How Long Does a Website Redesign Take? A Realistic Timeline Explained (2025 Guide)

A website redesign never happens overnight, it takes around 3 to 6 months, but this timeline gets longer if the extra features and necessary functionality become essential to be added in your new redesign.
Simple website redesigns take 4 to 8 weeks to update a few pages and some visual elements. Where the larger websites with advanced e-commerce features, animated UX, full site content updates, and SEO implementations often take 6 months or even more.

Some significant factors directly change this duration, and those factors are basically page numbers, new features, strategic elements, UI/UX strategy, SEO structure, and super-fast mobile loading interface. In this guide, we will help you understand how much time it will take to redesign your old website.

Website Redesign Timeframes for Small, Medium, and Large Websites

4 to 12 weeks are usually needed to transform your old website into a professional website. But this duration never stays the same for all site sizes. See below and identify some major differences for different sizes of businesses. It will let you understand what you should expect during different redesigns:

• Small Websites (5 to 10 Pages): These website redesigns take almost 3 to 5 weeks. At this time, agencies update all visual elements, website structure, and minor content structures.
• Medium-Sized Business Websites (10 to 50 Pages): These website redesigns take 6 to 8 weeks to get a fully optimized site. Agencies redesign all page layouts during this time, give a new look to the entire UI/UX, enhance the SEO structure, and apply On-Page optimization on all pages.
• Large Websites (50-Plus Pages, E-Commerce, and Custom Features): These large projects often take 10 to 16 weeks or might take more. Agencies take more time because they have to focus on deep strategy, backend development, content migration, re-testing, and improving website performance till the final launch.

Why Fast Website Redesigns Often Fail?

Within 2 weeks or less, the website redesign happens not in a quick way but in a shortcut way. And most agencies skipped necessary steps due to tight deadlines. As a result, the website may look attractive, but in the performance part it’s totally unable to bring traffic, leads, sales, and bring SEO value.

• No UI/UX Planning: A fast redesign often leaves behind measuring UI/UX to understand how real users take actions in pages, how they click to take actions, and make decisions on the site.
• No SEO Improvements: Quick redesigns often lack URL structure, remove metadata, and fail to fix redirects. These gaps in redesign can cause ranking drops and take months to recover.
• No Conversion Strategy: If pages are just redesigned randomly without showing clear actions on service pages. Then visitors will be confused about what action they should take. These significant gaps never give you more leads, sign-ups, and sales.
• No Performance Optimization: Speed, code response quality, and loading speed are often skipped while designers are in a hurry to hand over projects fast. And a slow website always frustrates both users and Google crawlers.

Why Website Redesign Duration Is Different for Every Business

The same website redesign does not bring expected values for all businesses. Because each business has different needs, different goals, and different complexity. A tiny refresh in visuals might not take long. But a large business website has to put extra effort into developing their backend functionality, as well as planning UI/UX wireframes, designing layouts, optimizing SEO, quality assurance, and testing. Below are the main reasons why durations differ for all businesses:

• Website Size: In reality, the larger sites that have up to 10-15 pages commonly take more time to be completely redesigned and developed than small sites.
• Extra Features and Functional Complexity: In eCommerce sites, customers are used to seeing custom features like booking systems, customer dashboards, and advanced checkout functionality, which requires extra time for developing backend systems.
• Informative Content: Businesses that have poor content, duplicate images, and AI-generated website copy must require extra time to update those pages content, along with a complete redesign.
• SEO Requirements: To update the whole site with a new SEO structure, agencies have to work extra hard in planning the SEO structure and implementing all SEO work step by step.
• Strategic Design and UI/UX Expectations: Custom UI/UX designs cannot be done in a few weeks to make them capable of guiding user browsing toward their solutions.
• Quick Client Communications and Feedback: Taking timely reviews and giving quick approvals to agencies on all reviews will definitely speed up the project workflow.

The Complete Website Redesign Timeline: Phase-by-Phase Complete Breakdown

Phase 1: Discovery & Strategy (3–7 Days)

It all starts with deciding on a strategic direction before working directly on design. This discovery and strategy phase is short but has essential benefits to prevent extra costs later in the redesign process.

See What Happens In This Phase:

• Study business and understand how the website structure should be.
• Research your target audience to know how your users think.
• Review the website’s UX to find issues with its structure.
• Research TOP competitors to see what updates will work better.
• Create exact timelines, redesigning costs, and outcome overviews.

