Not to be an SEO about it all, but it depends. How long website copywriting takes depends on both the complexity of the project and how many tasks your website copywriter takes on throughout the process.
- Some copywriters accept a brief, ask you to provide keyword research, brand guidelines, etc. and crack on with the copy straight away.
- Some copywriters focus very strongly on the creative side, wishing to create tone of voice brand guidelines and messaging development.
- Some copywriters (like me) are very focused on the SEO of it all in the lead up to the website project.
And to be clear, there is no one right or wrong way to do this. But your timeline is going to change depending on how involved your copywriter is in the wider process and how much prep work you have already done.
For me, kick off to first draft usually takes 6-8 weeks for SMBs. Can be as little as 3 weeks for freelancers and one-person businesses. After that, the timeline is up to you, the client. Although I will set deadlines for feedback along the way to keep things ticking along.
Pre-project research and development
I’d love to take you through my own process, to give you a closer look at how the process works for me as a website copywriter who is very involved in the SEO prep and migration process for my clients.
First up, we have pre-project research and development. This section of the project includes (in order):
- 2 x consultation/onboarding calls (to get to know you, your business, and your goals)
- Keyword research (to understand what you are ranking for and what you could be ranking for in the future)
- Competitor research (to understand what your competitors are doing that you aren’t)
- Sitemap creation (to improve the user journey and flow of your site)
- URL designation (to help the folks building your website)
- Redirects spreadsheet (to ensure we don’t end up with a bunch of broken links)
- Messaging development (to ensure you’re speaking to the right people)
Typical timelines for my research and development for website projects
This chunk of the project usually takes 2-3 weeks to complete, depending on the complexity of the website, business, and how much is changing between iterations of the site. I also share the keyword research with my clients if they wish and check they’re happy with the sitemap.
The actual website copywriting bit
As always, the time this takes depends on the size and complexity of the project. A common misconception is to budget (both time and money) for how many pages are going to be on the new website. Especially if you’re going from a larger website to a smaller one.
However, this kind of information wrangling and reorganising actually takes a lot longer than simply rewriting a website in a different tone of voice.
To give you a bit of context, from my experience, these are the key reasons behind client website projects that I encounter most often.
For ease, I have ordered the types of website projects I work on from the shortest timeline to the longest timeline:
- Rewriting the same website (with the same structure) in a different tone of voice
- Change in overall messaging/audience focus with more or less the same services
- Expansion of site to add more pages, services, and context (as well as overall rewrite)
- Service changes especially with merging of multiple services into one
- Shrinking of website to detangle the copy and make the whole thing a lot less complicated
Typical timeline for the copywriting bit of website projects
This varies a lot more depending on the project size and complexity. I’ve completed this part in everything from 1 week to 6 months. So here are some examples taken from projects I’ve worked on over the last year:
- SMB, 10 pages, direct rewrite in new TOV: 2 weeks
- Freelancer, 5 pages, first website: 1 week
- SMB, 50 pages down to 10: 4 weeks
- Ecommerce, new messaging, products, and category organisation: 6 months, phased project
And that’s just to get to the first draft. It varies so wildly, but for the sake of clarity, here are some averages:
- Freelancer/solo biz: 1 week
- SMB (without major restructure): 2-3 weeks
- SMB (with major restructure): 3-4 weeks
- Small ecommerce: 4-6 weeks
Amends and revisions
This tends to be where things speed up. V2 and, if needed, v3 of a website never take as long as v1. I give my clients 1-2 weeks at each stage to read through the copy and provide feedback (along with detailed guidelines for how to provide helpful feedback).
So once v1 is with you, you can expect the final version of your copy within 3-4 weeks depending on how long you need for feedback. Sometimes it turns around as quickly as 2 weeks, if you’re really on it with your revisions.
Total website timelines (as an average)
You can find all of this information on my website copywriting packages page. As we’re here, let’s go through it.
Freelancers, 5 pages, new site:
- Onboarding, messaging, and basic SEO prep: 1-2 weeks
- Website copy v1: 1 week
- Feedback process: 2-3 weeks
- Average total time from kick off to final version: 4-6 weeks
SMBs, 10+ pages, restructure:
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- Onboarding, messaging, and in-depth SEO prep: 2-3 weeks
- Website copy v1: 2-3 weeks
- Feedback process: 3-4 weeks
- Average total time from kick off to final version: 7-10 weeks
I only do ecommerce sites occasionally, and I’m afraid there isn’t an average there. But I provide an anticipated timeline in my quotes for all clients.
All of this to say, it depends. And website copy projects are a lot more complicated than they first appear
If this all seems a lot more involved than you first thought, don’t panic. And don’t beat yourself up either.
I’ve been working in websites for ten years so my process is thorough. Every copywriter will do things differently and that is ok.
It’s also worth considering that the time for creative development and SEO will need to be budgeted for in-house if it’s not outsourced to your website copywriter. So either way, it’ll likely take the same amount of time (if not longer, because, you know, your in-house marketing people have 101 things going at once).
A few more resources to help you on your way to a new website project
Whether you wanna tackle some stuff yourself or want more information about how website projects work, here are some resources to get you started:
- 4 biggest mistakes I see in website copy (and how to fix them)
- Do I need a website copywriter? And how much will it cost?
- 3 ways to manage your budget for website copy
- What I wish I knew before migrating my website from Wix to WordPress (inc. audio recording)
- What the fuck is information architecture (IA)?
- How to create a simple tone of voice from scratch
- Demystifying Website Copy (12 week email series)
And, as always, if you have any questions or wanna chat about working together on your website, please get in touch for a coffee and a natter over Zoom.
