How to make a website with AI

1. Decide what the site has to do

Write down the one job the site must do before you open any tool: take bookings, sell products, collect enquiries or show a portfolio. That job decides the builder. A booking site needs forms and a calendar, a shop needs payments and stock, and a portfolio needs strong image layouts. AI drafts are good at structure, but they cannot guess a goal you have not stated.

2. Pick a builder that fits the job

For most small businesses, three AI builders cover the ground. B12 drafts the whole site, including a store or sign-in if you ask for one, in about two minutes, and you keep editing by chatting with its AI. Wix gives you an AI first draft and then a free-form editor with more than 2,000 templates. Hostinger's builder is the cheapest way to get online with a domain and email in one bill, if you pay for several years up front.

If you need a shop with many products, start from Shopify instead and use its theme editor; if you want an app rather than a website, see our guide to making an app with AI.

3. Write a prompt the AI can use

Describe the business the way you would to a new employee: what you sell, who buys it, where you are, what makes you different and what visitors should do next. Include real details, such as your service area, opening hours and prices, because the draft can only be as specific as the prompt. A good prompt is five or six sentences, not one.

4. Fix the first draft before anything else

Read every page as a customer would. Replace generic claims with facts only you know, swap stock photos for your own where you can, check that phone numbers, addresses and prices are right, and delete sections that do not apply. Then check the site on a phone, since most visitors will see it there first.

5. Connect a domain and publish

Free plans publish on the builder's own address, such as yourname.b12sites.com or a Wix subdomain, which is fine for testing but reads as unfinished to customers. A paid plan lets you connect your own domain, and several builders include the domain free for the first year. Budget for the renewal from year two.

6. Make sure people can find it

Give every page a clear title and description, add your business to Google Business Profile, and submit the site to Google Search Console so it gets indexed. Most builders handle the technical basics, such as sitemaps and mobile layouts, automatically.