Claude by Anthropic writes good texts and clean code. For a website it lacks just one thing on its own: a place where the files live, a preview is created and the site goes online safely. You connect that place with a connector. After that, Claude can see your websites and the tools that go with them, and you work in conversation.
We build like this every day ourselves – our own website madlab.ch, with 22 pages in five languages, was created in conversation with Claude.
What you need
- A Claude account. The free plan is enough to start: it allows exactly one custom connector. On the paid plans (Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise) this limit does not apply.
- A MADLAB // Publishing account. Signing up is free.
- Five minutes for the setup. You only do it once.
Step 1: Create an account
Sign up at MADLAB // Publishing. In your account under “AI assistants” you will find the address of our endpoint. It is the same for every customer; you need it in the next step.
Step 2: Add the connector in Claude
- In Claude, open the settings, section “Connectors”. The “+” below the message box takes you there as well, via “Manage connectors”.
- Choose “Add custom connector” and enter the address of our endpoint.
- Claude sends you to MADLAB. Sign in and confirm what Claude may access.
- Back in Claude, the connection appears in the list.
The connection belongs to your Claude account, not to the device. Once it is set up, it works in the browser, in the desktop app and on your phone. All the details: Connecting Claude.
In Team and Enterprise accounts an owner has to allow custom connectors first. Until then, the option does not appear.
Step 3: Switch the tools on in the conversation
This is the step people forget most often. In the chat, click “+”, hover over “Connectors” and switch MADLAB Publishing on. Without that, Claude will answer “publish my site” from memory instead of doing it.
Step 4: Describe the website
Now comes the enjoyable part. Tell Claude what you need, as concretely as possible:
I run a joinery in Lucerne with four people. Build me a website with a home page, services (kitchens, fitted wardrobes, repairs), references, team and contact. Wood, warm, not fussy. In German and English.
Claude creates the pages, checks them against our list for findability, speed and accessibility, and gives you a preview address. There you see the website as it will look when it is live. Say what should be different and look again – until it is right.
Photos and your logo don’t go through the chat. Claude gives you an upload address where you put them, see Uploading images and files.
Step 5: Publish
When everything is right, tell Claude. It first shows you, in a dry run, what would be transferred, and only publishes after you confirm. On the free plan the website is then online straight away at its own address on freesite.space. With the plan “Website – MADLAB hosting” for CHF 16.90 per month including VAT, it runs under your domain, without a badge and findable by search engines.
After that: maintaining it in conversation
The real change comes after launch. New opening hours, a new team member, a note about the holiday closure: you tell Claude, look at the preview and approve. Every change is a version with a time stamp, and one sentence brings back an earlier state. See Versions and rolling back.
Tips from our own work
- One conversation per task. For a bigger redesign, start a new conversation instead of carrying on an old one forever. Claude reads the current state from your files anyway.
- Examples help. “As calm as the website of …” says more than three adjectives.
- Content first, design second. When the texts are right, the design gets better.
- Claude Code for big projects. If you rework many pages at once, you can connect Claude Code to the same tools.
Frequently asked questions
Can I build a website with Claude’s free plan?
Yes. Claude’s free plan allows exactly one custom connector, and that is enough for MADLAB // Publishing. If you have already connected another service there, you have to choose one.
Does it work in the Claude app on my phone?
Yes. The connection belongs to your Claude account. Once it is set up, you use it in the browser, in the desktop app and on your phone.
Why doesn’t Claude just publish by itself?
Because publishing changes your live website. Claude puts it to you, shows a dry run first and waits for your confirmation.
Can Claude take over my existing website?
Yes. Tell it which website is yours. You confirm that once with a file or a DNS entry, and Claude fetches it page by page. More: Taking over an existing website.
What does a website with Claude and MADLAB // Publishing cost?
Building and previewing are free. With your own domain and hosting in Switzerland and the EU, the plan “Website – MADLAB hosting” costs CHF 16.90 per month including VAT. You pay for your Claude subscription with Anthropic as before.