Planning a new website?
This guide covers realistic timelines, costs and what each option actually delivers.
Need it live this week?
Launch48 delivers a complete site in 48 hours for $699, first month of maintenance included.
Speed claims decoded
"Same day" honestly means one page, ready content, a focused message. "48 hours" means up to five pages with a published scope. "One week" usually means a semi-custom build with a revision round. "Fast" with no timeline attached means nothing at all, and is the first thing to ask about.
Seven questions that separate fast from reckless
What exactly is included, in writing? A number of pages, revision rounds and features. Vagueness here is where deadlines and budgets both die.
Who owns the domain, hosting and files? You should, in your own name, in accounts you control. This is the most common way businesses get trapped.
Will the forms be tested? A shocking share of rushed builds ship with contact forms that never deliver. Ask them to submit one in front of you.
Is it mobile first? Most of your visitors will be on a phone. Ask to see a phone screenshot before launch, not a desktop mockup.
What is the SEO baseline? Unique titles and descriptions, clean URLs, an XML sitemap, indexable pages. Not rankings, which nobody can promise, but the foundations that make rankings possible.
Who maintains it from day three? Updates, security, backups and monitoring start immediately. A build with no plan for this becomes a hacked site within a year.
What does a change cost after launch? Get this before you pay, not after.
Red flags worth walking away from
Guaranteed page one rankings. No written scope. Payment in full before any work. Hosting locked to their account with no export. A portfolio of sites that are all offline. And pressure tactics about a price expiring, which is a sales technique rather than a business reality.
Where fast genuinely wins
For a service business that needs to be findable, credible and contactable, a well executed fast build performs as well as a slow one. The extra weeks in a long project mostly buy custom design, and custom design is worth paying for when your brand is the product. When your plumbing, dentistry or consulting is the product, spend the difference on photography, reviews and ads instead.
Our position
Launch48 is $699 flat for five pages in 48 hours, with the scope, the timeline and the exclusions published on the service page before you pay. Your first month of maintenance is included, so the site is monitored and backed up from launch. If your project genuinely needs a full studio, we will say so on the call rather than sell you something that does not fit.
Frequently asked questions
Is a fast web design company cheaper? Usually, because fixed scope removes proposal cycles, project management overhead and revision negotiation. The saving is process, not quality.
Can they handle ecommerce? Simple stores yes, in days rather than hours. Complex catalogs, integrations and multi-currency setups take real time and should be quoted separately.
How do I check they are legitimate? Ask for two client sites launched in the last year, then visit those sites and check they load fast, work on a phone and have working forms.
What if I hate the design? Ask how many revision rounds are included before you pay. Fixed-scope builds usually include one or two, and that is normally enough when the direction was agreed at kickoff.
Need a website, not a six-week project?
Launch48 delivers a complete five-page business website in 48 hours for $699 flat, mobile-ready, secure and fast at launch, with your first month of maintenance included.