A website redesign usually takes 3–6 weeks when your content and URLs stay the same, and 6–16 weeks when there are several new page layouts or a lot of pages. A homepage-only redesign takes 2–4 weeks. The clock starts when the scope is agreed and the content is ready.
Agency guides run longer: Webstacks says most full B2B redesigns take three to four months, and Clique Studios gives 8–12 weeks even for a small business site of 10–20 pages. That's a fair number for a large site with a committee signing off, but most business websites don't need it. And the redesigns that run late are rarely slowed by design or code. They're slowed by copy that isn't written, photos that aren't shot, and feedback that takes a week to come back. Below are the timelines I plan for website redesigns, what happens each week, four real projects, and how to keep yours on schedule.
A website redesign timeline, week by week
Here's how a typical six-week redesign of an existing site runs, with what you get at the end of each stage and what I need from you. The "from you" column is where most schedules are won or lost.
| Week | What happens | What you get | What I need from you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Review of traffic, enquiries, speed, and every page | A written plan: pages, layouts, URL map, launch date | Search Console and hosting access, one kickoff call |
| 2 | Designs for the key page layouts, phone and desktop | Designs to review and approve | One round of feedback within two days |
| 3–5 | Every page rebuilt, forms and booking reconnected | The new site on a preview link, updated as it grows | Any new copy or photos, and a check of the preview |
| 6 | Final checks, launch, redirects tested | The new site live, and Search Console watched | Sign-off, and a quiet day to launch on |
Week 1: review and plan
Before anything is designed, I look at which pages bring in traffic and enquiries, what's slow, and what breaks on a phone. Every current page is matched to its place on the new site. This is the step that protects your Google rankings, so it isn't skipped even on a short project.
Week 2: design the layouts, not every page
I design the templates the site is built from: usually the homepage, a service page, a content page, and contact. You approve those before the build starts. Approving layouts instead of 30 separate page designs is a big part of why a redesign can take six weeks instead of six months.
Weeks 3–5: build on a preview link
Every page is rebuilt in the new design, with speed and SEO built into the templates, and your forms, booking, and other tools reconnected. You can click through the new site on a private link while your current site keeps running.
Week 6: launch and check
The new site replaces the old one, every redirect is tested, and I watch Search Console for errors in the days after launch. For a larger site with several new layouts, the same stages stretch out: two weeks of review, two to three of design, and six to ten of build.
Website redesign timeline by type of redesign
The type of redesign sets the timeline far more than the number of pages. Twenty pages that share one layout are quicker than five pages that each need their own design.
| Type of redesign | Timeline | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage only | 2–4 weeks | One new page design and build. The rest of the site stays as it is. |
| New design on your existing pages | 3–6 weeks | New templates, the same URLs and content, faster technology. The most common redesign. |
| Redesign with several new layouts | 6–16 weeks | New page types, a CMS, lots of pages, or content being moved from another platform. |
| Completely new site | 4–8+ weeks | New pages, structure, and content. Planned as a new website. |
| Type | Typical range | Real projects |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage only | 2–4 weeks | — |
| New design on your existing pages | 3–6 weeks | — |
| Redesign with several new layouts | 6–16 weeks | — |
| Completely new site | 4–8 weeks | — |
| Four real redesigns | — | Executive search: 5 weeks; Vet clinic: 6 weeks; Aviation catalog: 12 weeks; Consulting site: 16 weeks |
If you're not sure which row you're in, the question is how much of your current site still works. If the pages, the offer, and most of the words are right and only the design and speed are wrong, it's the second row. If the business has changed and most pages need rewriting, it's closer to a new site, and redesign or start over will help you decide. The price of each row is in how much a website redesign costs.
How long real website redesigns took
Here are four website projects I did for businesses, with how long each took and what set the pace.
| Project | Timeline | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Executive search website | 5 weeks | 100 articles and 80 podcast episodes brought into one site |
| Vet clinic website | 6 weeks | Service pages, online booking, and local SEO |
| Aviation website | 12 weeks | 120+ catalog pages, many with 100+ images each |
| Consulting website | 16 weeks | About 10 pages rebuilt from Figma, with speed as the goal |
The executive search websiteis the one people don't expect: a lot of content, and still only five weeks. The designs were already finished in Figma, so there were no design rounds, and the time went into building a few layouts that all the articles, episodes, and videos could share. Enquiries went from 7 to 20 in the first month.
Easy Pawsy took six weeks including design, because the goal was narrow and clear: get pet owners from a Google search to a booked visit. The aviation site took 12 weeks for 120+ pages because most of them were aircraft and engine pages built from shared templates, and the hard part was keeping image-heavy pages fast.
The consulting website had the fewest pages and took the longest. Every page had to keep its animations, load fast, and carry full technical SEO, and I tested speed as each page was built rather than at the end. Load time went from about 3 seconds to 450ms. The lesson from all four: page count is a poor guide to how long a redesign takes.
