How to Build a Simple Website with AI

There are two main routes. The first is an AI-assisted website builder. Platforms such as Wix, Squarespace and Hostinger, among others, offer features that generate a draft site from a few questions, and they bundle hosting, templates and a visual editor. This is the easiest path for most small businesses, in exchange for a monthly fee and less control over the code. The second route is to have a chat assistant write the code directly. For a simple site, a single HTML file with CSS is enough, and it can be hosted on free static hosts such as GitHub Pages, Netlify or Cloudflare Pages. Start with content, not code. Tell the AI who the site is for, what visitors should do (call, book, buy or read), and the facts: name, services, prices, location and hours. Ask for a page outline and headline options, then rewrite anything that is untrue or does not sound like you. If you let it, AI will invent plausible details such as testimonials or years in business; never publish those. When generating code, ask for semantic HTML (header, nav, main and footer elements), a responsive layout that works on phones, and no external dependencies unless needed. Preview the page in a browser, resize the window, and ask the AI to fix specific problems you describe. To go live, you upload the files to a host and, optionally, buy a domain from a registrar and point it at the host by updating DNS records. Most modern hosts provide HTTPS certificates automatically. Common misconceptions include thinking that no code means no decisions (you still choose structure, wording and images), that a static page can process forms or payments on its own (it needs a service), and that a site that looks good is automatically accessible.