Most website migrations take about one to two weeks from accepted quote to live. A typical brochure or content site moves in around seven days, while large or e-commerce sites take two to four weeks. WPBuildAI commits to a fixed go-live date up front rather than a vague range, because the timeline is driven by countable things: page count, content volume, and the number of URLs that need redirects. Once those are known, the schedule is predictable.
The honest version: the design rebuild is rarely the slow part. Content and redirect verification is.
What actually drives the timeline
Three things set the clock. The first is page and post count, because every page is rebuilt and every post is moved. The second is media volume, since each image and file has to transfer and be re-linked. The third, and the real one, is the number of indexed URLs that need a mapped 301, because that map has to be built and verified before launch.
Design complexity matters less than people expect. A striking ten-page site can be faster than a plain two-hundred-post blog, because the blog carries far more content and far more redirects.
How long each type of site takes
Use this as a planning guide. Your exact date comes from a crawl of the real site, not a category.
| Site type | Typical timeline | What drives it | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brochure site, under 10 pages | About 5 to 7 days | Page rebuild, light redirect map | Fastest, fixed date |
| Content site or blog, 50 to 200 posts | About 1 to 2 weeks | Content move, large redirect map | Predictable with a crawl |
| E-commerce, products and members | 2 to 4 weeks | Catalog, checkout, parameter URLs | Plan a staging review window |
| Multi-language or custom app | Scoped per project | Many URL trees, integrations | Quote individually |
The pattern: the more URLs and content, the longer the verify phase, not the design phase. WPBuildAI turns each row into a firm date by crawling the site first, so you plan around a real number.
Why the redirect phase sets the schedule
You can rebuild pages quickly. You cannot safely launch until every old URL maps to its new home, because a missing redirect means a 404 and lost rankings. Google’s site move guidance assumes redirects are in place before the switch, so this phase is non-negotiable. Once the new URLs are live, you resubmit the sitemap so Google rediscovers them fast. On a large site, mapping and verifying thousands of URLs is simply more hours than building the templates.
This is also why a rushed migration is dangerous. Cutting the verify phase to hit a date is exactly how sites lose traffic. For the full sequence around this, see how to migrate a WordPress site to Lovable.
How to make your own migration faster
You can shorten the timeline without cutting corners. Give your migrator full access on day one, so there is no waiting on logins. Clean up obviously dead pages before the crawl, so fewer URLs need mapping. Decide upfront whether your domain is changing, because a domain move adds a Change of Address step. And review the staging link promptly, since the cutover waits on your sign-off.
For example, an owner who hands over access and reviews staging within a day often shaves several days off a two-week estimate. If you are still weighing platforms, Lovable vs WordPress for small business sites covers the decision before the clock starts.
Key takeaways: how long a migration takes
Plan on about a week for a small site and one to two weeks for a typical blog, with larger and e-commerce sites running longer. The timeline is set by content volume and the redirect map, not by design. WPBuildAI commits to a fixed go-live date after crawling your site, so you get a real number instead of a range, and the verify phase is never cut to hit it.
Quick answers
How long does a website migration take?
Most sites go live in about one to two weeks. A small brochure site takes roughly seven days; a 50 to 200 post blog takes one to two weeks; e-commerce and multi-language sites take longer. WPBuildAI sets a fixed go-live date after crawling your site, because the timeline depends on countable things like page count and the number of URLs that need redirects, not on guesswork.
What makes a migration take longer?
The number of indexed URLs and the volume of content, because each URL needs a verified 301 and each post and image has to move and be re-linked. E-commerce adds product, checkout, and parameter URLs, which multiply the redirect work. Design complexity has surprisingly little effect; a large blog usually takes longer than a visually elaborate ten-page site.
Can a migration be done in a day?
For a very small, simple site with few indexed URLs, a one-day turnaround is sometimes possible, but it is the exception. Rushing a larger site means skipping the redirect verification that protects rankings, which is the one phase you should never cut. A firm short timeline is fine; a short timeline that drops verification is how sites lose traffic.
Does my site go down during the migration?
No. The new site is built and verified on a separate staging environment while your current site stays live. The switch happens only at cutover, when the domain points to the verified new site, so visitors never hit downtime. WPBuildAI cuts over only after the redirect map passes, which keeps the move invisible to your visitors.