This a fab question and one I get asked a lot. The answer is that it varies depending on the designer’s preferred way of working, or whether your website is new or you are having a refresh. 

I’ll give you an idea and a couple of ways I like to work, so you can get a feel for the process, but also, in this blog I’ll touch on other ways designers like to work. 

My website design process – the 2 week website 

My process from start to finish currently takes 2 weeks. Fully customized and mobile responsive site up to 6 pages. It also takes into account the kick off call at the beginning of the project and live tutorials at the end of the project. 

Click here for more information on 2 week websites for dog trainers and behaviourists. 

Other ways designers like to work 

Longer timescales 

It really depends on the designer. Some designers work on multiple projects at onces, meaning that you could be looking at a timeline of 2 – 3 months for a dog trainer website. 

VIP intensives – website in a day 

One designer I know likes to build her clients websites in the space of a day, along with her small team. 

Website in a week 

Again, this is all designer preference. With the short timescales, the designer is usually focused on your website only. 

Why do you like building websites in 2 weeks? 

Good question – I enjoy building but I would find creating a customised dog trainer website difficult to achieve in a day or even a week. 

Also, I want you to be deeply involved in the feedback process. I know how busy it can get with training schedules, so I want the process to feel as easy as possible for you. I like to give clients enough space and time to give feedback so we are getting as close to their website vision as possible. 

What does the build time include when working with a website designer to build my dog business website? 

It includes:

• Consult call
• Fully customized and mobile responsive site up to 6 pages
• Site wide search engine optimisation
• Domain connection
• Social media and email marketing system connection
• Training call so you can edit your own website easily. 

What does the build time not include when working with a website designer to build my dog business website? 

The build time, when you work with a designer, doesn’t include: 

• Sourcing images 
• Writing the text (copy) for each of the website pages 
• Brand design

With some service providers, they do offer these as bolt-on services, but you need to be prepared for the project to take longer and cost more. 

Some example scenarios – dog trainer client 1 

Clare wants a custom Squarespace website and she wants to hire a copywriter to write the text for her website. Everything else, she will get ready for the website designer in good time. 

In this scenario, she could register her interest in working with the website designer, but she should get the website text written first so there are no delays when it comes to building and launching her dog training business website. It can take between 1 – 2 months for a whole website copy project to be ready, so Clare books her website dates with the designer 3 months in advance. 

Dog trainer client 2

Celia wants a Squarespace website. She’s up for writing the text herself and sourcing all the other things I will need. She books her website build 2 months in advance as she has heard that writing the text for your website can take a while. 

I give her my writing help documents to give her a framework of what to write on each page and she makes a plan around her dog training schedule.

I also give her my sourcing images guide, which makes it easier to make informed choices about what she wants on each page. She already has some brand photos too, which she’ll include for me. 

Dog trainer client 3 

Cade is wanting brand design before he gets his site built. Some designers offer this and some don’t, so if you want this, ask them for their current service, which will likely add around 2 weeks to the process. 

He’s also writing his own text and sourcing everything else, so his dog business website could take 2 weeks for brand design, a month for him to write the text for each page, and then 2 weeks for the website designer to build the site. So total of around 6 weeks. 

Of course these are just approximate timelines, but I hope you find it helpful to see how it could work depending on what you choose. 

Pro-tip – always get the projects for writing the text for your website underway and brand photos first if you are hiring as this will take the time. 

Will you help me source photos and with the text for my website pages Helen?

Yes, I have specially designed help guides (developed by my awesome friend and mentor Paige) for what to write on each page of your website and where to source your stock photos. Stock photos are just the general photos for your website. 

How does having branded photos affect my website build timeline? 

It’s best to have these done and ready to go before you book in with a website designer. Sometimes the process of getting a brand photoshoot can take a few weeks too. 

In conclusion 

Website designers work in very different ways to each other, so don’t be afraid to ask them anything you can’t find the answer to on their website. 

Also think about how you would like to work too. Is a longer timeline easier for you, or would you prefer a short period of time to get your resources together for the build? 

Thirdly, if you are hiring a copywriter for the text, brand designer or having a brand photoshoot, start these things before setting your website build in stone. I tend to let clients secure an approximate date by paying a 33% deposit.