How Long Does It Take to Build a WordPress Website?

One of the first questions I am asked when I tell someone that I design and build websites is:

“How long does it take to build a website?”

The honest answer is…it depends.

Not because building a website with WordPress is difficult, but because the timeline is influenced by three important things:

• Your Knowledge & Experience
• Your Budget
• Your Time

Let’s take a look at each of these and how each one can affect the your timeline.

1. Your Knowledge and Experience

If you have never built a website with WordPress before, there is a learning curve.

Here is the thing…you do not need to become a professional web developer. You just need a clear plan and a guide to lead through the process from idea to completed website.

Without guidance, you could spend weeks and even months watching random YouTube videos, searching Google for answers, and try to piece everything together on your own.

The areas of knowledge that you’ll need to become familiar with are:

• Purchasing a domain and hosting
• Installing WordPress
• Understanding themes and plugins
• Creating pages, posts and menus
• Learning to a page builder like Elementor or Gutenburg
• Optimizing images
• Basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• Website security
• Ongoing maintenance

So what is a structured plan? It is a step-by-step roadmap for building your website. It removes the guesswork by showing you what to do, when to do it and in what order. You spend less time figuring it out and more time actually making progress on your website. Without a plan you could spend hours working on your website without actually making any progress, which can leave you feeling defeated and worse to give up.

I am here to tell you that you can do this. You just need a plan and a guide.

2. Your Budget

Budget can determine many decisions that you will make in regard to your online presence.

If you have the resources to hire a designer, a copywriter, photographer, and developer, your website can be completed in as little as 3 to 4 weeks.

If you’re building it yourself to save money, you’ll be investing your time.

Perhaps you fall in-between…you have a budget and time to invest. This can be the perfect option for the small business owner. If your budget is small and you want to have control of your website and content of that website.

3. The Time You Have Available

Here’s the thing…if you do not desire to build websites as a career or business then building your website should not become your full-time job.

Your focus should be on what creates income for your business. Most business owners are balancing business obligations, personal responsibilities and everyday life. So it is important to set a reasonable timeline. If you only have a few hours each week to dedicate to your website, progress will take longer.

• 3 – 5 hours per week: 4 – 6 months
• 5 – 10 hours per week: 2 – 4 months
• 10+ hours per week with a structured plan: 6 -10 weeks

Dedicating a set time each day/week to work consistently on your website matters more than non-stop work sessions. The small regular committed scheduled time allocated to your website adds up and before you know it you have the website your business deserves and without the stress or overwhelm.

Let’s Break It Down

The following is a reasonable breakdown for a typical WordPress business or personal website of about 8 pages.

So…How long should you expect it to take?

With limited WordPress knowledge, a busy schedule and a modest budget, building a quality website often takes three to six months when you are doing it alone.

That timeline can be drastically reduced when you have step-by-step guidance. Instead of trying to figure it all out on your own, you have a structured path that takes you through each step toward building your website from planning and design to actual live launch.

Here are a few FREE resources and a link to the most recent revised checklist to building your own WordPress website.

Website Readiness Worksheet – Before you jump into designing or building a website, it’s essential to define four key elements that will guide all your website decisions. This worksheet will help you access whether you’re ready to create a website and if so, how to lay the right foundation.

Before You Build Your Website – this checklist is designed to help your organize and clarify the essential elements before the actual website creation process. Whether you’re building it yourself or working with a professional, these steps will guide you to making platform decision that is best for your business or personal website.

Website Foundations Checklist (form) – A checklist designed to guide you through the stages from Planning and Designing to Live Launch.

Do you need a website, on a budget, with guidance and in your budget? Take a look at the Website Foundations Course. It was designed to provide you with the skills and guidance to complete your website one step at a time with guidance and to gain the confidence to manage it yourself long after it’s live.