Our web design process
How we design and launch your website, step by step.
A clear, four-step process with fixed prices and real timelines, plus a checklist of everything we need from you so your website goes live on time.
Quick answer
Most small business websites in South Africa take one to four weeks to design and launch. With Rainbow, a one-page Launch site goes live in about 7 days, a 6-page Business site in about 14 days and a Growth site in 3 to 4 weeks. Web apps usually take 6 to 12 weeks after a discovery sprint. The biggest factor is how quickly we receive your content and feedback.
How we work
Free strategy call
We learn your business and goals, then send a fixed quote within 24 hours.
Plan and wireframe
Every page mapped around the action you want visitors to take.
Design and build
Custom design and clean code, with a live preview link as we go.
Launch and grow
Tracking and Google Business set up, then ongoing improvements.
Our 4-step web design process
- 01
Day 1
Free strategy call
We learn your business, your customers and your goals, and agree what the website needs to do: calls, WhatsApp messages, bookings or sales. You get a fixed quote within 24 hours.
- 02
Days 2 to 4
Plan and wireframe
We map every page around the actions you want visitors to take, then agree the layout with you before any design work starts. This is where we collect your content (see the checklist below).
- 03
Days 5 to 12
Design and build
Custom design, clean code, and your WhatsApp, booking or payment integrations. You preview progress on a live link and send feedback on WhatsApp or email.
- 04
Day 14 onwards
Launch and grow
We launch, connect your domain, set up tracking and your Google Business Profile, then keep improving what converts. You own everything from day one.
The timeline above is for our Business package. A one-page Launch site compresses the same steps into about 7 days, and a Growth site with a booking system or quote calculator takes 3 to 4 weeks.
How long does it take to design and launch a business website in South Africa?
What slows projects down is rarely the design or the code. It is waiting for text, photos, logins and approvals. Projects with one decision-maker and content ready on day one finish fastest. Projects where content arrives in pieces, or where several people need to sign off each page, take longer.
Ready to start? Get a fixed quote within 24 hours.
What we need from you before we start
You do not need everything on day one, but the sooner we have these, the sooner you go live:
- Your business basics: business name, logo and brand colours if you have them, and your contact details, hours and service areas. No logo yet? Our logo and brand kit is R2,500.
- Your services and prices: what you sell, who it is for, and any starting prices you are happy to show.
- The main action you want: a call, a WhatsApp message, a booking, a quote request or a sale.
- Your words: bullet points are fine and we will polish them. If you would rather not write at all, our conversion copywriting add-on is R3,900 for up to 6 pages.
- Real photos: your team, your work, your premises. Real photos build more trust than stock images.
- Your domain name: the login for your domain, or the name of the company that registered it. If you do not have one yet, we will help you register it in your name.
- Google Business Profile access, if you already have a profile. If not, we set one up.
- Your WhatsApp number for click-to-chat buttons, and your Meta Business details if you are adding a WhatsApp chatbot.
- For booking systems: services, durations, staff, working hours and your deposit or cancellation rules.
- For online stores: your product list, prices and photos, and a PayFast, Yoco or Ozow account.
- For POPIA: who your Information Officer is and how you use customer information, so we can set up your privacy notice and forms. See our POPIA website guide.
- One decision-maker who can approve pages quickly.
- Two or three websites you like, and what you like about them.
What happens after launch
You own your domain, your code and your content from day one. We show you how to request changes and, where your site has an admin area, how to update it yourself. Growth websites include 30 days of post-launch optimisation.
For ongoing help, our optional care plans start at R450 per month for hosting, SSL, daily backups, security monitoring and 30 minutes of edits. Plus (R1,250 per month) adds 2 hours of edits or new content, a monthly SEO and conversion report and Google Business Profile posts. You can cancel anytime. See pricing and SEO services.
Bigger projects: web apps and custom platforms
For web apps, client portals and custom booking platforms, we start with a R4,500 discovery sprint that is credited to your build. We map users, features, screens and integrations, then give you a fixed price and timeline. You keep the documents even if you do not go ahead. After that, we release in weekly updates to a staging link so you can test as we build.