The short answer
At Anza Studios a one-page website is live in 5 days, a business site of up to six pages in 10 days, an online store in about 3 weeks and custom software in 6 to 12 weeks. Most websites live in under two weeks. What usually stretches a project is not the building: it is waiting for the words and photos, rounds of changes, and for an online store taking M-Pesa, Safaricom's approval, which takes 2 to 10 working days.
Timelines by kind of website
| What you need | Live in | From |
|---|---|---|
| One-page website | 5 days | Sh 35,000 |
| Business website, up to six pages | 10 days | Sh 75,000 |
| Online store with M-Pesa | About 3 weeks | Sh 165,000 |
| Custom software | 6 to 12 weeks | Sh 250,000 |
These are our own delivery times. A timeline from another designer should come with the same thing: a date, and a list of what they need from you to meet it.
What happens, step by step
- Day 0, a conversation. You say what the business does and what the site is for. Usually 30 minutes on WhatsApp or a call.
- Day 2, a proposal. A fixed price, a fixed date and a written list of exactly what you get.
- Day 3, your content. Your words, photos and logo. For a store, product photos and descriptions.
- Week 1, a preview. A live link you open on your own phone, with rounds of changes built into the price.
- Launch. Your domain connected and the site live, then thirty days of free edits.
What makes a website take longer
- Content arriving late. The most common delay. If the words and photos are not ready by day three, the date moves by the same number of days.
- Many rounds of changes. Each round is a few days. Collect everyone's comments into one reply rather than sending them one at a time.
- M-Pesa approval. Before a site can take live payments, Safaricom checks the business. A published checklist puts this at 2 to 5 working days, stretching to 10 when Safaricom is busy or a document is missing 1. Start it early. See M-Pesa on a website.
- Moving a domain. If your domain is held by an old designer or host, getting control of it can take longer than building the site. Find your login before the project starts.
- Features that are really software. Bookings, member areas and dashboards turn a website into a software project, with its own timeline.
How to get it live sooner
- Have your logo, photos and a few lines about each service ready before the first call.
- Name one person who approves the design.
- For a store, apply for your Till or Paybill and gather the business documents at the start.
- Know who controls your domain today.
Sources
- McTaba Labs, "Daraja production checklist", updated 19 July 2026. mctaba.com
Anza Studios timelines are our current delivery times. The Safaricom approval time is a third party's published figure, read on 15 October 2026.