AI & publishing
You built a website with AI — now what?
10 August 2026 · 3 min read
You asked an AI tool to build you a landing page, a portfolio, or a quick prototype, and it worked — you can see it render right there in the chat or the tool's own preview pane. That's not the same as it being live. A preview inside a chat window isn't a URL you can send anyone, put on a business card, or trust to still be there next week. Here's the actual path from “the AI made this” to “this is online.”
What you have
Most of what AI tools call “a website” — a landing page, a portfolio, a one-off tool, a simple multi-page site — is plain static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript once it's done generating, even if a framework was used to build it. That's the detail that makes this easy: static files don't need a server, a database, or ongoing maintenance to host. They just need somewhere to live with a URL attached.
If you used Claude
MakeMySiteLive has a direct connector for this: add the MCP connector URL in Claude's settings, and Claude can create a site, deploy it, and hand you back a live link without leaving the chat. If Claude generated a single HTML file as an artifact, you can also just copy that file and upload it yourself as a microsite — no connector required.
If you used v0, Lovable, Bolt, ChatGPT, or anything else
The universal path works regardless of which tool built the site: export or download the generated files, confirm there's an index.html at the top level, and if it's a folder rather than a single file, compress it into a ZIP. Upload that ZIP (or the single HTML file) and it's live with free HTTPS — the same process as publishing a Framer, Webflow, or Figma export.
One file vs. a whole project
If the AI gave you a single self-contained HTML file, a microsite is the fastest path — free and live in one upload. If it gave you a project with separate CSS, JS, image, or font files, that needs a full-site ZIP upload instead, since a microsite expects everything in one file.
What AI tools don't hand you automatically
A tool's own preview link is usually temporary or tied to your session there, not something built to be a permanent public URL. Publishing gives you a stable address; full sites also keep version history, while upgrading a full site to Pro adds a custom domain and password protection.
Key takeaways
- ✓Most AI-generated “websites” are static HTML/CSS/JS underneath — no server needed to host them.
- ✓Claude has a direct one-click path via the MCP connector; every other AI tool works through the same universal export → ZIP → upload path.
- ✓Publishing gives you a stable URL; full sites keep version history, and Pro full sites add a custom domain and password protection.
- ✓Whether you publish as a full site or a microsite depends on whether the AI gave you one file or a whole project folder.
Frequently asked questions
The AI tool already gave me a preview link — why publish it somewhere else?
Preview links are usually temporary or scoped to your session in that tool, not meant as a permanent public address. They typically can't take a custom domain or a password, and there's no guarantee they'll still resolve later.
What if the AI generated a full app with a backend, not just a static site?
MakeMySiteLive hosts static output only — HTML, CSS, JS, images, and similar assets. If real server-side logic, an API, or a database is involved, that needs a different kind of hosting. Most single-page landing sites, portfolios, and prototypes AI tools produce are static, though — check for an index.html and no server code.
Do I need to know how to code to do this?
No. If the AI tool already produced the files, you're just uploading them — no build step, no command line.
Can I keep iterating with the AI after publishing?
Yes. Regenerate or edit with the AI tool as usual, then upload the result again. Full-site uploads create versions you can roll back to; republishing a microsite replaces its current HTML while keeping the same live link.