Easy Tech TutsHow to Build a Website Using Claude AI | No Coding Needed | Easily 2026
By Impran M NLast checked against official docs
Claude can build a working one-page website from a plain-language request. You describe what the site is for, answer a couple of multiple-choice questions about style, and Claude writes the page and shows it in a preview panel next to the chat.
The recording used here does exactly that on a Free plan, building a personal portfolio site. Building is the easy half.
The part most guides leave out is what happens when you want other people to see the result. Since September 2026, a site you share from Claude can only be opened by people who have a Claude account.
So a Claude link works fine for showing a draft to a friend, but it isn't a public website. This guide covers the build, the refinement loop, and the sharing rules as Anthropic currently documents them.
01Turn on artifacts and start the chat
Claude builds the site as an artifact, a self-contained file it previews beside the conversation. Artifacts only work when Cloud code execution and file creation is switched on under Settings > Capabilities.
If it's off, Claude can still write the code, but you get a wall of text in the chat with no preview. Start a new chat and say what you want in one line.
"Help me create a website for my portfolio" is enough. You don't need a plan, a sitemap or a colour scheme. Claude's follow-up questions narrow things down.
02Answer the design questions
Before writing anything, Claude asks a short set of multiple-choice questions. In the recording there are two (the counter reads 2 of 2): which part of your work the portfolio should spotlight, then what vibe you want.
The vibe options were Clean & minimal, Bold & colorful (streetwear/K-pop energy), Dark & modern/techy, and Not sure, surprise me. Use the arrow keys and Enter, click an option, or type your own answer in Something else.
Skip moves past a question you don't care about. The answers become constraints on the build, so pick deliberately.
03Let Claude build it
Claude restates your answers at the top of its reply so a wrong choice is easy to spot. Then it lists its working steps.
Here those were architecting a minimal portfolio layout, loading Anthropic's frontend-design skill (a set of design instructions meant to steer Claude away from generic-looking pages), and creating the site itself. Notice the last line: Creating Jayson's portfolio website.
Claude took the first name from the account. Anything personal it fills in this way, plus placeholder bios, project names and contact details, needs checking before anyone else sees it.
04Review and refine in the same chat
Read the preview as you would a designer's first draft. Does the spotlighted work match your answer?
Does the navigation make sense? Is any of the text invented?
Then ask for changes in plain words: move the contact section up, swap the accent colour, rewrite the headline, add a link to your Instagram. Stay in the same conversation.
Claude edits the existing page, and you can branch the conversation to try a different direction without losing the version you have. Later updates work the same way, and every artifact is saved to the Artifacts tab in the sidebar, so you can come back to it from any chat.
05Share it, or move it to a real host
Open the artifact and click Share. On Free, Pro and Max you choose Only you or Anyone with the link, or invite people by email.
Anthropic's help page is blunt about the limit: everyone needs a Claude account to open a shared artifact, even with the link. That makes Share good for feedback and bad for a public portfolio.
For a site that strangers and search engines can reach, you need the page's code on your own hosting. Ask Claude for the finished site as a single HTML file, then upload it to whichever static host or website service you use.
Artifacts from before 16 September 2026 still show the old Publish button, which creates a public link that works without an account. Be careful with Unpublish on those. Anthropic says you can't publish that artifact again afterwards.
| Artifacts made since 16 Sept 2026 | Legacy artifacts (older chats) | |
|---|---|---|
| Button | Share | Publish (Free, Pro, Max) or Share & copy link (Team, Enterprise) |
| Link options | Only you, Anyone with the link, or invite by email | Public link on Free, Pro and Max; organization-only by default on Team and Enterprise |
| Can someone without a Claude account open it? | No | Yes, on Free, Pro and Max |
| Undo | Switch access back to Only you | Unpublish, which is permanent for that artifact |
From Anthropic's Share artifacts help page, checked September 2026. The sharing model changed that month, so check the current page if a button doesn't match.
When it doesn't work
Claude writes the code into the chat but no preview appears
Why: Cloud code execution and file creation is switched off, and artifacts depend on it.
Fix: Turn it on in Settings > Capabilities (or ask your organization owner on a Team or Enterprise plan), then ask Claude to build the site again.
Someone clicks your shared link and can't see the site
Why: Artifacts shared with the current Share button can only be opened by people signed in to a Claude account.
Fix: Ask them to sign in, or put the site's HTML on your own hosting if it's meant for the public.
The Publish button is gone from an older artifact
Why: It was unpublished. Anthropic doesn't allow a legacy artifact to be published again after that.
Fix: Ask Claude to recreate the site in a new chat and share the new artifact instead.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a paid Claude plan to build a website?
No. The recording is on the Free plan. Artifacts work on every plan; only the Design, Slides and Docs templates are paid-only.
Can people without Claude see the site I share?
Not with the current Share button. Anthropic's help page says everyone needs a Claude account to open a shared artifact. For a public site, host the HTML yourself.
Can I connect my own domain name?
Not inside Claude. Take the finished HTML to a hosting service and connect your domain there.
What kind of site is this good for?
Single-page portfolios, landing pages and simple small-business sites. Online stores, logins and anything needing a database are beyond what a chat-built page will handle well.
Sources and last check
The chat flow (the question card, the recap and the build steps) comes from a screen recording on a Claude Free plan. Artifact availability, the Capabilities setting, and the sharing rules were re-checked against Anthropic's Claude Help Center in September 2026. That check added the account requirement for shared artifacts and the September 2026 change to how artifacts are shared, neither of which the earlier version mentioned.
About the author
Impran M N
I've been hooked on technology for as long as I can remember — especially the new tools and AI apps that seem to land every other week. Easy Tech Tuts is where I write up whatever I've just worked out: I do the task in the real product, record the screen, and turn it into the guide I wish I'd found first.
