Key takeaways
- A five-page site takes about four weeks, a bilingual ten-page site about six, a shop about eight. Those are calendar weeks, not working hours.
- The build is rarely the slow part. Waiting for texts, photos and decisions is.
- You can cut a project by a third by delivering content before the design starts and by naming one person who decides.
The honest timelines
These are the lead times I put on my own packages, and they match what the Swiss market quotes for comparable scope:
| Project | Typical duration | What sets the pace |
|---|---|---|
| Start, 5 pages, one language | about 4 weeks | your texts and photos |
| Business, 10 pages, two languages | about 6 weeks | mockup approval, translation |
| Shop, up to 100 products | about 8 weeks | product data, payment setup, test orders |
| Migration of an existing site | about 3 weeks | access to the old site, redirects |
The working hours inside those weeks are far fewer: roughly 25 to 30 hours for a Start site, 60 for Business, 65 and up for a shop. The rest is waiting, reviewing and the gaps between.
What happens in each phase
Week 1: brief and structure. A conversation about what the site has to do, who it is for and what has to be on it. Out of that comes a page list, a rough wireframe and a list of what I need from you. This week ends with both of us knowing what "done" means.
Week 2: design. For Business and Shop packages, a mockup of the home page and one inner page, in the real colours and fonts, with your real texts if I have them. You approve it or send it back once. For Start sites the design happens in the build, with a review midway.
Weeks 3 to 4: build. Pages are built, content goes in, forms are connected, the legal pages are written, the site is tuned for speed. For two languages, the second language goes in once the first is approved. For shops, products are imported, payment and shipping are configured and test orders are placed, including a refund.
Final week: checks and launch. Every page on a phone and a desktop, every form sent, every link clicked. Then DNS, SSL, redirects from the old site if there was one, Google Search Console, and launch. You get a handover session and a written list of what was done.
The thing that delays nearly every project
Content. Not design, not development, not hosting. Texts that are "almost ready", photos that will be taken "next week", a decision between two options that waits for a partner who is on holiday.
I can build a ten-page site in a fortnight. I cannot build it without knowing what goes on the pages. A site waiting for content is like a kitchen waiting for the worktop: everything else is done and nothing can be finished.
Three things shorten a project more than anything I can do on my side:
- Deliver the content before the design starts. Rough texts are fine. Rough is editable; missing is not.
- Name one person who decides. Three opinions by email take a week to resolve. One person with a phone takes an afternoon.
- Book the review slots in advance. If you know the mockup arrives on a Tuesday, hold Wednesday to look at it.
When it takes longer, and when that is fine
Some things are worth the wait: professional photography, a translator who knows your trade, a logo that is being redone anyway. Build those into the plan at the start rather than squeezing them in at the end, and the timeline holds.
What is not worth it is launching with placeholder text to hit a date. A site with "lorem ipsum" on the About page costs you more in the first month than a two-week delay would have.
FAQ
Can you do it faster?
Yes, if the content is ready on day one and reviews happen within a day. A Start site can go live in under three weeks that way. Faster than that means skipping tests, and I do not skip tests.
What do I need to deliver, and when?
Texts for each page, photos or a decision to use stock, your logo in a vector format, and access to your domain and any existing site. Ideally in week 1, at the latest by the end of week 2.
Does a second language double the time?
No, it adds about two weeks: the translation itself, then placing and checking it. The build is done once; only the content is doubled.
When does the care plan start?
At launch. The first weeks after a launch are when small changes come up most, which is why the Plus plan includes change time from month one.
Twenty minutes on the phone, a written quote within two working days.