Why this phase matters: Without a proper strategy and planning, a website may look nice but will fail to convert more users.

Phase 2: UX Planning & Wireframing (5–10 Days)

Before working on visual transformation, the website wireframes plan lets agencies understand which design can give their users a smooth browsing experience. This phase does not take a huge time but saves weeks to change any design later.

See What Happens In This Phrase:

• Reorganize all pages in the sitemap.
• Identify user journeys to understand how visitors move.
• Plan a strategic UI/UX wireframe to prevent distractions.
• Pre-plan all CTA’s so users always know what to do next.
• Shape conversion flows in design to reduce confusion.

Why this phase matters: Strong UX wireframing helps designers build a site that often has a higher lead-increasing ability.

Phase 3: Visual Design (7–14 Days)

In this phase, expert designers follow the exact wireframes to design a look that properly shows your brand identity. A professional look always makes a 1st impression attractive and builds trust with visitors before they explore the entire website.

See What Happens In This Phase:

• Design the homepage and key pages to show the offer.
• Matches colors, fonts, and visuals as brand identity.
• Ensure a mobile-friendly structure so the site looks perfect on phones.
• Keep spaces in the bottom layouts, as users don’t feel confused.

Why this phase matters: Visual design makes a 1st visit trusted, and makes your user see your business more professional.

Phase 4: Backend Development & CMS Integration (10–25 Days)

After the design is approved, the backend development gives your site a life with a smooth, functional UI/UX where users can navigate, click, and interact with all elements. This is the most time-consuming part of the entire website redesign because complex feature integrations and testing need more time to get perfectly organised.

See What Happens In This Phrase:

• Developers develop backend code, so every on-page layout works properly.
• Make the content management system easy to update.
• The site’s HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files are optimized for mobile.
• Speed improves as pages can load faster on mobiles.
• Basic security settings are applied.

Why this phase matters: This stage makes your site fast, responsive, and ready to adapt to any future updates.

Phase 5: Content Updation & On-Page SEO Setup (5–10 Days)

Agencies change your present site structure with On-Page SEO update as your site can rank on top of SERP, and make your site fully technically error-free for Google to easily crawl your site. This phase might take a long time, but it depends on the number of content updates and how much SEO work is required.

See What Happens In This Phrase:

• All content is rewritten following EEAT guidelines.
• Page URLs are restructured to help search engines understand.
• Page titles and descriptions are rewritten.
• Internal links are added to help search engines navigate the entire site.
• Schema markup helps search engines understand content better.

Why this phase matters: This step helps your redesigned website gain stronger visibility from search results.

Phase 6: Testing, Quality Assurance Checking & Smooth Launch (3–7 Days)

This final phase is very important to ensure your website works perfectly before any users find issues while interacting with your updated website. This phase can take a few days to weeks, but it is very critical because it prevents costly mistakes.

See What Happens In This Phase:

• The website is checked across different browsers.
• Mobile and tablet views are tested.
• Page speed is tested to confirm the site speed.
• Call-to-action buttons are tested.
• A final SEO check is done to ensure it is indexed correctly.

Why this phase matters: Even small launch errors can hamper 1st impressions and cause lost leads right from day one.

Average Website Redesign Timelines by Website Type

The table below shows a realistic average website redesign duration so you can set proper expectations for yourself before hiring an agency and starting a redesign project.

What Common Issues Can Delay a Website Redesign Duration?

Delays often happen when essential steps in the redesign process are overlooked most by you/owners. Understanding these common issues will help you stay on a smooth workflow with your hired agency and achieve your goals according to your needs:

• Unclear goals make designers unsure about what to design.
• Getting late feedback from clients holds up the approvals and prevents proceeding.
• If the content is not ready, it causes a wait for including text, images, or videos.
• Too many design revisions slow down the work process.
• Scope changes for mid-project workflows and add unexpected work later.
• Ignoring SEO implementation early leads to another redesign after the 1st one.
• Technical errors in custom coding for inaccurate client feedback can hamper work.
• Poor team coordination with clients causes miscommunication and delays.
• Waiting on third-party vendors slows down the project.
• Unrealistic timelines make it hard to finish the project on time.

How Can You Speed Up Your Website Redesign Process?

