How I Spun Up This Website in a Few Hours Using Claude

Eight years ago, I dove down a rabbit hole building the first version of this website. I created a basic portfolio and resume site from scratch using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

It took me weeks to get right.

My approach was messy. I found a site I liked, copied its code, and tried to hack it into something that worked for me. Lots of trial and error. Lots of frustrated Googling.

Fast forward to 2026. Everything's different now. Mostly because of AI.

I deleted the old site (it hadn't been public in years anyway) and started completely from scratch. This time around, I signed up for Bluehost's AI Access Pack. $20 a month for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, with smart routing to the best model for each task.

And I just dove in.

Step 1: Create a Basic HTML Structure

Here's the prompt I used:

Set up a portfolio website that will display some writing samples, photography, graphic design, and my basic resume. Set it up from scratch starting with a text editor with HTML and CSS so I can learn about web design as I go. Start with an index.html file and a style.css file. Walk me through the beginning steps of generating a basic website.

Claude spat out the basics to get started: the foundational code to start an index.html file and a style.css file, linked together.

From here, I just prompted Claude for assistance in adding the features I wanted:

Step 2: Advanced Feature: Link Cards

Feeling confident, I took things a step further and tried something I would probably never have figured out without Claude: setting up a feature where I could share links to my favorite published articles that would generate preview cards, similar to pasting a link into BlueSky.

Build a system where if I have a link to a news story it will display the social card including the main photo and a social preview. The stories are hosted on sites with social preview support. This would be a display similar to how links display when posted on BlueSky. Make it interactive so I can paste URLs and auto-generate cards.

At first, Claude gave me an option that placed the input box on the main site. This was not a good option, because of course I don't want the public pasting any link and generating content on my site.

So I submitted a new prompt to ask for the same feature, but also set it up behind a password protected admin dashboard.

Keep the interactive paste URL feature, but create a separate and secure admin page for the feature.

This opened up a whole new set of options to create the secure dashboard. I won't get into the full details, but after a few tweaks, Claude walked me through setting up a hidden and secure login and dashboard in which I can paste the links I want to share.

Step 3: Creating New Pages

Next, I wanted to create this very page you're reading now. I asked Claude:

Create a new page linked to the same CSS and JS that powers index.html

Claude gave me a new basic HTML file to work with, and reminded me to update my navigation links if needed on the index.html file.

One note about this page, when I first created it, the text looked awkward. The box in which the text sits was very wide, the font was basic and the lines were way too close together. So I said:

The text looks awkward. Make it look more like a news article or a blog post

A quick CSS update later on build.html, and it looked more like a blog post, and less like a wall of text.

And these nifty code boxes where I'm pasting my prompts? Claude helped build those too! They're technically called "Styled Code Boxes" by the way.

Step 4: PUBLISH!

Since I already owned the domain, currently pointing to a directory that was empty, all I needed to do was add all of the files to the directory.

I then pulled up the website and clicked around to make sure everything was working and looked right. I also tested logging into the admin dashboard and adding links in the live envionment. Everything worked like a charm!

Is the Bluehost Access Pack worth it?

So far, yes. In getting this far, I did not run up against any noticable limits, and the information provided appeared to be almost entirely accurate and helpful.

In addition, since it lives inside your Bluehost environment, it already knows a bit about your configuration, which was very helpful.

There are no affiliate links or paid placements here. I'm a 100% independent paying customer of Bluehost trying all of this out, and reviewing for anyone interested in trying this exercise.

Happy building!