One of the most common questions Kansas City business owners ask when starting a website project: "How long is this going to take?" The honest answer is that timelines vary by an enormous margin depending on who you hire and how prepared you are going in.
Here's a realistic breakdown.
Template Builders: 1 Day – 2 Weeks
If you're building it yourself on Squarespace or Wix, you can technically be live in a day. The more honest timeline is 1–2 weeks once you factor in writing your copy, finding or shooting photos, and going back and forth on layout decisions. Most people underestimate how long it takes to write a good "About" page when you're staring at a blank screen.
Freelancers: 2 – 8 Weeks
A solo freelancer building your site will often quote 2–4 weeks. Real-world timelines tend to stretch to 6–8 weeks because freelancers are usually juggling multiple clients at once. You're not the only project. Communication slows, revisions pile up, and "almost done" can mean two more weeks.
The single biggest cause of timeline delays isn't the designer — it's waiting on content from the client. If you don't have your copy, photos, and brand assets ready at the start, every week you wait adds a week to the project.
Agencies: 6 – 16 Weeks
Kansas City agencies run structured processes: discovery, wireframes, design approval, development, review cycles, QA, and launch. This thoroughness is appropriate for large, complex projects. For a 5-page small business site, it's usually overkill — and you're waiting 3–4 months for something that could have launched in 4 weeks.
Custom Studios Like AuroWeb: 4 – 6 Weeks
At AuroWeb, the typical timeline from signed contract to live site is 4–6 weeks. Here's how it breaks down:
- Week 1: Intake form review, kickoff, and content collection
- Weeks 2–3: Design and build — you get a live preview link
- Weeks 4–5: Two rounds of revisions based on your feedback
- Week 5–6: Final approval, domain connection, and launch
For landing pages, the timeline compresses to 1–2 weeks. Rush delivery (24 hours) is available for an additional $300 when the schedule allows.
What Slows Projects Down
In our experience, these are the most common causes of delay on both sides:
- Client hasn't written their copy yet — "I'll get that to you by Friday" becomes two weeks
- Logo files aren't ready or are low-resolution
- Decision-making involves multiple people who need to reach consensus
- Scope creep — "while you're in there, can you also add..." mid-project
- Feedback comes in batches instead of consolidated — one round becomes four
How to Make Your Project Go Faster
The fastest projects are the ones where the client comes prepared. Before you even fill out an intake form, pull together: your logo files (vector format if possible), 5–10 photos you want on the site, a one-paragraph description of what your business does, and the one action you most want website visitors to take. That preparation alone cuts the average timeline by a week.
Start your project with AuroWeb →