How to put a website built with AI online
A live site is an address, https and hosting. Put a ChatGPT or Claude site online: drop a folder, use a coding agent or a chat connector, preview first.
9 minute read
To put a site you built with ChatGPT, Claude or another AI online, its files have to sit with a hosting service that serves them over https to anyone who types the address. There are three common ways to get there: drop the site's folder on a host, let a coding agent that can run commands upload it, or connect your chat to a host it knows how to talk to. Which one fits depends on the tool you built with and the kind of site you have.
What "live" actually means
A site that lives only on your computer, or only inside a chat window, is a draft. Nobody else can open it. A live site has three things:
- An address. A name people type or tap, such as
shop.example.com. At first it can be an address the host gives you, and later your own domain. - https. The padlock in the browser. Without it, browsers mark the site as not secure, and people leave. Most hosts today include it at no extra cost.
- Hosting. A computer that is always on and serves the site's files to every visitor. This is the part you never see, and it is where most of the difference between services lies.
"Putting a site live" means joining those three. Connecting your own domain is a separate step, and you can do it after the site already works. The full walk through is in the guide to connecting a domain.
The common ways to put a site online
There is no single right way. These are the usual options, with no ranking:
| Way | How it works | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Copy files to a web host | Upload the files to a regular hosting account, usually through a control panel or FTP | People who already have hosting and someone who knows it |
| Platforms such as Netlify or Vercel | Drop a folder or connect a code repository, and the platform builds and publishes | People somewhat at ease with developer tools |
| A chat connected to a host | The chat sends the files it wrote through a connector | A small site written entirely in a chat |
| A coding agent that runs commands | The agent checks the project, builds and uploads it itself | A site with a build step, or one you will keep changing |
Each has its own price, and some have a free tier. What a whole site costs, with a domain and hosting, is in the guide to website costs.
Chat or coding agent: why it matters
Most of the confusion starts here. ChatGPT or Claude in a browser tab is a chat. It writes code and shows it to you, but it cannot run commands on your computer. It cannot open a folder, install a package or upload files by itself.
A coding agent works inside the site's folder and runs commands there. Examples are Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot in VS Code, and Codex in the ChatGPT desktop app or on the command line. An agent like that can build the site, check that it works, and upload it.
What this means for you:
- If you built in a chat and got one HTML file or a few files, you can save them in a folder and drop that folder on a host.
- If you built with a coding agent, you probably have a project with a build step (React, Astro, SvelteKit and the like). It has to be built before it goes up, and the easiest way is to let the agent do it.
- If you want to stay in the chat, some hosts offer a connector the chat can use to upload a small site.
Three ways to go live with DeployAI
DeployAI was built for exactly this: sites made with AI. It offers three ways in, depending on the tool you used.
Drop a folder
On the upload page you drop the site's folder, or one zip of it. A plain HTML site with an index.html goes up as it is. A project with a build step is recognized by its kind and sent to the agent route. Notes or a .env file in the folder are left out and never uploaded.
One line for a coding agent
On the go live page you copy one line and paste it to your coding agent. When you start a new site from your account, the line looks like npx deployai@latest start <id>, and the id comes from the site with every choice you made there. You never have to write it yourself.
The agent runs a check that answers one question only: can this project run on DeployAI. Then it uploads. These are the kind of commands it runs:
npx deployai@latest check npx deployai@latest deploy -m "First version"
If something will not work, the check hands the agent an exact list of what to change. DeployAI never edits your code itself.
ChatGPT or Claude through a connector
If you built in a chat and want to stay there, you can add DeployAI as an MCP connector in ChatGPT or Claude, on a computer rather than a phone. The chat can then upload a small site it wrote, as text files up to 200KB, and keep updating it. For a site with images or a bigger site, it gives you a link to a page where you drop the folder. The exact steps are on the connect your AI page.
Preview first, live only with your yes
A common mistake is letting an AI tool push every small change straight to the live site. That is how a working site breaks in the middle of the day without anyone noticing.
