The short answer
- Typical ranges run from 3 to 4 weeks for a focused site to 12 weeks or more for a custom web application.
- Content and approvals decide the launch date more often than design or code.
- One decision maker, content ready early and a fixed scope are the three things that shorten a project.
- A credible timeline in a proposal shows what is needed from you, and when.
Typical ranges by project type
How long it takes to build a website in Dubai depends on what is being built. A six-page site and an online store are different projects, and no single answer covers both. The ranges below are the typical timelines we publish with each package on our pricing page.
| Project type | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Focused site of around six pages | 3 to 4 weeks | How soon copy and images arrive |
| Company website of around twenty pages, in English and Arabic | 6 to 8 weeks | Number of page designs, translation, approvals |
| Online store | 8 to 12 weeks | Catalogue size, payment provider approval, delivery rules |
| Portal or custom web application | From 12 weeks | Scope agreed in discovery, integrations, testing |
Other Dubai agencies publish ranges of their own. Ron Studios lists 1 to 2 weeks for a basic site or landing page, 3 to 5 weeks for a small business site, 6 to 10 weeks for a custom corporate site and 3 to 6 months for a web application. Nexa lists 2 to 3 weeks for a small site, 4 to 6 weeks for a medium one and 6 weeks or more for a large one. The figures differ because the scope behind each label differs.
A company website, week by week
This is the usual pattern for a company website in two languages. Design and build overlap in week 3.
- Week 1: discovery. The studio learns your business, agrees the sitemap and issues a fixed quote and timeline. You give an hour or two with the people who know your customers.
- Weeks 2 to 3: design. Wireframes come first. These are plain layouts that settle what goes on each page. Visual design follows, in both languages. You give consolidated feedback at each review.
- Weeks 3 to 6: build. The site is developed on a staging address, a private working copy you can open at any time. Final copy, images and translations are due in this stage.
- Week 7: launch. Speed, forms, redirects and search set-up are tested on real devices. You give access to your domain settings and sign off.
An online store adds steps to the build. Product data is imported, delivery rules are set and each payment method is tested with a real order. A portal or web application usually starts with a longer discovery stage that produces a written specification, because the quote and the timeline both rest on it.
Our process page sets out each stage, what you receive and what is needed from you.
What speeds a project up
None of these cost money. All of them are decisions you can make before the project starts.
- One decision maker. A single person who can approve a design saves days at every review.
- Content ready early. Copy and images that exist before design starts let the designer work with real material.
- A fixed scope. Pages and features agreed in writing at the start do not need to be argued over later.
- Review dates in the diary. When both sides know the dates in advance, feedback arrives on time.
- Access arranged early. Logins for your domain, hosting and analytics are easy to find in week one and stressful to find in launch week.
What slows a project down
Content and approvals. Most delays start on the client side of the table, and most are avoidable.
- Late copy. A page cannot be finished without its words. Placeholder text hides problems that appear when the real text arrives.
- Feedback from many people. Five sets of comments that contradict each other cost a review round to untangle.
- Translation started late. Arabic copy needs writing and review time of its own. See our Arabic and English guide.
- Scope added mid-project. A new page type or integration is new work. It should be quoted and scheduled separately.
- Third-party approvals. Payment providers review your documents before they activate an account. Apply at the start, not in launch week.
What to prepare before kick-off
The more of this list you can hand over on day one, the closer you will stay to the short end of the range.
- The name of one decision maker and one day-to-day contact.
- Logo files, brand colours and fonts.
- A list of the services, products or sectors the site must present.
- Draft copy, or a decision on who will write it.
- Photography, or a decision to commission it.
- For Arabic, who will translate and who will approve.
- Logins for your domain, current hosting, analytics and Search Console.
- A list of systems the site must connect to, such as a CRM or booking engine.
- For an online store, your trade licence and product data. Our payment gateway guide lists what providers ask for.
- Dates when your approvers will be away.
If you have a fixed launch date
Sometimes the date is set by an event, a campaign or a new branch opening. Say so on the first call, and plan backwards from it.
- Cut scope, not testing. Launch with fewer pages and add the rest in a second phase.
- Agree content deadlines first. Every later date depends on them.
- Decide on Arabic early. Whether it launches with the English site or in a second phase, the design should allow for both from the start.
- Book your approvers. Put each review date in their diaries before work begins.
A supplier who accepts any date without asking what can be left out is not managing the risk. Expect a direct answer about what fits in the time and what does not.
How to read a timeline in a proposal
A timeline is a set of assumptions. Find them before you sign.
- When does the clock start: on signature, on first payment or on receipt of your content?
- Are your review periods shown, and how many days does each allow?
- What does the plan assume about content, and who supplies it?
- How many rounds of changes are included at each stage?
- Does testing have time of its own, or is it squeezed into the last days?
- Is Arabic scheduled as its own design and review step?
- What happens to the launch date if either side is late?
Be wary of a timeline that asks nothing of you. Every real project depends on the client for content and decisions. A plan that leaves those out is incomplete, and the dates in it will not hold.