Build Your First Website with Claude Code: From Product Brief to Custom Domain

You have chosen the name and bought the domain. The next step is to make sure that anyone who opens that domain can see the product, understand what it does, and take the next action.

In this guide, we will use Claude Code to build a product website that is ready to publish. The example is a customer-feedback management tool that is not yet open for registration. Its website has a clear job: explain the product to freelancers and let interested visitors apply for early access.

The entire workflow stays inside the coding tool: create the page, refine the layout, connect the form, check the result, and deploy the site. The website itself does not need a chatbot or any other AI feature.

Choose the development workflow first

Claude Code can read a project, edit files, and run commands, which makes it useful for ongoing development and revision inside one website project. This guide uses Claude Code in a local terminal.

Create a dedicated website directory and place the approved product name, copy, and available assets inside it. Continue with the existing structure when a project already exists. For a new project, ask the tool to propose a simple implementation for a one-page product site.

An existing Claude Code setup can be used as it is. Configure a model provider only when you choose usage-based API access.

To use Claude Code through BetterToken, follow the Claude Code setup guide and configure the API Key and Base URL. Keep these settings in the local development environment so the coding tool can use them; do not place them in the public website. Available models and access conditions depend on the current account configuration.

After setup, ask Claude Code to inspect the website directory and summarize the existing files, technical stack, and start command. Compatibility through a third-party gateway can vary by client and feature, so confirm that the model and capabilities you need work before development begins.

Step 1: Give the AI a brief it can build from

“Make a premium, high-tech website” does not say who the product is for or what the main button should do.

Once you have provided the approved name and assets, send a task like this:

Goal: Build the first version of a product website for a customer-feedback management tool aimed at freelancers. The product helps users review client revision requests in one place instead of searching through chat histories. Registration is not open yet, and the primary button should say “Apply for early access.”

Allowed scope: Build only the homepage. It should include a product introduction, one clearly labeled demo scenario, three core use cases, an FAQ section, and an early-access entry point. Use the product name and assets I provide.

Do not: Add login, payments, or a product dashboard. Do not invent customer numbers, testimonials, or partner logos.

Completion criteria: First deliver a page preview that opens in a browser and works on both desktop and mobile. If the early-access entry point is not connected to a real service yet, label it clearly as a demo.

Verification: Check that the page starts correctly, review the mobile layout and primary-button behavior, and report what was actually tested.

This brief is enough to define the boundaries of the first version. Add details after you can see and review the page.

During the first review, check whether the page explains the product accurately. Where does customer feedback come from? Why should a visitor try the product? What happens after the button is clicked? Colors and animation can be refined later, but the page must answer these questions first.

Step 2: Tie each revision to a specific part of the page

After the first version is ready, the most useful feedback identifies the exact area that makes the page harder to understand or use.

For example, if a large image fills the mobile hero and visitors must scroll before they can read the product value, continue with a task like this:

Goal: Adjust the mobile hero on the current homepage so visitors see the product purpose and the “Apply for early access” button first.

Allowed scope: Change only the layout and styling of the homepage hero.

Specific changes: On mobile, move the demo image below the button and keep the current copy. On desktop, preserve the existing side-by-side layout.

Completion criteria: No horizontal overflow on mobile, the image does not cover the heading or button, and the desktop layout remains unchanged.

Verification: Check one mobile width and one desktop width. Fix only issues caused by this change.

Open the page again after every change and confirm that the actual result matches the request. When browser tools are available, ask the AI to preview the page directly. Otherwise, open it yourself and provide screenshots together with reproducible issues.

Once a version is satisfactory, keep a recoverable snapshot before starting the next round of revisions. This makes it easy to return to a stable version when a later direction does not work.

Step 3: Make sure early-access requests actually reach you

For this website, the most important feature is not complex interaction. It is receiving the early-access requests.

The first version can open a hosted form that is already configured, so you do not need to build an account system just to collect email addresses. The form can ask for an email address and one optional question: “How do you currently manage client feedback?” Explain that the information will be used for early-access contact and product research.

Give Claude Code the real form URL and ask it to replace the demo entry point. Then click through from the website, submit a test request, and confirm that the record appears at the receiving end.

For an embedded form, connect the actual submission service and implement submitting, success, and failure states. Show the success message only after the receiving service confirms that the data was written.

Page feedback should match what actually happened. This matters more than adding more presentation sections.

Step 4: Check the public preview before connecting your domain

After the local preview is ready, publish the project on a hosting platform that supports its technical stack. Start with a public preview URL and open it on another device to test images, links, and the form.

On Vercel, for example, you add the purchased domain to the project and then configure DNS using the values shown for that project. Use the DNS records provided by the current project. When the domain is also used for email, keep the existing MX and other mail-related records. See the Vercel custom-domain documentation for the detailed flow.

After the domain is connected, repeat the full visit and submission flow through your own domain. Check whether visitors can open the page, understand the product, and complete the application.

A fixed product page like this does not call a model when someone visits it. The model participates only during development; after deployment, the site runs like a normal web project. If you later add visitor-facing content generation, analysis, or chat, design the runtime model integration as a separate feature.

Step 5: Launch with a website people can use

Use real page screenshots, a clear product description, and a working entry point when you begin sharing the site. When the product is still recruiting testers, write “Apply for early access” on both the page and the launch materials.

Once the website is ready, browse the startup directory on NewName.ai to see how similar products describe themselves, and submit your own product. Keep the submission focused on real functionality, actual page screenshots, and a working URL.

Then bring concrete feedback from visits and applications back into the website project. If visitors still cannot tell how the product differs from a chat app, revise the explanation. If people click the button but do not complete the application, inspect the form and the flow. Address one clear problem at a time and keep improving the site.

A name gives the project an identity, and a domain gives it an address. The real outcome of building with AI is turning the product idea into a website that people can visit, understand, and act on.