How to create a website using AI in 2026

First, decide: a website or a web application?

A regular website displays information: a portfolio, a service page, a blog, a restaurant menu, or contacts. It often only needs a few pages and an application form. This is the best first project.

Web application stores or performs something: it has registration, a personal account, a database, payments, a chat, or booking. It can also be built using AI, but you need to separately verify access rights, data security, and every user scenario.

What to choose: Lovable, ChatGPT, Codex, or Gemini

The simplest recommendation: for your first business website, start with Lovable or ChatGPT Sites. Gemini Canvas is good for a quick demonstration. Connect Codex when you already have the website files and need precise changes, verification, or regular updates.

If you haven't decided on a workflow yet, open a comparison of ChatGPT, Codex, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor. There is an identical 30-minute test there that helps you choose a tool based on your specific task, rather than an advertising rating.

What to prepare for the first prompt

AI doesn't know your business as well as you do. Before creating a website, give it five things:

• who your audience is and what problem you are solving;
• one main action: an application, a call, a purchase, a registration, or a transition to Telegram;
• a list of pages and blocks;
• real contacts, prices, terms, and photographs;
• 2–3 examples of websites whose style you like.

Universal first promptCreate a professional responsive website in Ukrainian for [who I am / what I offer]. Audience: [who these people are]. Main action: [leave an application / call / buy / go to Telegram]. Pages: Home, Services, About Us, Contacts. On the home page, I need: a clear headline, a short explanation of the benefits, 3 advantages, how it works, FAQs, and a prominent call-to-action button. Style: [subdued / technological / friendly], colors [your colors]. First, show a short plan. Do not invent reviews, clients, numbers, or certificates. Use placeholders where my data is missing. The website must work well on a phone.

Don't ask for twenty functions at once. After the first version, give one clear task at a time: "shrink the headline on mobile", "add a pricing page", "make a form with name and phone fields". This makes it easier to notice which change broke something.

Option 1. Creating a website in Lovable

Lovable is a builder where you describe a website in plain words, see the result on the right, and continue editing it via chat. The service handles the code, preview, and hosting.

1. Create a project. Log in to lovable.dev, click to create a new project, and paste the prepared prompt.
2. Check the framework. See if it's clear within the first five seconds what the website is about and what to click. Don't worry about minor colors yet.
3. Replace fictional data. Add real services, contacts, terms, logo, and images. Forbid the AI from inventing reviews.
4. Fix in parts. Select a specific block and ask for one change. For large changes, first ask Plan Mode to describe a plan without editing.
5. Add data only when necessary. For dashboards, forms with history, or catalogs, you need a database and access rules. Ask to explain in simple words what data is stored and who can see it.
6. Check security. Before launching, open Publish and review the results of the built-in scan. Fix critical errors before publishing.
7. Publish. Click Publish again. You will get an address at lovable.app; future changes must be published separately using the Publish changes button.

Free start: at the time of checking, the Free plan provides 5 build credits per day, but no more than 30 per month. This is a test quota, not a promise of unlimited development. The operation of the published application is accounted for separately: hosting, database, files, traffic, and AI functions consume run credits. A custom domain is available on paid plans; without it, you can publish the site at the address lovable.app.

Before launching, open More → Security and run a Basic scan; after significant changes, it is worth performing a Deep scan. Both checks are free, but no automatic scan guarantees complete security.

Prompt for checking LovableCheck the website as a new visitor and as a QA specialist. Do not change it immediately. Create a list of problems by priority: mobile version, non-working buttons, forms, speed, accessibility, SEO, invented facts, secret leaks, and database access rights. After my confirmation, fix them one by one.

Option 2. Creating a website in ChatGPT

ChatGPT has two different ways of working. Regular chat helps with brainstorming structure, writing texts, checking competitors, and preparing a prompt. Sites can create, host, and subsequently edit the website itself.

Sites is in public beta and is available in ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu. Limits depend on the plan and are shown directly in ChatGPT; if the limit is reached, the existing site can be edited, but creating a new one or supporting high public traffic may be limited.

1. Ask for a website or mention @Sites. Describe the audience, goal, pages, style, and required actions.
2. Review the first version. Send a screenshot with markings of what needs to be changed, or write the edit in words.
3. Ask for individual pages. Each major article, service, or product should have its own URL, rather than being hidden in an endless homepage.
4. Publish and choose access. You can keep the site private at first and make it public after checking. Every Sites deployment is a production publication, so for pre-approval, ask to just save the version first.
5. Connect a domain. If the feature is available in your account, Sites will show the exact DNS records. A custom domain must be purchased separately; initially, this option is unavailable in Enterprise workspaces.

The advantage of this path is that the same assistant can research the topic, create pages, update the site, check links, and help with Search Console. The limitation is that Sites is not designed for all possible server technologies and should not be used for credit cards or particularly sensitive data.

