PIPELINEGuide
How long does a website relaunch take? Realistic timeline
A website relaunch project is not a weekend job, but not a six-month project either. What happens in which order, where bottlenecks typically occur, and how to shorten the timeline.
Website relaunch takes 5 to 10 weeks in practice. The biggest time factor is almost never the implementation itself, but how quickly content, access, and decisions come from your side.
01 — Timeframe
How long it takes
- Typical duration
- 5 to 10 weeks
- Price
- Individual based on effort
The timeline starts after approval of the quote. Lead time for initial meeting and quote: typically one to two weeks. We provide a fixed price after this initial meeting.
02 — Process
The steps in detail
Analysis
Which pages bring visitors, which search terms, which inbound links.
Plan structure
New structure with mapping of every old URL. That's the core, not the design.
Build
New site is built in parallel, the old one stays online until the end.
Switch and monitor
Migration with redirects, followed by four weeks of close monitoring.
03 — Bottlenecks
What typically causes delays
- Content and deliveries. By far the most common cause of delay. Text, images, price lists, access credentials — what's missing blocks progress.
- Decisions. When it's unclear who approves, the project waits. A named contact person with decision-making authority noticeably shortens the timeline.
- Access to third-party systems. Getting access to inventory management, phone systems, or CRM regularly takes longer than the integration itself.
- Endless review rounds. Two correction rounds are normal, five are a sign that the goal wasn't clear at the start.
04 — Scope
What's included
- Inventory: which pages bring visitors and inquiries today
- Complete redirect list from old to new, verified before going live
- Migration of content that works, instead of rewriting everything
- Technical improvements in loading time, structure, and accessibility
- Measurement before and after the migration, so changes are visible
- Monitoring the first weeks with adjustments where pages drop in ranking
05 — Questions
Frequently asked questions
Do we have to go offline during the relaunch?
No, the old site stays online until the switchover day. The change happens on a set date, usually outside business hours, and typically takes only a few minutes.
Will we lose Google rankings with a relaunch?
Only if you do it wrong. Short-term fluctuation over two to four weeks is normal, a lasting drop is not. The cause is almost always the same: missing or incorrect redirects. We create the list before the move and check it afterward.
Can we switch over gradually?
For larger sites, yes — section by section. It takes longer but spreads the risk and cost.
Is a relaunch worth it if we're renaming soon anyway?
Not in that order. Clarify the renaming first, then relaunch — otherwise you build a site that needs adjustment again shortly after.
Should we carry over all content?
No. Pages that bring neither visitors nor serve a purpose are removed — that makes the site clearer and the remaining pages stronger. What brings visitors is carried over and improved.
What happens to our existing Google Business Profile?
It remains untouched as long as the website address doesn't change. If the domain changes, the link stored in the profile needs to be updated — we take care of that.
What happens to our email addresses?
They remain untouched as long as the domain stays the same. We still check the settings before the move, because an incorrectly set record can stop mail delivery.
06 — Next
Related pages
- Website relaunch — Overview
- Website Relaunch — Costs
- Website Relaunch — Team and Acceptance
- Website Relaunch — Value for Money
- Website Relaunch — Where to Start
- Website Relaunch — Data Protection
- Website relaunch — Checklist
- Website relaunch — Alternatives
- Have a website created
- SEO
- Web design
- All guides
Website relaunch by region
Next step
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