What to have ready before a redesign starts
The fastest redesigns start with these already in hand. None of them need a developer, and each one you have ready removes a wait later.
- Logins: your domain, hosting, current website admin, and Google Search Console
- Your top pages: the 10–20 pages that bring in the most traffic or enquiries, exported from Search Console or Google Analytics
- Content decisions: which pages keep their words as they are, and which need new copy, and who is writing it
- Photos and brand: logo files, brand colors, and any photos you want used. Book a shoot now if you need one
- Tools the site connects to: booking, forms, CRM, email, payments, and chat, with access for each
- One decision-maker who can approve designs and answer questions within a couple of days
- Any fixed dates: a campaign, event, or busy season the launch has to fit around
If most of this list is ready, a redesign of an existing site can start the week the scope is signed. If the copy isn't written yet, it's usually better to start the review and design while it is being written than to wait, as long as it's finished before the build reaches those pages.
What delays a website redesign
These are the most common reasons a launch date slips, roughly in order of how often I see them:
- Copy isn't ready.New pages can't be finished without their words, and writing takes longer than anyone plans for. It's the single biggest cause of late launches.
- Slow feedback. When several people review each design separately, every step waits for the slowest reply, and their comments often contradict each other.
- New pages added mid-project. A shop, a login area, or a new service added in week three changes the plan, not just the page count.
- Photos are still being shot. A shoot has to happen before the pages that use it are finished, not during launch week.
- Changing platforms. Moving off WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace adds content migration and testing time.
- Access nobody has. A domain registered by a former employee or a hosting login no one can find can stall a launch for days.
Notice that almost none of these are about design or code. That's good news, because it means most delays are in your control before the project starts. It's also why a fixed timeline in a quote should always say what it assumes from your side.
How to speed up a website redesign
You can take weeks off a redesign without cutting corners. These make the biggest difference:
- Bring finished designs if you already work with a designer. The executive search and aviation sites were both built from Figma files, which removed the design rounds entirely.
- Keep your URLs and most of your content. The fewer pages that change their address or words, the less there is to write, approve, and redirect.
- Reuse layouts. Five templates that every page shares are faster to design, build, and test than a unique design per page.
- Agree on feedback days. For example, designs sent on Monday and comments back by Wednesday. A fixed rhythm stops reviews from drifting.
- Launch in phases. Put the homepage and the pages that bring in the most enquiries live first, then the rest.
What not to rush: redirects, testing forms and booking, and checking the site on real phones. Those are the steps that protect your rankings and enquiries. A launch that breaks them costs more time to fix than it saved. The steps to redesign without losing rankings are in the redesign cost guide.
Why agency redesign timelines are longer
Clique Studios gives 8–12 weeks for a small business site and 12–16 weeks for a mid-sized one, and Webstacks says enterprise redesigns often run four to six months or longer. Freelance timelines for the same work are often half that. The design and code aren't the difference. The structure around them is.
An agency runs a redesign through several people: a strategist, a designer, a developer, a project manager, and often a content writer. Each hand-off adds a meeting and a wait, and discovery and wireframing are separate phases with their own sign-offs. On your side there are usually more people too, and every review goes around the whole group.
That process has a place. A large site with many departments, compliance reviews, or a full rebrand needs the extra structure, and the longer timeline is the price of it. For a business website where one owner or marketing lead makes the calls, one person who designs, builds, and handles SEO is faster because nothing gets lost between people. The full trade-off is in freelance developer or agency.
Does your website stay live during a redesign?
It should. The new site is built on a separate preview link while your current site keeps working, including its contact forms and booking. Customers and Google keep seeing the old site until the new one is ready and approved. If anyone suggests taking your site down or showing a "coming soon" page during the work, say no. It loses enquiries and can hurt your rankings.
On launch day the new site replaces the old one. Pick a quiet day, usually early in the week and away from a campaign, so there's time to fix anything before traffic peaks. I test every redirect, submit a test enquiry through each form, and check the site on phones straight after the switch.
The first couple of weeks after launch still count as part of the project. That's when Search Console shows any old URL that was missed and any page Google can't read, and it's when small fixes are cheapest. Budget a little time for this rather than treating launch day as the finish line.
How to plan a redesign around a launch date
If you have a fixed date, work backwards from it. This is what's realistic depending on how far away it is, counting from when the scope is agreed:
| Time until launch | What's realistic |
|---|---|
| Under 2 weeks | A speed fix, or small changes to the homepage. Not a redesign |
| 2–4 weeks | A new homepage, with the rest of the site redesigned after |
| 4–6 weeks | A new design on your existing pages, if content is ready |
| 6–12 weeks | New page layouts, a CMS, or a move off another platform |
| 12+ weeks | A large site, a big content move, or a new structure |
If you have a date in mind, send it to mewith your website link. I'll tell you which row you're in, and what has to be ready for the date to hold. For a rough timeline and price first, my website cost calculator gives both from eight quick questions.
