How long does a digital project take?
"It depends" is true and useless. Here are the realistic ranges we quote, what actually moves a schedule, and how to tell a healthy timeline from an optimistic one before you sign.
Realistic ranges
- Landing page: one to two weeks from kickoff, content permitting.
- Business website: two to five weeks, depending on page count and how much content exists.
- Web app / MVP: six to ten weeks for a genuinely focused first version.
- Custom software: from about three months, shipped in working increments, not one big-bang release.
- Automation / integration: days to a few weeks; small by design, which is why it is often the best first project.
What actually moves the schedule
Writing code is the predictable part. The schedule lives and dies on four things: how decided the scope is before the build starts, how early content and access (accounts, data, branding) arrive, how quickly feedback comes back after each demo, and how many third parties sit in the path. None of these are technical, which is why a good partner manages them explicitly instead of quoting a date and hoping.
Key takeaways
- Weeks for websites, a quarter for real software; anything much faster is cutting something you will pay for later.
- Content readiness is the most common bottleneck, and it is entirely in your control.
- Prefer working increments and weekly demos over a single delivery date; you see progress and steer early.
- A partner who asks about your availability for feedback is planning honestly.
Practical advice
Before asking "how long", decide the launch that matters: a trade fair, a season, a funding round. A fixed real-world date changes how scope should be cut, and that is a scoping decision, not a coding one. Our guide on choosing the right solution helps size the project itself, and the MVP guide shows how first versions stay small on purpose.
Want a real date for your specific project? Bring the goal to a free discovery call and you will get a written timeline together with the fixed price.