"How long will this take?"

It's the first question everyone asks when they want to build a website or web app. And it makes sense. You've got a business to run, and you need to know when you can actually start using this thing.

Quick Answer

Simple websites take 8-16 weeks. Web applications take 12-20 weeks minimum (3-5 months) for standard features. Complex enterprise systems take 20-40+ weeks (5-10+ months). Timeline depends on complexity, your responsiveness, and scope changes. Budget an extra 20-40% for unexpected delays.

The annoying answer is "it depends." But that's not helpful, so let me give you the real timeline based on hundreds of projects we've built here in Singapore.

Simple website: 4 to 8 weeks

This is your basic company website. A few pages about your business, some photos, contact form, maybe a blog. Nothing fancy, just professional and clean.

Week 1-2: We figure out what you actually need. What pages? What content? What's the goal? We design how it should look.

Week 3-5: We build it. Your designer makes it pretty, your developer makes it work.

Week 6-7: You review it, ask for changes (everyone always has changes), we fix them.

Week 8: We launch. Your site goes live.

That's if everything goes smoothly. Add 2-4 weeks if you're slow getting us content or if you keep changing your mind about the design.

Complex website: 8 to 16 weeks

This is when you need more than just a brochure site. Maybe you've got 50+ pages, custom animations, multiple languages, or integration with other tools.

The process is similar, it just takes longer because there's more to build and test.

Simple web application: 12 to 20 weeks (3-5 months)

Now we're talking about something interactive. Users can log in, save data, generate reports. Think of a member portal or a simple booking system.

Week 1-4: Planning. We map out every feature, design the user flow, plan the database.

Week 5-14: Building. This is where the magic happens. Frontend, backend, database, all the technical stuff.

Week 15-18: Testing. Breaking things, fixing them, making sure it actually works.

Week 19-20: Launch prep and going live.

This timeline assumes you're available for quick feedback. Every time we wait a week for your response, that's another week added to the project.

Complex web application: 20 to 40+ weeks (5-10+ months)

Big systems with lots of features. Custom dashboards, AI integration, complex automation, multiple user roles, integrations with many other systems.

We're talking 5 to 10+ months here. These projects are basically mini software companies being built just for you.

What slows projects down (the truth)

Let me be real with you. Most delays aren't because developers are slow. Here's what actually kills timelines:

You don't have your content ready

We can't build your website if you haven't written the text or taken the photos. Sounds obvious, but this delays half the projects out there.

Fix: Have your content ready before you even start looking for developers. Or hire a copywriter to help.

You keep changing your mind

It's totally normal to have new ideas. But every time you change something major, it adds time.

Changing the color scheme? No problem, 30 minutes.

Changing how the whole login system works? That's 2 weeks of rebuilding.

Fix: Think hard about what you really need before development starts. Changes are expensive and slow.

You're waiting for someone else

Maybe you need approval from your boss, or info from your accountant, or access to your current website. Every time the project waits for external people, time gets added.

Fix: Make sure everyone who needs to approve stuff knows the timeline. Get them to commit to responding within 2 business days.

Your developer is juggling too many projects

If you hired a freelancer who's working on 5 projects at once, yours won't get done quickly. Simple math.

Fix: Ask upfront how many projects they're working on and how much time they'll dedicate to yours each week.

How to make your project go faster

1. Be available

When your developer asks a question, answer within a day. Fast responses = fast project.

2. Have decisions made upfront

Who needs to approve designs? What's the final say? Figure this out before starting, not halfway through.

3. Trust your developer's advice

If they say "that feature will add 3 weeks," they're not trying to inflate the price. They've built this before and know how long it takes. Listen to them.

4. Start with MVP

MVP = Minimum Viable Product. Build the core features first, launch, then add the nice-to-haves later. This gets you up and running way faster.

Instead of waiting 6 months for the perfect system, you could have something working in 2 months and improve it as you go.

Real timeline from a recent project

Here's what actually happened with a project we just finished for a training company in Singapore:

What they wanted: A platform where members can register for courses, pay online, access course materials, track their progress.

Initial estimate: 12 weeks

What actually happened:

Week 1-2: Planning went smoothly
Week 3: Waited 5 days for them to confirm payment gateway choice
Week 4-9: Development going well
Week 10: They asked to add a feature we didn't plan for (certificate generation). We said this adds 2 weeks.
Week 11-12: Built the new feature
Week 13: Testing revealed issues with how certificates looked on mobile
Week 14: Fixed mobile issues
Week 15: They were traveling, couldn't review
Week 16: Final review and tweaks
Week 17: Launch!

Total: 17 weeks instead of 12. Why? 1 week waiting for payment decision, 2 weeks for added feature, 1 week while they traveled, 1 week fixing an issue we didn't catch early.

How much can you rush it?

You can speed things up by throwing more people at it, but there's a limit. Nine women can't make a baby in one month, and ten developers can't build a 3-month project in one week.

Realistically, you can maybe cut 20-30% off the timeline by:

Paying for more developer time (more expensive)
Being super responsive with feedback
Cutting features to launch MVP first
Having all content and decisions ready to go

But you can't cut 50% without seriously compromising quality or paying a fortune for a huge team.

What happens if you try to rush too much?

We've seen it. Someone needs their web app in "2 weeks" for a project that realistically takes 8 weeks.

What happens:

Developers cut corners
Testing gets skipped
Bugs make it to launch
Users have a terrible experience
Fixing the rushed work takes longer than just doing it right the first time

You end up spending more money and launching later anyway.

Bottom line

Simple website: 8-16 weeks

Complex website: 12-20 weeks

Simple web app: 12-20 weeks (3-5 months minimum)

Complex web app: 20-40+ weeks (5-10+ months)

Add 20-40% buffer for the unexpected stuff that always comes up.

Want a more specific timeline for your project? Tell us what you're building and we'll give you an honest estimate based on what you actually need.

About &7: We've built hundreds of websites and web applications for Singapore businesses. We give honest timelines and actually stick to them because we've done this enough times to know what's realistic.