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AI Q · Bonus guide

How to build your own website with Claude

You describe the site in plain words. Claude builds it as one file. You shape it until it feels like you, then upload it to your hosting. No coding, no page builder. It's how I build my own pages.

Time an evening for a one-page site Cost free to build; you pay only for your domain and hosting Level you can chat with Claude

Prologue

From idea to address

A first website doesn't need ten pages. It needs one good page that says who you are, what you offer and how to reach you. Claude can build that page with you in one evening.

  1. 1Plan
  2. 2Build
  3. 3Shape
  4. 4Upload
  5. 5Live on your domain

Where you are

You have an idea for a site, and maybe a domain and hosting. If not, steps 1 and 2 are here.

What you'll have

  • A one-page site that works on phones
  • The file, saved on your computer
  • The site live on your own domain
  • A simple way to update it

How I came to it

The guides on this site are built this way. I describe what I want, Claude builds the page, I review it on my phone and laptop, and only then does it go online.

Before you start

What you need

Your ticks are saved in this browser.

The picture

How it fits together

Claude makes the file. Your hosting stores it. Your domain points people to it.

  1. YouHere's who I am and what I offer.
  2. ClaudeHere's your page, as one file.
  3. HostingThe file lives here.
  4. Domainyourname.com opens it.
One page, one file. You can add pages later.

The evening

Seven steps

What to do, how I do it, and a task to tick.

1

Let Claude interview you

  1. Open a new chat, or a project if you have one for your brand.
  2. Paste the prompt and answer the questions in your own words.
  3. Ask for a short page plan at the end. Read it before anything gets built.
I want a one-page website for [me / my business]. Before you build anything, interview me one question at a time: who it's for, what I offer, what I want visitors to do (call, email, book, buy), the tone, and the colors I like.
When you have enough, give me a short page plan: the sections in order and one line about each. Don't write code yet.
How I do it

If you did guide 3, tell Claude to read your brand doc first. Then the site sounds and looks like you from the first draft.

Task
2

Ask for the page as one file

One self-contained file is the easiest kind of site to upload, move and update.

Build the page from our plan as one file called index.html, with all the styles inside it.
- It must look good on a phone first, then on a laptop.
- Use my words. Don't invent reviews, numbers, awards or clients.
- Put a clear button for [the one thing visitors should do].
- Add a page title and a short description for search engines.
Show me a preview when it's ready.
How I do it

I always add the "don't invent" line. A page with a made-up review or number is worse than a plain page.

Task
3

Shape it like a visitor would

  1. Look at it as a stranger: is it clear in five seconds who this is and what to do?
  2. Ask for changes in plain words, one or two at a time.
  3. Check it at phone width. Most visitors will see it there first.
  1. "Make the button bigger"
  2. "Shorter intro"
  3. "Use my photo at the top"
  4. "Show me the phone view"
How I do it

I check every page at phone, tablet and laptop size before it goes online. Once a row of cards looked fine on my laptop and broke on another size. Now Claude checks all three for me.

Task
4

Save the file on your computer

  1. Ask Claude: "Give me the final index.html as a file to download."
  2. Download it and put it in a folder named after your site.
  3. Photos too: keep them in the same folder, and ask Claude to use the exact file names.
How I do it

Each version goes into a new folder, so I can always go back to the last one that worked.

Task
5

Upload it to your hosting

Every host has a file manager in its dashboard. Your site's main folder is usually called public_html.

  1. Hosting dashboard
  2. File Manager
  3. public_html
  4. Upload index.html
  1. If the folder already has files, download a copy of them first.
  2. Upload your index.html (and photos) into the folder.
  3. Stuck? Your host's support can show you. With SiteGround, the File Manager is in Site Tools.
How I do it

Once I dropped a file in the wrong place and replaced my home page. My host's daily backup saved me. Now I upload one folder at a time and check the live site after each one.

Task
6

Point your domain and check the padlock

  1. Your host shows you two nameservers for your site.
  2. In your domain account, open the domain's nameserver settings and paste them in.
  3. Wait. It can take a few hours before the address opens your site.
  4. Look for the padlock next to the address. If it's missing, turn on the free SSL certificate in your hosting dashboard. SiteGround usually sets it up for you.
  1. Domain accountNameservers: your host's two.
  2. Hostingpublic_html/index.html
  3. Visitorhttps://yourname.com
If you bought the domain with your hosting, this is usually done for you.
Task
7

Check it live, and know how to update it

  1. Open your site on your phone and on a laptop. Click every button and link.
  2. Still seeing the old page after an upload? Clear your host's cache, then hard-refresh the browser.
  3. To update: ask Claude for the change, download the new file, upload it over the old one.
Here's my current index.html [attach the file]. Change only this: [your change]. Keep everything else exactly the same and give me the full file back to download.
How I do it

More than once I uploaded a new version and still saw the old one. It was the cache. Now clearing it is part of every upload.

Task

Other paths

Bigger site, or WordPress?

A bigger site with Claude Code

  • Claude Code is Anthropic's tool for building software. It works in a folder on your computer.
  • Ask it for several pages that share one design. It creates and edits the files directly.
  • You still review each page before you upload the folder.

WordPress

  • Most hosts, SiteGround included, can install WordPress for you from the dashboard.
  • Use Claude for the words: page plan, headings, text for each section.
  • Paste the text into WordPress and pick a theme. Good if you want to edit pages yourself in a visual editor.

Check it works

Ask Claude to review your live site

Paste this in a new chat with your address. A second look catches what you've stopped seeing.

Here's my site: [your address, or attach index.html]. Review it as a first-time visitor on a phone. In 5 short lines: 1) is it clear who this is and what I offer, 2) what's the one action and is it easy to find, 3) anything that reads unclear or too long, 4) anything that looks broken, 5) the one change you'd make first.
Task

Stay in charge

My do's and don'ts

Do

  • Keep every version of your file, so you can always go back.
  • Use only photos and words you own.
  • Review on a phone before anything goes online.

Don't

  • Paste your hosting or domain passwords into a chat. Claude doesn't need them for this.
  • Put details on the page you wouldn't hand to a stranger, like your home address.
  • Publish reviews, numbers or client names you can't back up.

Epilogue

You have a website

You planned it, Claude built it, you shaped it, and now it lives on your own domain. Updating it is one chat and one upload away.

Want Claude to help with more than the website? The series starts with setting up Claude and ends with turning your thoughts into posts and videos.