Is Claude Code's auto-run mode (auto mode) safe?

In a clean personal project folder it is fine, but skip it in two cases: a company computer (ask IT first), and a computer holding important data with no backup. In auto mode a second model reviews each action, then it changes files and runs commands without asking you. The convenience and the risk are the same thing. Bypass permissions skips every check, and the official docs only recommend it inside isolated containers or VMs.

When the AI says it is done, does the website really work?

Not always. A report of done only means it believes it finished. Open the page yourself, look at it, and click every button. Checking the result is your job and you cannot skip this step.

How is this different from the 12-prompt tutorial?

The 12-prompt version is the full hand-holding flow, starting from signing up for GitHub and Vercel. This one is the method: how to use a screenshot and a design.md so the result looks designed, and how to write the right prompts. Read this one for the ideas, then follow the 12-prompt version to build.

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Build your first website with Claude Code

The 7-step version · a prompt for every step · no coding needed to go live

黃志弘 Leo

Published 2026-09-11 · Updated 2026-10-07 · 1 readers

Building a website is down to seven steps

The site you are reading right now was built with the seven steps below. No code, just chatting with Claude in my own language. Every step comes with a prompt you can copy, and the two traps beginners fall into most are already marked. Just follow along.

If you want the hand-holding flow that starts from creating accounts, read the other post, the 12-prompt full tutorial. This one is the method that makes the result look like a designer made it. Use the two together.

Step one: start from a screenshot, do not describe it

STEP 1

“Make me a clean, tasteful, modern website”, and then you get the same AI website everyone else has.

Find a website you like, screenshot the full page, and hand it to Claude Code: “Build this layout and this feel, with my content instead.”

Go to Dribbble, Awwwards, or any site you think looks good and grab a screenshot. One image is more accurate than a hundred sentences of description, because “tasteful” is a different picture in your head and mine, while a screenshot has one answer.

This is a screenshot of a website I like. Please build my website with this layout, this color palette and this overall feel. My topic is: [your topic, for example: a handmade dessert studio]. Use sensible placeholder text for now, I will swap in the real thing later.

Step two: write a design.md so the whole site looks like one person made it

STEP 2

The style drifts with every new page. The home page is minimal, the about page turns into a color parade.

Before you start, have Claude write a design.md (a design spec): colors, fonts, spacing, button styles. Every page after that follows the file.

Before we start building, use the screenshot I gave you and write me a design.md design spec. Include: main and accent colors (with hex codes), heading and body fonts, spacing rules, and the styles for buttons and cards. Every page you build from now on has to follow this file.

This step is what makes the result look professional. A designed feel comes from consistency, so keep every page on the same rules.

Step three: let the AI interview you instead of guessing what to write

STEP 3

You work hard on a long requirements write-up, give up halfway, or leave out something important.

Flip the roles. Let the AI be your CTO, ask you one question at a time, and pull the requirements out of your head.

You are my CTO and I am the boss. I do not know how to code, so please do not use any jargon with me. Your job: ask me one question at a time until you know everything this website needs (who it is for, what content goes on it, what I want visitors to do). Start building only after you have asked everything.

This is the one move worth stealing from the whole flow. You do not need to know how to write requirements. You only need to answer questions.

Step four: let it run on its own, after you read this part

STEP 4

You approve every single file change until your finger goes numb.

Let it run in auto mode. Since August 2026, new versions of Claude Code start in auto mode by default, where a second model reviews each action so you do not have to keep approving. Hand over the task, go get a glass of water, come back to the result.

Check this before you turn it on: In auto mode a second model reviews each action, then the AI changes files and runs commands on its own. “Convenience” and “risk” are the same thing. You may also see guides telling you to turn on bypass permissions to skip every check. The official docs only recommend that inside isolated containers or VMs, so leave it off on your own computer. Skip auto-run in two cases:
1. A company computer. Ask your IT team first.
2. This computer holds important data with no backup. Back it up first, or open a clean project folder before you go on.
A personal computer, a separate project folder, and important things backed up. Once all three are true, turn it on with confidence.

Step five: one small piece at a time, get the home page right first

STEP 5

You list twelve requirements in one go and every one of them comes back half done.

One message, one small thing: “get the home page right first”, then check it before you say the next thing.

We do one thing at a time. Right now, get the home page right: a hero section, three feature blurbs, one contact button. Stop when it is done, I will confirm it before we continue.

Step six: when it breaks, send a screenshot, no code reading

STEP 6

You open the code to hunt for the mistake and half an hour later you are more confused.

Open the page and look at it. Whatever is misaligned, whichever button does nothing, screenshot it and send it back: “fix this.”

The trap most people fall into: “Fixed it” from the AI does not mean it is fixed. Its report of done only means it believes it finished. After every round, refresh the page yourself, look at it, and click every button.Checking the result is always your job, and this step cannot be handed off to the AI. One page usually takes 5 or 6 rounds. That is normal, it is not your fault.

Step seven: go live and get your URL

STEP 7

You assume going live means renting a server, sorting out a domain, configuring a pile of things.

Tell Claude “deploy this for me”, follow the steps it gives you, and a few minutes later you have a public URL. Any free host is fine, let Claude pick one for you.

I have checked the site and it is good. Please deploy it for me, a free plan is fine. Walk me through it step by step, in words someone who does not code can follow.

Do not let “it is not perfect yet” stop you. A slightly ugly first version is fine. Get it online, get your URL, then improve it slowly.

The seven steps at a glance

1. Send a screenshot, do not describe it
2. Ask for a design.md spec first
3. Let the AI interview you: “ask me one question at a time”
4. Make sure the environment is safe, then turn on auto-run
5. One message, one thing. Get the home page right first
6. Screenshot what broke, then check the fix yourself
7. Deploy first, polish later

Common questions

I cannot code at all, can I really pull this off?

Yes. You do three things in the whole flow: chat in plain language, copy and paste the prompts, and report problems with screenshots. I never studied programming, and this site plus my three products were all built this way.

What does it cost?

Beyond the Claude subscription, a simple site can be completely free. The free plans on Vercel and Netlify are more than enough for a personal site. You only pay if you want a domain with your own name, a few hundred NT dollars a year.

What if I get stuck?

Nine out of ten blockers are solved with the same move: screenshot what you see and tell Claude “I am stuck here.” For the remaining one, you are welcome to come talk to me.

What's next

The 12-prompt hand-holding tutorialStart from GitHub and Vercel signup, live in a day Next level: add a backend and a databaseBuild a site with accounts that can store data All free tutorialsClaude Code, AI tools, one-person company 1-on-1 coachingWant it faster? I will walk you through it myself

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