How to build a website with Claude when you've never coded

You can build a real website with Claude without knowing a single line of code, and it's easier than you think, even if you aren't tech savvy. Not a template with your name dropped in, but a site that looks and reads like you. What you need is a plan, a clear brief and an honest weekend.

Can Claude really build a website?

Yes. Claude is an AI made by Anthropic, and it can write every part of a website: the words, the layout, the code that makes it work on a phone. The catch is that Claude builds what you describe. A vague request gets a generic site. A clear one gets yours.

AI builds what you describe. The description is the work.

That's why so many people are asking this question right now. Searches for "AI website" doubled in the last year, and searches for Claude grew even faster.

What you need before you start

• A Claude plan. The Pro plan ($20 a month) includes Claude Code, the version that builds and saves real website files on your computer.
• Your words and photos. Your story, your services, a few real photos. AI can polish your words, but it can't invent your life.
• A free GitHub account and a free Vercel account. That's where your site will live once it's done. Here's how to put it online.
• About a weekend. Most of it is thinking and choosing, not typing code.

What do I pay for? Claude, first and foremost, and I host on Vercel. Claude first recommended a different system, but I figured out a way to save money and keep each site safer, more secure and owned by me or my clients.

If you're only building your own website, begin with Claude right away. You can get by on the Pro plan at $20 a month, then upgrade or add credits little by little when you run out. That's entirely up to you and your budget.

The five steps

1. 01Plan before you build. Write down who the site is for and the one thing you want a visitor to do. Claude works best when it knows the point.
2. 02Brief it like a designer. Don't type "build me a website." Describe the look (fonts, colors, how much white space), the sections in order, and how it should feel on a phone.
3. 03Build one section at a time. Ask for the top of the page first. Look at it. Then the next section. Small steps never break; big ones sometimes do.
4. 04Check it on a phone. Ask Claude to check every change at laptop size and phone size before it tells you it's done.
5. 05Put it online. Connect it to Vercel and, when you're ready, your own domain.

Where most people get stuck

In my experience, the step that trips people up most is getting started with Claude for the very first time. I used ChatGPT heavily from the day it became public, and it stayed my main AI resource until I moved to Claude to help a client's website. There was a learning curve while I tried to understand how to do everything.

The best thing you can do is have Claude ask you questions, then complain about every single little thing you want fixed, you're struggling with or you want off your plate. Have a heart-to-heart conversation with it about the best way to help. Never forget the goal: save money and gain back time. If you learn something from another creator, screenshot it, explain in your own words what they were able to do, and see if your Claude can come up with a solution that helps you the way you want to be helped.

Claude will be the best trainer you ever have, even better than the professionals themselves.

But nothing will ever replace real human experience, which is why we still need professionals in our field. Claude is a tool, not a full replacement. A human needs to inspect the process and double-check the work, because it messes up all the time, and that can be very frustrating.

The prompt that changes everything

Most beginners start with "build me a website" and get something that looks like every other AI site. Start with a brief instead. Here's the shape of a good first message:

That one message sets the rules for everything after it.

The easiest and cheapest way to start is to open Claude Code and use prompts that already work. You skip most of the learning, go straight to building, and don't waste money on credits and trial and error. That's what the prompts in The Story Scroll are for.

What goes wrong, and how to fix it

• "Claude says it can't make my site public." Right: Claude builds the files, and a host like Vercel puts them online. That's a separate, free step.
• It looks generic. Your brief was too short. Add your fonts, your colors, a site you love and why.
• Something broke. Take a screenshot, paste it in, and ask Claude to explain the cause in plain words before fixing it.
• The words sound like AI. Read every line out loud. Change anything you'd never actually say.

What went wrong on my own build

Many things went wrong, and many of them were costly.

It's not cheap to play around with AI tools.

Everything costs credits right now, and you can't finish a project unless you buy more. When I moved all of my clients over to Claude, I went on the Max plan, about $200 a month, and I can't tell you how many times I've had to upgrade, or wait because I didn't want to spend any more money.

But I had to. I could literally see the potential for each of my clients' businesses, the ones who were open to learn. That part is important. I've also realized many people are completely anti-AI, and the news right now doesn't help.

Speaking as a professional filmmaker, the video tools are not cheap at all. I spent over $800 creating the videos on this small YouTube channel, just playing with what video creation and animation can do.

Then there's the constant correcting: telling Claude to move things it placed wrong, too little negative space in some areas and too much in others. As a graphic designer, I look at websites, print and photos with a different eye, and it can be extremely frustrating when AI doesn't get it right. I have tons of iterations of my website and my clients' sites because I want things to look a certain way. Claude also adds its own insight when nobody asked, and it can't always picture what you're seeing in your mind, so there's a lot of back-and-forth.

What fixed it

If you're a perfectionist like I am, put limits on yourself, unless you want to go down the rabbit hole and spend a ton of money. That's why I created my guide, with shortcuts for the prompts, for putting your information together and for the code behind a sideways scroll. It's also why I've built my design skills into my own Claude, so I spend less time explaining design. I want to help others build that into theirs.

Or skip figuring it out on your own and cut to the easy part. That's why you hire me.

Should you build it yourself?

Build it yourself if you want to own every word and learn a skill you'll use again. If you want every step and prompt laid out for you, The Story Scroll walks you through it.

This is where I would love to step in. A lot of my clients come up with ideas but can't quite figure out how to present them on a website. Some message me for advice and try it themselves, and I can always be hired to correct things. Others don't want to mess with it at all, so they come straight to me and I figure it out.

If you'd rather have it done for you, that's what I do for local businesses, like the sites I built for NoTerra Farms, Zion Barbers and Ad Hoc.