If you’re thinking about updating your website or building a new one, timeline is probably one of the first things on your mind. How long is this actually going to take? The honest answer is that it depends on a few things, and they’re worth understanding before we start working on your project.
Do You Have a Desired Launch Date?
Many clients come to us with a specific date by which they want (or need) their new site to go live, often as part of a rebrand campaign or because their old site is going away for technical reasons. We do our best to accommodate these requests, and we’ll be upfront about whether or not we can meet a launch date requirement. Our goal is always to be wrapped up a couple of weeks ahead of time so there’s room for final reviews and last-minute changes before anything goes live.
Hitting a target go-live date is a team effort. If a specific launch date matters to you, staying on top of your side of the schedule matters just as much as anything we’re doing on ours. It’s hard to make up for time lost when we didn’t have the materials we needed to get started or keep working. In these situations, we’re transparent about how a timeline is changing and do our best to launch as close to the original deadline as possible.
Who’s Writing the Content?
Content is one of the first parts of a web project, and it almost always needs to be complete before the design process begins. This is true both when we write content for a website and when a client writes their own and provides it to us.
If the content on your current site will be used as-is, this process is easy; all you need to do is move the content into a document for us. However, it’s far more likely the content needs to be updated, or maybe even completely rewritten. When content gets delayed, the rest of the project gets delayed with it.
In our experience, projects move faster when we handle content. We have an in-house team whose job it is to research and write for our clients. If we’re writing content for your website, we’ll let you know when each draft will be ready for review and when we need your approval by to stay on track.
How Many Pages Does Your Site Have?
The more pages a site has, the longer it takes to build. We create every page manually, so the work scales directly with the size of the project. When we start a website, our design team develops a concept for the client to review and approve. Then, we’ll build out every page in the sitemap. Heavy revisions, multiple rounds of changes or a slow turnaround on design feedback can all push a timeline out.
Do You Need Technical Add-Ons?
Some websites require more than content and design. E-commerce functionality, complex calendars and forms, translation capabilities and integrations with a CRM or donation platform are the kinds of features that require additional technical work and can add time to a project.
Clients don’t always come to us knowing they need extra functionality. We try to anticipate these needs during our early conversations, but sometimes additional technical work is only apparent as we work through a project. Either way, technical add-ons often come with unknowns that take time to work through, and that problem-solving process is hard to rush. If you have a sense that your site might need something beyond the basics, the earlier you bring it up, the better.
Are You Using Original or Stock Visuals?
Every website we build includes imagery, and we need those assets before we can finish the project. High-quality original photos and videos are great, since they’re unique to your business and already yours. However, photos pulled from social media, for example, typically aren’t going to cut it for a website. If you don’t have professional photos or video yet, but plan to schedule a shoot, doing so before we get to the design process is ideal. We can’t finish building a website until your assets are made available by your photographer.
Stock is a great option if original imagery isn’t in the cards, but finding high-quality stock photos and videos that fit your brand takes time. We handle the sourcing, and you’ll provide feedback during the design review process.
So, What Should You Expect?
Though our workload varies throughout the year, with some months busier than others, we are always upfront with clients about our capacity. Once we have everything we need from a client, the average website takes about three months to design, build and launch. The sooner we have what we need, the sooner we can get to work!
Sarah Schlaich / Operations Manager
Sarah’s background includes a little bit of everything, from media production to design to project management—perfect for keeping us all organized. She brings her experience from demanding in-house and agency roles to Parkway, where she communicates with clients, prioritizes projects, and tracks each and every task.
