Typical Web Site Design and Development Milestones

We are often asked how long it takes to design and develop a web site.

There is no exact answer to this, as the time will vary based on the complexity of the project, how quickly you respond to requests for feedback and approval of certain stages, as well as how large your web site is.

For the most part, however most standard web sites are completed within 4-6 weeks. Again, this depends on how large of a web site it is as well as timely communication and feedback between both of us.

Below is a typical timeline for the design and development of a standard web site, assuming that you get back to us quickly (within 2 business days) on requests for feedback, content or approval, etc.

Initial Design Concepts: 1 Week

After we have discussed your web site needs, have received your content as well as your signed contract and 50% deposit, we begin designing your web site. Initial designs are posted in the Client Studio within 1 week.

Design Revisions: 2 Business Days to 1 Week Per Round...
Rinse and Repeat...

Once you've had a chance to look over the initial designs, you have the opportunity to provide feedback, request changes, etc. Ideally you'll get back to us in 1-2 business days, but we've had some clients take a week or more to get back to us. This is the type of thing that delays the project completion date. So how long this stage takes is really up to you...

However, once you do get back to us with any revisions, typical turn around time for relatively simple changes is 2 business days. Major changes to the design or requests for an entirely new design concept will take 1 week. We continue this process of fine tuning the design until we have your approval.

Development of Home Page and Interior Page Placeholders:1 Week

Once we've received your approval on the design, we are able to move onto the development stage. This is where we take the design and create the XHTML / CSS code that make up the functional web site. We start by developing the Home Page, then continue with a default Interior Page. This is used as a shell or template to create placeholders for all of the interior pages of the web site. Basically, we create all of the interior pages as defined in the site map for your web site, complete with main page headers and temporary "coming soon" text. We'll upload these shell pages to the Client Studio so you can get a true feel of the web site, and be able to navigate through all of the links, etc. We will return this initial development stage to you within 1 week.

Development of Interior Page Content: 1-4 Weeks

This is where estimating a timeframe gets tricky, because the content and number of pages will vary greatly from site to site. If you've got a 1-10 page web site (and you are prompt with providing us with all content for the site) we can usually have the interior pages completed within 1 week. A 50 page web site will likely take closer to 3-4 weeks to complete, but that depends on the complexity of the content, as well. If you have all standard pages, this will be much quicker than if you have any contact forms, for example, as it takes time to setup the form processing script, setup the form fields, test, etc. We always strive to complete your web site as quickly as possible, however, because we know how anxious you are to get yourself up and running on the internet.

Launch of Web Site: 2 Days

Once we have approval on all of the content areas, we will send you a final invoice for the work we have completed for you. We do require final payment of the invoice before moving your web site files from our Client Studio to your server. Once we receive the balance, however, we will immediately upload the site to your server, run through a final set of tests to be sure everything is functional, and you'll be all set! This marks the official launch of your web site, making it "Live" for the viewing public.

Web Site Maintenance: 2 Business Days to 1 Week

We offer several Maintenance Plans where we will update content on your web site at reduced rates. Even if you don't have a plan and just want us to make updates for you on an as-needed basis, we are more than happy to help you. Simple updates to your web site are completed within 2 business days. Larger changes can take up to 1 week.


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