Website Creation & Domain Purchase Q&A

Q: How long does it take to get a website created?

A: A lot of what determines the speed of site creation is size, complexity, and ease of obtaining the necessary assets/information from the business. So, the estimate ballpark numbers can really go up/down on a lot of variables.

Template (ballpark) = Once the beginning portion is complete and onboarding obtains all the information/assets required to build the site…I would ballpark about a week to complete.

Custom Site (ballpark) = 1 Month to 6 Month (and beyond). We have built custom sites within a month by redoing and/or redesigning pre-existing sites which means all of the information/content was readily available to us. What I would like to say as an extended ballpark would be anywhere up to 6 months even for complex sites and/or difficult obtaining assets/information we need. But we have also had sites take 12 months to 18 months due to communication changes, project pivots, new functionality request, and many other variables.


Q: How long does it take to turn the website ‘on’ once everything is approved?

Short answer:
If we have easy access to the DNS to update/manage ourselves, it is very quick and should take about a 24-48 hour propagation for the email to pop up across the internet. If there is no access, it is all depended on the variables listed below.

Long answer:
That is another open ended question with many answers.

  1. If we purchase a new domain for them and it is within our corporate registrar account, it is VERY quick. Same-Day.
  1. If they already have a domain, there are multi ways to go about it. They can transfer the domain to our registrar so we can easily manage and keep it. Transfers can take 1-7 days to complete, but it can be done prior to the launch of the site. So, in this case it would be in our corporate registrar so VERY quick again. We manage the domain if they transfer it to us. We do NOT keep it. It is their domain and if they leave us, it goes with them.
  1. They can provide us access to their registrar either though Username/Password. With access it will also be VERY quick.
  1. They can update the DNS information themselves if they are savvy with DNS records. We would provide them with the information to have them update. Communication would be required here because once they update the DNS records there are additional things we need to do on our end. This time is dependent on them.
  1. If they have the DNS with another web developer, company, or IT team they will need to work directly with them. With this method it is best that we get contact information to directly work with them to speed up and reduce errors from occurring. Depending on the situation in most cases we would work with the company to either A) transfer the domain to use (see 2) or B) have them update the DNS information.
  1. There are also cases where clients have a domain registered somewhere and they are not certain where or who has it. We can lookup and see where the domain is registered but it would be up to the business to obtain access to it. So, say they have had a website for 10 years and decided to build a new site somewhere else. They will need to remember how to access the domain or reach out to the registrar and go over a proof of ownership if they setup the account in their name. So, if they are thinking about a new website they should look into who has access where their domain is currently registered.

There are other variables as well but the above outlines most of the norm situations. Once the website is switched to go live with the DNS records, the generic response is 24-48 hours for the website propagation to take place. Meaning the new website is spread across the internet completely. So, within those 24-48 hours some people may not see the new website. However, in my experience the propagation is usually fairly quick.

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