How Long Does Web Development Take? A Sri Lanka Timeline Guide (2026)
The honest answer to 'how long will my website take' is 4 to 20 weeks — and the biggest variable isn't the developer, it's you. Here's a realistic timeline for every type of project and what actually causes delays.
Uniix Studio
Creative Digital Agency
Every web project starts with the same question: "How long will this take?" And every honest answer starts with "it depends" — which is frustrating, but true. The range is genuinely wide: a simple site can be live in three weeks, a complex web app can take seven months.
Here's the useful part most people miss: the biggest variable in how long your website takes usually isn't the developer's speed. It's you — how ready your content is, how fast you give feedback, and how stable your requirements are. This guide gives realistic timelines by project type and shows exactly what causes delays.
Realistic timelines by project type
Simple brochure website: 3–6 weeks
A handful of pages (home, about, services, contact), template-led or lightly custom design, content mostly ready. No complex functionality.
- Week 1: Discovery, brief, structure
- Weeks 2–3: Design
- Weeks 3–4: Development
- Weeks 5–6: Content loading, revisions, testing, launch
Custom business website: 8–14 weeks
Bespoke design, 10–20 pages, custom layouts, some functionality (forms, integrations, blog), professional content.
- Weeks 1–2: Discovery, strategy, sitemap
- Weeks 3–5: Design (concepts, revisions, sign-off)
- Weeks 5–10: Development
- Weeks 10–12: Content, integrations, revisions
- Weeks 12–14: QA, testing, launch
Ecommerce store: 8–16 weeks
Product catalogue, cart, checkout, payment integration, shipping rules, inventory. Timeline scales with catalogue size and complexity.
- Weeks 1–3: Discovery, strategy, product data planning
- Weeks 3–6: Design
- Weeks 6–12: Development and integrations (payment, shipping)
- Weeks 12–14: Product loading, testing
- Weeks 14–16: QA, launch
Custom web application: 16–30+ weeks
Bespoke functionality, user accounts, databases, custom logic, integrations. Highly variable — some apps take a year or more.
- Weeks 1–4: Discovery, requirements, architecture
- Weeks 4–8: Design and prototyping
- Weeks 8–24+: Development in phases
- Ongoing: Testing, iteration, launch
The phases explained
Every web project moves through the same phases. Understanding them helps you see where time goes.
Discovery and strategy. Understanding your business, audience, goals, and requirements. Rushing this causes expensive rework later. A clear brief (see our how to brief a web designer guide) speeds this up dramatically.
Design. Creating the visual design, usually starting with key pages, then revising based on feedback. Revision cycles are a common time sink — consolidated feedback moves this along; scattered, contradictory feedback drags it out.
Development. Building the designed pages into a working website. When designs and requirements are clear, this is often the fastest phase. When they keep changing, it balloons.
Content. Loading text, images, and media. This is where many Sri Lankan projects stall — waiting weeks for the client to write the About page.
Testing and QA. Checking everything works across devices, browsers, and scenarios. Fixing bugs. Skipping this to save time is how sites launch broken.
Launch. Deploying, final checks, going live. A day or two of focused attention.
What actually causes delays
Here's the honest truth: most delays are not technical. They're process and people.
1. Content not ready (the #1 cause)
The most common Sri Lankan project killer. The design is done, development is waiting, and the project sits for weeks because the client hasn't provided the copy, product descriptions, or photos. Content ready before development starts can cut weeks off a timeline.
2. Slow feedback and approvals
Every day a design or build sits waiting for feedback is a day added to the timeline. Projects where the client responds within 1–2 days move at a completely different pace than those where feedback takes a week each round.
3. Scope creep
"Can we also add..." mid-project. Every added feature extends the timeline. Small additions feel harmless individually but collectively push launch back significantly. Lock scope before building; save new ideas for phase 2.
4. Unclear requirements
Starting development before requirements are clear guarantees rework. Time invested in a clear brief and specification upfront saves far more time later.
5. Too many decision-makers
When five people need to approve every decision, and they disagree, approvals crawl. One empowered decision-maker keeps things moving.
