The 7 Factors Affecting Your Web Development Timeline

These are the factors that determine how long it takes to develop a website.

How long does it take to make a website? This is a question we face from almost every new prospective client. And as you might imagine, the answer to that question isn’t straightforward. There are dozens of little factors that can influence a web development timeline in one direction or another, but these are seven of the most important:

1. Project scale. First, the scale of the project matters. A site with 1,000 separate pages is going to take much longer to build and develop than one with 3.
2. Project scope. Scope also matters. Some sites require complex features that require weeks of planning and execution. Others rely on a basic formula that can be understood and replicated quickly.
3. Dev team skill. Dev team skill matters significantly. Experienced developers are able to handle complex features more quickly and consistently, and they’ll be faster at executing basic tasks as well.
4. Dev team schedule. A dev team overloaded with other projects and priorities may not be able to dedicate themselves fully to a new project. Much depends on their existing workloads.
5. Scope creep. If the scope of the project starts to creep, with new requested features and functionality, the timeline can be delayed significantly.
6. Client feedback. Quick, responsive client feedback is essential to keeping the project on time. Without proper guidance and approvals from a client, a web development project can be heavily delayed.
7. Project management. Finally, it takes an experienced project manager to proactively prevent and handle problems as they come up. Every project will face unexpected delays and issues, but a skilled project manager can keep things on track no matter what.

No two web development projects are exactly alike, so it’s impossible to estimate a single timeline for every project. But if you know which factors to look for, you can come up with a reasonable estimate for how fast the project can be completed. For more information on your next web development project, contact us today!