If you are looking into a website design, there are several factors that you might have already considered:

• What quality to look for in a designer
• Why you should invest in a website design
• How a professional website will grow your business
• What types of photos your designer needs for your website

But have you thought about the turnaround time for a web design project? It’s important when entering a time-consuming project to have realistic expectations. When I have an onboarding call with clients, I always make sure they understand how long my website design projects will take. Preparing clients ahead of time saves me a lot of hassle in the long-run when they get anxious for their finished project.

In this post, I want to go over the components that are involved in website design so you know exactly how long a website design should take.

So let’s get started!

Discovery & Planning: 2-3 weeks

For the ease of understanding a design timeline, let’s say your designer is available right away! Hooray! Your web design process has begun. The discovery phase is where we analyze and audit the current website or visualize your future website (if you didn’t have one before).

Most designers (myself included) have a clear process for building a website. I like to import boards into Asana so my clients can follow each and every step that I am at – and any steps that are coming up for them! This process helps give a rough expectation of how long the design will take and what the process will look like.

In this discovery period, we examine what you need for your website, including a site map that helps develop the content structure. Are you an eCommerce site, a blog, or a service-based business? This will determine how many pages you need, what design elements to implement, and your website’s functionality.

We will also look at the vision you have for your website. This is where Pinterest comes in! This tactic helps designers understand the look, tone, and feel that clients are wanting for their website design.

Design Wireframe: 1-2 weeks

Once we’ve established a clear plan and have discovered the direction of the website – it’s time to start designing! Usually, designers will create mockups or wireframes of what they will base the website design off of. This wireframe includes the layout of all your pages, including buttons (and where they lead to), contact forms, banners, and any other design elements that will be incorporated into the website.

You should have a good understanding of what your website will look like from the wireframe provided. But don’t worry! This is also where you can approve or reject any piece of the wireframe. It’s your website after all.

Development: 3-4 weeks

Now it’s time to start the magic show!  At this stage, we take all of the information and design elements you’ve communicated to us plus the wireframe you approved – and move forward with the development of your website.

Now I’ll let you in on a little secret. Designers usually like to overestimate the time-line for the development stage just in case we run into any problems or setbacks. We also like to surprise our client’s when we finish the project early!

Modifications & Final Review: 1-2 weeks

The final rounds of revision are super important. Make sure you look closely at each and every part of your web design to make sure you are 100% happy with it. This is where you can tell us to fix something or re-do a section. There are usually corrections during the finalization, but hopefully only minor – as the major issues were fixed in the earlier stages.

Additional Elements: 1-3 weeks

Copy

Now that the website is made and you are super happy with the result – we just have one final step… inserting your content! Whether you are writing the copy yourself or you’ve hired a copywriter for your website, designers need this last element to finalize the design.

I highly recommend that you start writing content as soon as possible (during the Discovery & Planning stage would be ideal). Writing or providing web content always holds my client’s up at the end of a design project every time. This hold up always results in a delay in the design process. So don’t procrastinate on this, please!

Photos

Did I mention photos? We need those beautiful shots of your smiling face to insert into your web design. Remember, photos of you scattered through your website is a sure-fire way to connect with your audience once they land on your site. Read my post about the 8 kinds of photos your designer needs for your website. It’s important to get those photoshoots set up and completed by the time your website design is being finalized for an optimal launch timeline!

Stock images are also a crucial element to web design. Ideally, you want your photos to match your branding colors and voice. Photoshoots (of you in them) are preferred, but general stock images can be used too. I even wrote a post on where to find high-quality stock photos.

Conclusion

I can’t emphasize enough how much your turnaround time for revisions, feedback, web copy, and photos will speed up the web design process. By staying on top of the design process and completing your tasks in a timely manner, a finalized (and awesome) website should be in your hands, ready to share with the world in about 8-14 weeks!

Just remember that a great website can take a significant amount of time to build.

Are you ready to start your website? I would love to talk to you more about your web vision and business needs! Book a Discovery Call with me here or check out my website portfolio here.