Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Typically, how long does it take a website developer to create a working demo for your business?  I know there are many variables involved, and the website for my business will have some depth...but, how long does it usually take?

Thank you,

Chad Durbin

Well that`s a pretty broad question. It all depends on what the business does and what your requirements are, and of course how talented the designer is. If you want a better idea you`ll need to lay out some ground work, what your expectations are, the fundamentals of your business, etc. For most of my clients, I usually go with a wire frame design first. This allows you to see where your content and layout is heading and adjusting it before the core work is done, sometimes I`ve used colored blocks to dictate specific sections. Once that`s completed I start the comps, I usually give 3-4 comps per job. Following that I`d do the working comps, IE. demo. Now if your going to use flash that takes a bit longer to develop so usually flash components are examples used as place holders and aren`t worked out thoroughly. Honestly it all depends on what your end goal is here. I`ve done demos as fast as 48 hours, and as long as a month. Now when I did larger scale proposals for companies they took about a month to put together, that includes the custom packaging, brochures, powerpoints, flash demos, and any other marketing materials. Of course there was a team of 3 of us on that too. Just remember you get what you pay for and if you find a good designer stick with him/her like you would an accountant.