For a straightforward business website, the build itself is rarely the bottleneck. Discovery, design, and development follow a predictable rhythm; the variable is content and feedback.
The phases
- Understand — goals, audience, pages, and requirements
- Plan — sitemap, structure, and what each page needs to do
- Design — the interface and key page layouts
- Develop — building the pages and any functionality
- Test — devices, forms, performance, and content review
- Launch — release, final checks, and handover
A simple marketing site can move through this in a few weeks. A content-managed site with a custom design and an enquiry system takes longer. Anything with accounts, payments, or dashboards is a web application and is scheduled differently.
What slows projects down
Almost always, it is content — final copy, images, and approvals. Projects move fastest when content is ready early or produced alongside the build rather than at the end.
Frequently asked questions
Can you launch in phases?
Yes. A common approach is to launch a solid core site quickly, then add sections and functionality in follow-up phases.