often for copy, photos, a logo in the right format, a decision on the prices to show, or a second round of feedback. No independent measurement of average build time exists; agencies all name late content as the biggest delay. The lead times here are therefore guide values from our own work, not promises. What a site of that size costs is in website cost; for a store read how long does it take to build an online store.
What you do in those weeks
For a business site of twelve pages:
| Work | Who | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Fill in the brief | you | 2 hours |
| Supply or review the copy | you | 6 to 12 hours |
| Gather photos, or a shoot day | you or us | a day |
| Two feedback rounds | you | 2 times 1 hour |
| Design, build and test | us | 2 to 4 weeks |
Your share is one to two working days, spread over a few weeks; plan them ahead and you reach the short end of the range. A one-page brief saves weeks, and the website brief template has the questions ready. If imagery still has to be made, book the shoot at once. Rebuilding an existing site? Run the SEO checker first, so you know which pages Google knows and which addresses need a redirect; see moving a website to a new host. A site in several markets adds translation per language, as multilingual website development explains.
Three examples from our work
This site, vbsmarketing.eu, went from the first line of code on 18 October 2026 to 169 live pages in two languages on 20 October: every decision sat with us, and every figure was already in a fact file. For SN Group, a builder in Ghent, an extension with new guides went live a day after the start. For Zuco Logistics, domain, certificate and platform were online in 57 minutes, because the platform already existed. Speed comes from preparation, not haste.
After launch Google needs time; how much is in how long until my website shows on Google. Count the yearly cost of domain, hosting and upkeep too, in website cost per year. Torn between building it yourself and hiring, see the time each route takes in build your website yourself or hire; unsure whether you need a site yet, read do I need a website.