The safe way has two steps:
- Preview. Each version goes first to a private address. You open it, check it on a phone and a computer, and decide.
- Go live. Only after you say yes does that version become the site everyone sees.
On DeployAI this is the rule: going live always needs your approval. The agent does not upload after every small edit. When what you asked for is ready, it asks whether to put it live, show a preview first, or wait. The chat connector also creates a version with a private preview, which never goes live by itself. And if an upload fails, the live site keeps working as it was.
What will not run, and what to do about it
Not every site runs everywhere. Modern hosts like DeployAI run sites without a server that is always on, and that shapes what you can upload.
What works:
- HTML, CSS and JavaScript sites.
- Projects with a build step, such as React, Astro, SvelteKit and others, as long as they have an official adapter for this kind of hosting.
- A small database and file storage for a site that needs them.
What does not run:
- Long running servers and background workers.
- Databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL or MongoDB.
- Sites built on WordPress, PHP, Python or Ruby.
That is not a dead end. If your site was made with a tool DeployAI does not run, the agent rebuilds it to run there, with the same content. The check tells it exactly what to change. If you have an existing site on WordPress or Wix, there is a separate guide: moving from Wix or WordPress.
A checklist before you go live
A few minutes of checking save a lot of embarrassment. Before you say yes, go through this list on the preview:
- Title and description. Every page has a clear title with the business name and what it does, and a short description. This is what Google shows in results.
- Contact details. Phone, WhatsApp, email and address are correct. Tap each one and see that it opens what it should. AI tools like to fill in sample numbers.
- A phone check. Open the site on a real phone. Most visitors will come from one. Check that the text is readable, the buttons are big enough, and nothing scrolls sideways.
- The share preview. Send the link to yourself on WhatsApp and look at it. If there is no picture or the title is wrong, ask the agent to fix the share tags.
- Real content. No placeholder text, no reviews you never got, and no numbers made up for you.
- Forms. If there is a form, send it once and check that the message arrived.
The temporary site, and how to keep it
DeployAI also supports a temporary site: a site that goes up without an account, on a temporary address with a "Temporary site" banner, hidden from search engines, and kept for a period DeployAI sets. The page shows the date it will be deleted and a link to keep it. Sign up or log in through that link, and the site moves into your account.
DeployAI is opening in stages, so this route is not always open. At times signup is by invite only and putting a site up without an account is paused. The upload and go live pages show what is open right now.
A temporary site is small on purpose. It is good for seeing your site live and sending the link to a friend, not for running a business on it. Once the site is in an account, you can keep working on it, connect a domain on a paid plan, and pick the plan that fits you, from Free to Business.
In short
- A live site is an address, https and hosting together.
- A chat in the browser cannot run commands. A coding agent can.
- A plain HTML site can be dropped on a host. A project with a build step is best left to the agent.
- Always preview first, and go live only after you say yes.
- Before going live, check the titles, contact details, the phone view and the share preview.
If you built your site with AI and want one place that covers all three cases, dropping a folder, a line for your agent or a connector for your chat, you can start with DeployAI from the go live page.
Questions
Can I host a site I made with ChatGPT?
Yes. Save the files the chat wrote in a folder and upload it to a host, or connect the chat to a host through an MCP connector so it sends the site itself.
Why can't ChatGPT just publish my site for me?
A chat in the browser writes code but cannot run commands on your computer. A coding agent such as Claude Code, Cursor or Codex works inside the site's folder and can build and upload it.
Do I need to buy a domain before my site can go live?
No. Most hosts give you an address of their own to start with. You connect your own domain later, as a separate step.
Will a WordPress or PHP site run on any host?
No. Hosts that run sites without an always on server do not run PHP or WordPress. You can pick a host that runs them, or have an AI agent rebuild the site with the same content.
What should I check before my site goes live?
A title and description on every page, correct contact details, how the site looks on a phone and how the link looks when shared on WhatsApp. Also read every sentence, since AI tools sometimes invent details.