How long does a website take to go live after it is finished?
Domain pointing, DNS, the padlock, email: what each step takes and why some take a day.
See the templatesThe short answer: minutes to a day. The site itself goes up in minutes. What takes time is the domain: pointing it at the new site is a setting change that the internet takes anywhere from an hour to a day to notice everywhere, and the padlock certificate is issued once that has happened.
The steps
- Upload the site. Minutes
- Point the domain at it. The change is instant; spreading everywhere takes one to 24 hours, usually under two
- Padlock certificate. Automatic once the domain resolves; minutes
- Email settings carried over, if email runs through the domain. Do this at the same time as step two
- Tell Google: submit the sitemap in Search Console. Minutes
Why it is "up to a day"
Every network on the internet keeps a copy of where your domain points, and refreshes it on its own timer. Some refresh in minutes, some in hours. Lowering the time to live setting a day before the switch makes everyone refresh quickly.
With us
A template site is live within 48 hours of your details arriving, and most of that is us checking it. If the domain is new it goes live the same day. If it is moving from another company the transfer itself can add a few days for a .com, minutes for a .co.uk.
Want to see yours? Pick a website template and fill it in for free. You only pay when you want it live. Already have a site? Bring it in and we fill a template from it.