"72-hour turnaround" is the kind of line that sounds like marketing copy but is actually a hard operational SLA. We've shipped roughly 100 sites against this clock since the start of 2024. Below is the actual hour-by-hour breakdown of how that time is spent.
Hour 0: order received
Client pays the £99 setup and completes the intake form. The form takes them about 20 minutes and asks for: business name, trade, service areas, USP, photos, existing reviews link, Companies House number, GBP login. The clock doesn't start until everything is in. (See the onboarding questions that predict conversion for the deeper logic on what we ask.)
Hours 0-2: kickoff and template selection
A team lead reviews the intake, picks the trade-appropriate layout from our library (we have 8 - one per major trade category), and creates the project in the system. The founder gets a 5-minute welcome video and a calendar invite for the 30-second video shoot (typically scheduled within the first 24 hours).
Hours 2-12: content drafting
A copywriter drafts the entire site in the client's voice using the intake data plus a 30-minute kickoff call. Service pages, town pages (up to 5), homepage, about page, FAQ. Every site uses the same information architecture; the variable work is the wording.
This is the single most compressed part of the process compared to traditional agencies. We're not "discovering" the content over four weeks; the intake form already extracted it.
Hours 12-24: photo shoot and asset prep
The 30-second founder video gets shot (see the field note on the video shoot). At the same time, the team optimises every client-supplied photo - AVIF compression, art direction, sizing - against our 80KB-above-fold budget. This is where the speed work that lets every site hit sub-1s LCP gets done.
Hours 24-40: build
A developer wires the content into the template, sets up the routing for the suburb pages, configures the postcode checker if relevant, and ships the site to a preview URL. The build is fast because the components are pre-built; we're assembling, not creating from scratch. Every component is part of our local web design system.
Hours 40-48: SEO wiring
Schema gets generated and added (see the schema field note). Sitemap is built. Search Console is verified. GBP gets audited and the primary category is reviewed (see the GBP categories field note). IndexNow gets pinged. Robots.txt is checked.
Hours 48-60: client review
The preview URL goes to the client. They have 12 hours to flag anything they want changed. We get an average of 4-7 small change requests per build - phone number formatting, a service we forgot to mention, a photo they prefer.
Hours 60-72: revisions and launch
Changes get made. Site goes live on the client's domain (we handle the DNS for them; we've yet to meet a tradesperson who actually wants to do this themselves). Final checks: GBP linked, social meta tags, analytics installed, SMS review-request system armed.
Hour 72: signed off
The client gets a launch email with their dashboard login, a 5-minute "how to update opening hours" video, and the support contact. They start paying £49/month from today. The site is fully indexed within 48 hours of launch on average.
What gets compressed (and what doesn't)
The "discovery phase" theatre. We don't run a half-day workshop to discover what a plumber's website should contain. We've built 40+ plumber sites; we know.
What doesn't get compressed: the photo shoot quality, the schema completeness, the performance budget, the SEO setup, the GBP work. These are the things that move actual revenue for the client; they're the reason we're worth £49/month for the next 30+ months.
Why this matters for UK local web design
The traditional agency model spends 80% of its time on discovery and 20% on building. That ratio made sense in 2008 when every site was a custom build. In 2026 it's nonsense. The patterns are known. The components are pre-built. The variable work is content, photos and configuration. Compressing those to 72 hours isn't cutting corners - it's removing waste.
If you want to start the clock, the intake form is here. Or read the pillar guide if you want the broader picture of what Built Local ships and why.