A website redesign will take longer if you are not prepared and have not properly planned your responsibilities. You can save a huge amount of time and help designers update your whole website within an expected time period. Below is the necessary preparation that will hold the delays:

• Finalize goals before starting: Imagine your site’s updated version, even write significant changes like what you want from your new website, so the design team can understand your exact needs.
• Prepare content early: Tell your writer to prepare content, images, videos, and other website content before the redesign work starts.
• Assign one decision-maker: Always have a few people to approve your site designs and changes, so designers always get quick feedback and proceed with work faster.
• Approve designs on time: Responding quickly to final decision approvals helps the design team move forward without taking a pause between projects.
• Work with an experienced redesign team: A skilled team like We Misc anticipates problems, works transparently, and follows best practices to hand over the website before the headline comes.

Who Should Handle Your Website Redesign Project?

A professional agency is a perfect decision to hire for your big projects where you need your site within tight deadlines. Or you can hire a professional freelancer if you have smaller projects and have a tight budget. But always make a decision depending on your goals, budget, and timeline 1st before picking the option.

Option 1: Hiring an Agency

Advantages:

• Expertise: Agencies have experienced specialists in website redesign.
• Work Speed: Since agencies have a dedicated team, they are capable of handing over the entire project within a deadline.
• Offer More Additional Services: Agencies never rely on one service, but they have several areas to bring value with, including design, development, and SEO.

Disadvantages:

Cost: Hiring an agency means you have to invest more money if your aim is to get 100% guaranteed outcomes.

Option 2: Working with a Freelancer

Advantages:

• Cost-effective: Freelancers never charge a huge amount of money like agencies.
• Work in a flexible schedule: Freelancers can often be more flexible and can be available at your free times.

Disadvantages:

Limited Resources and Expertise: One freelancer never has all the experience that an agency has.

Option 3: In-House Team

Advantages:

• Total Control: You have complete control over the project, so you can make real-time adjustments as needed.
• Aligned with Company Vision: In-house teams are usually more familiar with the company’s goals, culture, and brand.

Disadvantages:

• Time-consuming: Doing the redesign in-house can take longer because your team has other work to handle.
• May Lack Specialized Skills: Your team may not have all the skills needed to complete a full website redesign properly.

5 Common Signs When You Could Benefit From a Website Redesign

You may not know if your website needs a new look/update. And that’s completely normal. See the signs below, and if your site shows any of the signs below, then redesign could help you improve your business online.

1. Outdated Design and Technology

Your website is running on an old design and with outdated functionality, so visitors may lose patience in knowing more about you. Updated design gives your site a new professional look and advanced functionality, letting your website function smoothly.

2. Poor User Experience and Navigation

All your website visitors must see all information about your brand easily. If visitors feel confused while navigating and exploring to learn about your business. They will prefer to leave without interacting.

3. Declining Website Performance and Metrics

If your monthly traffic, leads, and sales are often dropping unexpectedly then it should be taken as a warning sign. Slow loading pages, broken links, or errors make visitors leave your site, and it brings you all kinds of unexpected outcomes.

4. Rebranding or New Business Goals

When you change your business model and want to add new features, your website should adapt to that change. A redesign helps your site perfectly align with your new brand update and new services.

5. Mobile Responsiveness Issues

Most users are used to browsing websites using their hand phones in today’s time. So, if your website does not load quickly and does not respond fast on mobile devices, you may be losing a large number of customers.

Final Words

At We Misc, we have been designing websites for 8+ years, and over the years, we have completed 800+ successful websites worldwide. So, like them, if you want to level up your business online. We Misc will help you level up your value online by showing a clear purpose in your website redesign.

Get your Free Quote Today. Let’s build a digital experience together for your audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my website go offline during a redesign?

Your website will stay online during the redesign. Designers update your website separately, and it only goes live when it needs to be tested.

Should I redesign my website during peak business season?

Try to avoid redesigning your website during the busiest season. Because changes and testing during peak time can make your site visitors uncomfortable.

Can I keep my existing content during a redesign?

Yes, you can keep your existing content if it is valuable enough for Google. Agencies like We Misc mainly focused on improving your site layout, UI/UX structure, and design clarity rather than rewriting your site content.

Do I need to redesign my website if it still looks fine?

Even if your website looks attractive but has slow load times, poor SEO, or an outdated UI/UX. A redesign can fill these gaps and bring the best results for you.

Will a redesign affect my website hosting plan?

A redesign does not mean you have to change your hosting plan. But if your plan is to launch a large website, then purchasing a high-priced hosting plan would bring the best results for you.

Can I redesign my website without changing the domain name?

Yes, a redesign keeps the same domain name. Only the design, layout, and technical setup are changed and updated by designers and developers.