A realistic IT project timeline
A simple website usually takes 3-6 weeks to build, an online store 6-10 weeks, and a custom web application, depending on scope, anywhere from 2 to 6 months. In this article we break down exactly what that time is spent on, and what actually determines whether a project stays on schedule.
The stages that make up the timeline
Brief and analysis (1-2 weeks)
We learn about your goals, target audience and technical requirements. This stage is critical, the better defined the scope going in, the lower the risk of mid-project changes that push the whole timeline out.
UX/UI design (2-4 weeks)
Information architecture and an interface that guides the user toward the goal. This is where wireframes and prototypes get built and approved before coding starts, a much cheaper point to make changes than after development is underway.
Development (scope-dependent)
Coding, integrations and testing, with a focus on performance and technical SEO from the first line of code. On larger projects, development happens in phases so you see progress along the way.
QA and production launch (1-2 weeks)
A final quality check before the site or app goes live, covering functional testing, performance testing, and checks across different devices and browsers.
What extends the timeline
The most common causes of delay are a slow turnaround on content and materials from the client, scope changes mid-project, and additional integrations discovered only after the project has started. A slow approval process at each stage is another common culprit, the faster feedback comes back, the smoother the whole project runs.
How to shorten the timeline without cutting corners
The best approach is preparing content and visual assets in parallel with the design phase, not after it’s finished. A clear scope agreed upfront as part of our service offering keeps the risk of delays to a minimum. It also helps to designate a single decision-maker on the client side who approves each stage, rather than spreading feedback across several people.
Does faster always mean cheaper?
Not necessarily. Speeding up a project often means running a larger team in parallel, which can raise the cost even as it shortens the timeline. It’s worth being upfront about priorities, sometimes it makes more sense to extend the schedule by a few weeks than to inflate the budget to hit an unrealistic deadline.
Want to know the realistic timeline for your project? Describe it to us and we’ll put together a concrete plan.