Option 3. What Codex does

Codex is not just a single HTML file generator. It is an agent for working with a project: it reads the folder structure, edits multiple files, runs checks, finds errors, works with GitHub, and can prepare a site for publication. It is especially useful after the first version has already been created in Lovable, AI Studio, manually, or in another builder.

Tasks for Codex after the generatorPerform an audit of this site before publication. Check the mobile version, all routes and links, forms, console errors, duplicate titles and H1s, meta descriptions, canonicals, robots.txt, sitemap.xml, accessibility, speed, and the absence of secrets. First, show the problems and the risk of each. Then fix them without changing the style and publish only after a successful check.

Option 4. Gemini Canvas and Google AI Studio

Gemini Canvas — the fast path. In Gemini, select Canvas, describe a page or application, and edit the result via chat or directly in the code. You can share a public link. This is good for a prototype, calculator, or demonstration, but public Canvas is not a full replacement for a professional website with its own domain. Do not pass private data through it: people with the public link can interact with the application's data.

Google AI Studio Build — a more powerful option. It creates a full web application: React in the browser and Node.js on the server. It can connect Firebase, Google login, Gemini features, and Google Workspace services. The code can be synchronized with GitHub in both directions or downloaded as a ZIP.

1. Open Build mode in Google AI Studio and paste the prompt.
2. Check the live preview and ask to fix specific blocks.
3. If accounts or data are needed, ask to set up Firebase Authentication and Firestore, then check access rules separately.
4. Save secrets via the Secrets panel, not in the code. For new applications, the Gemini key automatically goes into the server environment, not the browser.
5. Sync the project with GitHub — after this, Codex can perform additional checks.
6. To launch publicly, click Publish: AI Studio deploys the application to Cloud Run and can provide a memorable URL. назва.ai.studio.

Creation and testing can be started for free. Payments may arise due to paid models, Cloud Run, databases, or high traffic. During sharing, the Gemini API operates under the app owner's quotas, so check limits and set budget alerts before publishing.

The best scheme: using tools together

1. ChatGPT — research and technical specifications. Ask it to define the audience, page structure, user questions, and prepare a strong first prompt.
2. Lovable or AI Studio — a fast first version. Assemble the design and core features without wasting time on manual configuration of every file.
3. GitHub — code backup. Connect synchronization before major changes begin.
4. Codex — audit and complex edits. Ask it to check real code, routes, security, SEO, and the mobile version.
5. Sites or builder hosting — publishing. Connect a domain, HTTPS, and a redirect from an alternative address.
6. ChatGPT — further development. Create useful individual pages based on real requests, and let Codex add and verify them.

Don't move code between five different services after every edit. Choose one main place where the current project is stored — most often GitHub — and sync through it.

How to do it for free and what you'll have to pay for

Completely free route: create a small page in Lovable Free or Bolt Free and use the platform's address; Gemini Canvas is suitable for demonstrations. If your account has AI Studio Starter Tier, you can publish up to two full-scale applications. Another option is to ask ChatGPT or Codex to create static files and host them on free hosting like GitHub Pages. The downside is that the service address looks less professional, and quotas may change.

Smart paid route: First, prove for free that the structure and offer work. Then buy a domain, connect a paid plan only for the service that actually saves you time, and monitor your database and API costs. Don't buy subscriptions for all tools at once.

Final Launch: Domain, Google, and Verification

• on every important page there are unique title, a description and one clear H1;
• large materials have separate addresses, and there are internal links between pages;
• all buttons, forms, emails, and login scenarios are manually tested;
• the site is convenient on a narrow phone, a laptop, and when text is enlarged;
• the real domain works via HTTPS; http and www lead to one main version;
• secrets are stored in environment variables, the file .env did not end up on GitHub;
• created robots.txt and sitemap.xml, and the site is added to Google Search Console;
• no fake reviews, unauthorized third-party images, or unverified promises;
• necessary explanations about data processing are added for forms or analytics.

If you need a sequence for a real launch rather than a service review, open our separate case study from GitHub and your own domain to Search Console, sitemap, and analytics.

A short route for someone who doesn't program at all

1. Describe the idea to ChatGPT and ask it to create a structure and one complete prompt.
2. Paste the prompt into Lovable and get the first version.
3. Replace all fake data with real data and check the site from a phone.
4. Connect GitHub if you plan to develop the project seriously.
5. Give Codex the task to perform an audit and fix errors without changing the style.
6. Publish the site, and when it's ready for people — connect the domain and Search Console.

How to create custom AI websites

Agree on materials, features, number of revisions, transfer of access, and payment for external services before development. Here example client proposal and estimate; use for calculation Vibe Brief.