6. Third-party dependencies
Payment gateway approvals, API access, integrations with external systems — these depend on parties outside the project and can introduce unpredictable delays. Start these early.
How to make your project finish faster
You have more control over the timeline than you think:
- Have all content and images ready before development starts. This alone is the biggest lever.
- Give prompt, consolidated feedback. One clear round beats five scattered ones. Gather all stakeholder input, then send it together.
- Lock the scope before building. Resist adding features mid-project. Keep a "phase 2" list.
- Appoint one decision-maker who can approve quickly.
- Provide a clear brief upfront so there's no ambiguity to resolve later.
Clients who do these consistently see their projects finish weeks earlier than clients who don't — with the exact same developer.
Beware the "one week" promise
If someone promises a custom, multi-page website in a week, be cautious. A very simple template site with content ready can be done that fast. Anything custom, multi-page, or functional cannot be done well in a week, regardless of the promise.
Rushed builds skip strategy, testing, and quality checks. You get something live quickly, but often with problems — poor performance, bugs, weak SEO, missing functionality — that cost more to fix later than doing it properly would have cost upfront. Fast and cheap usually means you pay the difference in quality.
Setting realistic expectations
When you brief a project, ask for a timeline broken into phases with milestones. A good developer or agency will give you:
- A phase-by-phase timeline
- Clear milestones and what happens at each
- What they need from you and by when
- The assumptions the timeline depends on (e.g. "assumes content provided by week 3")
That last point matters — most timelines assume you'll do your part promptly. If you don't, the timeline slips, and it's rarely the developer's fault.
The bottom line
A realistic web development timeline in Sri Lanka:
- Simple brochure site: 3–6 weeks
- Custom business website: 8–14 weeks
- Ecommerce store: 8–16 weeks
- Custom web app: 16–30+ weeks
But the number on the plan is only as good as your part in it. The developer controls the technical work; you control content, feedback, scope, and approvals — which together determine most of the timeline. Come prepared, respond quickly, keep scope stable, and your project will finish at the fast end of its range. Do the opposite, and even a simple site can drag for months.
Want to understand what goes into the cost alongside the timeline? Our website cost Sri Lanka 2026 guide breaks down pricing by project type.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to build a website in Sri Lanka?
- It depends on complexity. A simple brochure website takes 3–6 weeks, a custom business website 8–14 weeks, an ecommerce store 8–16 weeks, and a custom web application 16–30+ weeks. The single biggest variable is usually content readiness and client feedback speed — projects where the client provides content promptly and gives timely feedback finish far faster than those where they don't.
- Why does web development take so long?
- Most delays aren't technical — they're process. The common causes: waiting for content and images from the client, slow feedback and approval cycles, scope changes mid-project, unclear requirements at the start, and third-party dependencies (payment gateways, integrations). A well-briefed project with content ready and prompt feedback moves quickly; the same project with content gaps and slow approvals can take twice as long.
- Can a website be built in a week in Sri Lanka?
- A very simple single-page or template-based site with content ready can be built in a week. Anything custom-designed, multi-page, or with real functionality cannot be done well in a week regardless of what anyone promises. Rushed builds skip strategy, testing, and quality checks — you get something live fast, but often with problems that cost more to fix later than doing it properly would have.
- What is the fastest part and slowest part of web development?
- The fastest part is usually the actual coding of a well-designed, well-specified page — a developer can build quickly when requirements and designs are clear. The slowest parts are typically the human ones: gathering and finalising content, design revision cycles, and getting approvals from all stakeholders. Technical development is rarely the bottleneck; the surrounding process usually is.
- How can I make my web development project finish faster?
- Five things: (1) have all your content and images ready before development starts, (2) give feedback promptly and consolidate it (one clear round beats five scattered ones), (3) lock the scope before building and resist adding features mid-project, (4) have one decision-maker who can approve quickly, and (5) provide a clear brief upfront. Clients who do these routinely see their projects finish weeks earlier.
Have a deadline to hit? Tell Uniix Studio your launch date and we'll give you an honest timeline and scope. Get in touch.
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