The short answer
For a focused site of about five pages, think in weeks. A Shopify store at its entry scope usually launches in two to four weeks. Custom apps, large catalogs and moves from another platform take longer, so their timeline is set for the project rather than guessed in advance.
What happens, in order
Every build here follows the same stages:
- The written plan: scope, approach, timeline and exact price, free, within 48 hours.
- Content: your services, prices, photos and the words customers need to read.
- Design and build.
- Your review and changes.
- Launch, with the domain and logins handed over in your name.
What speeds it up
Most delays are not about code. These keep a project moving:
- Your services and prices written down, even roughly.
- Real photos of your work, your place or your team.
- One person who can say yes.
- Access to your domain account before launch week.
What slows it down
Waiting on content is the most common delay. After that come extra features added halfway through, a domain nobody can log into, and moving a lot of content from an old site.
None of these are problems when they are known up front. That is the point of a written plan: it names them before work starts, so the date in it is a real one.
Plan around your busy season
A new site is easiest to launch before your busy months, not during them. A salon may want it live before the holidays, a landscaper before spring. Say when your busy season is, and the plan works back from it.
At TigerPoint a business website starts from $499 and a Shopify store from $999. The cost guide shows what moves the price.