How long does website development actually take — a realistic timeline without the gloss

The most frequent question before a project starts, and the most frequently asked incorrectly: 'How long will it take?' Without context, the answer can be five days or six months. The reality for a business site — not a landing page, but a real business website with 10–20 pages, a CMS, English and Serbian versions, and a form integration — is between 6 and 12 weeks from brief to launch.

What fills that timeline: 1–2 weeks for discovery and brief (what the site needs to do, who the users are, what each page's goal is, what the competition has and lacks), 1–2 weeks for wireframes and UX architecture, 2–3 weeks for design (desktop plus mobile, all key pages), 2–4 weeks for development and CMS integration, 1 week for QA and corrections, and 1 buffer week for final content that is always late.

The most common reason timelines slip is not the agency — it is content on the client side. Text, photos, logos, data for the 'About us' section — these arrive at the last moment or not at all. We have clients who launched a site with placeholder content and replaced it months later. The solution: agree a content deadline in the contract, before design begins.

E-commerce projects have a different timeline. Product catalogue, payment gateway integration, shipping logic, tax and invoicing requirements — a serious e-commerce project runs from 12 to 24 weeks. If someone tells you 'one month' — ask exactly what they mean by a 'finished' site.

Rush projects are possible but expensive. A landing page with a form in 5–7 business days — possible. A full corporate site redesign in three weeks — possible with a dedicated team and premium rates for compressed timelines. Speed does not discount quality; it transfers the risk burden.

For a concrete estimate of your project — scope, timeline, and budget — book a free call. See our website development page and browse project examples.