Building a Website Entirely with Claude Code

I decided to try an experiment: build an entire website using Claude Code as my primary development tool. Not just generating snippets to copy-paste, but actually using it to architect, implement, and iterate on a real project.

The Setup

I started with a blank Next.js 16 project — just the default create-next-app output. From there, every component, every design decision, and every line of code was written through conversation with Claude Code.

What Worked Well

• •Planning the full architecture before writing any code gave Claude much better context for each implementation step.
• •Using TypeScript throughout caught type errors early and made refactoring much safer.
• •Keeping components small and focused made it easy to iterate on individual pieces without breaking the whole site.

What I'd Do Differently

Next time I'd start with the content model first. Defining the data structures upfront would have saved several rounds of refactoring as the site's needs became clearer.