🔥 Building a Website with Claude Code: Fast, Cheap and Actually Good!

What is Claude Code?

Claude Code is a new tool from Anthropic that lets you build websites directly from your terminal. It uses AI to generate code based on your instructions. Think of it as having an AI developer working alongside you, but one that costs just a few dollars instead of hundreds.

Claude Code

The Challenge

I started with nothing - completely empty project. My goal was to build a simple portfolio website with admin functionality for managing content. I wanted to see if Claude Code could:

Set up a PHP framework
Create responsive design
Implement basic CRUD functionality
Do it all quickly and cheaply

The Process

I opened my terminal and ran the Claude Code command. Right away, it started suggesting a simple PHP framework structure. The cool thing is that it generated everything I needed - from the index files to styling, database connections, and even admin pages.

What impressed me was how interactive the process was. When something wasn't working correctly (like wrong PHP version issues), I could just tell Claude Code about the problem, and it would suggest fixes immediately.

At one point, I had an issue with missing CSS styling. The command line interface made it easy to identify and fix the problem - I just had to point out that some files weren't being properly linked.

The Results

After about 30 minutes of back-and-forth with Claude Code, I had a fully functional portfolio website with:

Responsive design that looks modern and clean
Admin panel for content management
Post creation and editing functionality
Contact form
About page
Project showcase section

The most shocking part? The entire build cost me just about $3! That's right - THREE DOLLARS. For comparison, hiring someone on Fiverr to build something similar would cost at least 10-20 times more, and probably take days instead of minutes.

Was It Perfect?

Not exactly. I did encounter a few issues:

Some initial problems with PHP version compatibility
CSS wasn't properly linked at first
A few minor bugs in the admin section

But the important thing is that Claude Code made it extremely easy to fix these problems. I just had to point them out, and it would suggest the correct solution.

Final Thoughts

For small projects like portfolio websites, landing pages, or simple business sites, Claude Code is honestly a game-changer. The combination of speed, cost, and quality is unlike anything I've seen before.

Is it going to replace professional web developers? No, especially not for complex projects. But for many basic websites that small businesses and freelancers need, this tool hits a sweet spot that's hard to beat.

Total cost: $3 Total time: About 30 minutes Result: A functional, good-looking portfolio website with admin functionality

Have you tried Claude Code or similar AI development tools?