Website Redesign Project Timeline: Gantt Chart Guide
The Problem: Website Redesigns Miss Deadlines Because Content Isn't Treated as a Deliverable
The single most common cause of website redesign delays is content. Design is approved, development is underway, launch is two weeks away—and half the pages have placeholder copy because the client hasn't finalized the text, or the existing content hasn't been audited and migrated. Development can't finish without real content. The site can't launch without complete pages. The project slips.
Content is not the last step. It's a parallel workstream that must start at the same time as design. A content audit, site map, and content brief need to be complete before design begins. Copy for key pages needs to exist before development starts. Content migration from the old site is a project in itself. A website redesign Gantt chart that doesn't show the content track in parallel with design and development will miss its launch date.
A website redesign project Gantt chart maps design, development, content, and QA on a single timeline with the dependencies that actually govern launch readiness. gantt-chart.io lets agencies and in-house teams build this without specialized project software, free, no sign-up required.
Prerequisites
Before building your website redesign timeline:
- Target launch date: Or launch window (before a campaign, event, or fiscal year)
- Scope: Full redesign, visual refresh, or CMS migration
- Page count: Rough estimate of pages in scope
- Platform: WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, custom, or CMS migration
- Content owner: Internal team, agency, or both
Phase 1: Discovery and Strategy (Weeks 1–4)
| Task | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stakeholder interviews and goal setting | 1 week | — |
| Analytics and SEO audit | 1 week | Existing site |
| Content audit (existing pages and quality) | 1–2 weeks | — |
| Competitor analysis | 1 week | — |
| User research / personas | 1–2 weeks | — |
| Technical requirements gathering | 1 week | Integrations, forms, e-commerce |
| Site map and URL structure planning | 1 week | Post-audit |
Don't skip the content audit. It tells you what to keep, what to redirect, and what to rewrite—and it prevents accidental SEO damage from losing indexed pages.
Phase 2: Information Architecture and UX (Weeks 3–6)
| Task | Duration | Depends On |
|---|---|---|
| Site map finalization | 1 week | Discovery complete |
| Navigation structure | 1 week | Site map |
| Wireframes (key pages) | 1–2 weeks | IA complete |
| Wireframe review and approval | 1 week | Wireframes |
| Content brief creation (per page type) | 1 week | Wireframes approved |
Content briefs define what goes on each page before design starts. This is what prevents the "we don't have content yet" crisis at the end of the project.
Phase 3: Visual Design (Weeks 5–10)
| Task | Duration | Depends On |
|---|---|---|
| Design system / component library | 1–2 weeks | Wireframes approved |
| Homepage and key page designs | 2–3 weeks | Design system |
| Interior page templates | 1–2 weeks | Key pages approved |
| Mobile responsive design | Parallel | — |
| Design review and revision (2 rounds) | 1–2 weeks | Designs delivered |
| Design approval | 1 week | Revisions complete |
Get design approval in writing before development starts. Stakeholder who approves design then requests changes after development starts is the second leading cause of project delays.
Phase 4: Content Creation (Weeks 4–12, Parallel Track)
| Task | Duration | Depends On |
|---|---|---|
| Core page copy (home, about, services) | 2–4 weeks | Content briefs |
| Interior and supporting page copy | 3–5 weeks | Core pages done |
| Blog and resource content (if applicable) | Ongoing | — |
| Image and video sourcing or production | 2–4 weeks | Design direction |
| Copy review and approvals | 1–2 weeks per batch | Drafts submitted |
Content creation must start in week 4–5, running in parallel with design. Waiting for design approval to start writing puts content on the critical path.
Phase 5: Development (Weeks 8–16)
| Task | Duration | Depends On |
|---|---|---|
| Development environment setup | 1 week | Design approved |
| CMS configuration and template build | 2–3 weeks | Design complete |
| Homepage and key pages | 2–3 weeks | Templates ready |
| Interior pages and forms | 2–4 weeks | Key pages built |
| Third-party integrations (CRM, analytics, chat) | 1–3 weeks | Per integration |
| Content entry and population | 2–3 weeks | Content approved, CMS ready |
| SEO implementation (redirects, meta, schema) | 1 week | Content live |
Phase 6: QA, Testing, and Launch (Weeks 14–18)
| Task | Duration | Depends On |
|---|---|---|
| Internal QA (all pages, all browsers, mobile) | 1–2 weeks | Development complete |
| Client UAT (user acceptance testing) | 1–2 weeks | QA complete |
| Bug fixes and revisions | 1 week | UAT feedback |
| Performance optimization | 1 week | Development complete |
| Redirect mapping implementation | 1 week | SEO audit |
| Staging to production migration | 1–2 days | Final approval |
| Launch day | — | All above complete |
| Post-launch monitoring (analytics, crawl) | 1–2 weeks | Launch |
Build Your Website Redesign Timeline
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