“Your website is ready, you can publish it now.” Many people hear this after building their website with ChatGPT. What it means, ChatGPT rarely says: renting web space, buying and connecting a domain, setting up an SSL certificate, uploading the files by FTP. And with every change, copying code and uploading it again.
That very sentence was the beginning of MADLAB // Publishing: a client called us because ChatGPT had told her exactly that and she did not know what it meant. The whole story is on the blog: How MADLAB // Publishing began.
What you need
- A paid ChatGPT plan. The connection needs developer mode. According to OpenAI it is available on the Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans, not on the free plan.
- A browser. Setup happens at chatgpt.com. Afterwards you can use the connection in the desktop app too.
- A MADLAB // Publishing account. Signing up is free.
It does not work on your phone. ChatGPT’s mobile apps do not currently support these connections, neither for setting them up nor for using them. If you want to work on your website on the go, Claude is the better choice.
Step 1: Create an account
Sign up at MADLAB // Publishing. In your account under “AI assistants” you will find the address of our endpoint – you will need it in a moment.
Step 2: Switch developer mode on
Sign in at chatgpt.com in a browser. Developer mode is in the settings under “Security and login”. In organisation accounts (Business, Enterprise, Edu) it sits under “Apps” → “Advanced settings”, and an administrator has to have allowed it first.
Step 3: Create the app and connect it
- Create a new app in ChatGPT and enter the address of our endpoint.
- ChatGPT sends you to MADLAB. Sign in and confirm what may be accessed.
- Switch the connection on in the conversation.
All the details, and what OpenAI has changed recently: Connecting ChatGPT.
Step 4: Build the website – or upload your finished one
Starting from scratch? Describe your website to ChatGPT: who you are, which pages you need, how it should feel. ChatGPT creates the pages in your account and gives you a preview address.
Your website is already finished? Then ask ChatGPT to create it on MADLAB // Publishing. If the files are already on your computer, ChatGPT gives you an upload address where you upload everything at once as a ZIP. See Uploading images and files.
Either way, you see the website in the preview first, as it will look when it is live.
Step 5: Publish
For every tool that changes something, ChatGPT asks before running it. You see what would be sent and approve it. For reading and checking you can let the conversation remember your approval. For publishing we don’t recommend that: it is the one step that is visible to the outside world.
After publishing, on the free plan the website is online straight away at its own address on freesite.space, with a small badge. With “Website – MADLAB hosting” for CHF 16.90 per month including VAT, it runs under your own domain, without a badge and findable by search engines.
After that: changes in conversation
The real benefit comes after launch. Instead of copying and uploading code for every change, you tell ChatGPT in the connected conversation what is new: “Add a section about gift vouchers to the services page.” ChatGPT reads the current page, changes it and shows you the preview. Every change becomes a version. If you don’t like something, you bring back the previous state, see Versions and rolling back.
Good to know
- Deep Research can do less. In a Deep Research session ChatGPT only uses search and read. Building and publishing are not possible there – have a normal conversation for that.
- ChatGPT Sites is something else. OpenAI offers its own websites directly from ChatGPT. With MADLAB // Publishing you decide: your own domain, hosting in Switzerland and the EU, plain files you can take with you at any time, and you can switch assistants whenever you like.
- Never put credentials in the chat. An FTP password or the key of your payment provider belongs in the portal, not in the conversation.
Frequently asked questions
ChatGPT says I can publish my website now. What does that mean?
That the website’s files are ready. For it to be reachable on the internet, it needs hosting, an address and a certificate. With MADLAB // Publishing, ChatGPT takes care of that step: it stores the files with us, shows a preview and publishes once you approve.
Does it work on ChatGPT’s free plan?
No. According to OpenAI, the developer mode the connection needs is only available on the Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans. Claude’s free plan, on the other hand, does work.
Can I connect ChatGPT to my website on my phone?
Not at the moment. ChatGPT’s mobile apps do not support these connections. You set it up in the browser and use it in the browser or the desktop app.
I have already built my website in ChatGPT. Do I have to start again?
No. If you have the files, upload them as a ZIP. Otherwise, ask ChatGPT in the connected conversation to create the pages with us.
What does it cost to get a ChatGPT website online?
Nothing on the free plan, with a badge and without being listed by search engines. With your own domain and hosting in Switzerland and the EU, CHF 16.90 per month including VAT.