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Playbook  /  I built it, now what: going live

How do I make the website I built with AI actually live?

Straight answer

To make an AI-built website live, you need three things: a domain (your address), a host (where the files actually run), and a deploy (pushing your build to that host). Most AI builders can connect a host like Vercel or Netlify in a few clicks, then you point your domain at it.

Information current as at 5 July 2026

You have a site sitting in a preview window and no idea how to get it in front of real people. The gap between "it works on my screen" and "anyone can visit it" is smaller than it looks. There are only three moving parts, and once you have named them, the whole thing stops being mysterious.

Plain English
Domain
Your website's address, the thing people type in, like yourbusiness.com.au.
Host
The computer, always on and connected to the internet, that serves your site to visitors.
Deploy
The act of copying your finished site onto the host so it goes live.
Build
The packaged, ready-to-serve version of your site that the host actually runs.

Step by step

  1. Get your site out of the preview and into a real projectWhatever tool you built in has an export or a connected code repository behind it. Find the option to export the code or link a GitHub repository. This matters because "live" means the files exist somewhere a host can reach, not just inside the builder's preview. If your tool offers one-click publishing, you can often skip ahead, but knowing where the code lives is worth five minutes now and saves hours later.
  2. Choose a host and connect itA host runs your site around the clock. For most AI-built sites, Vercel, Netlify or Cloudflare Pages are the common choices, and each connects directly to a code repository and deploys automatically. You sign up, point it at your project, and it produces a live web address ending in something like .vercel.app. That temporary address proves the site is genuinely live before you have even bought a domain.
  3. Buy your domainYour domain is your real address. Buy it from a registrar (a domain seller) such as Cloudflare, Namecheap or an Australian provider like VentraIP or Crazy Domains. A .com.au signals an Australian business and needs an ABN or ACN. Expect to pay a modest yearly fee. Buy the domain in your own account, not a builder's, so you always own and control it.
  4. Point the domain at the hostThis is the step that trips people up. In your host's dashboard you add your custom domain; the host gives you DNS records to enter at your registrar. DNS is the internet's address book, and these records tell it your domain now points at your host. Enter them exactly, then wait: changes can take minutes or up to a day to spread worldwide.
  5. Turn on HTTPS and do a real testModern hosts add HTTPS (the padlock, meaning traffic is encrypted) automatically once the domain connects, usually within minutes. Once it shows, visit your domain on your phone using mobile data, not your home wifi, so you are testing it the way a stranger would. Click through every page and form. If it all loads, you are genuinely live.
No pressure
Show us what you built.

If you have made something and it needs to become real, send it over. We will tell you honestly what it needs to be live, safe and yours, whether that is a quick fix you can do or a proper build. No obligation.

Common questions

Questions, answered

Do I have to buy a domain before I can see my site live?
No. Your host gives you a free temporary address (something like your-site.vercel.app) the moment you deploy, so you can confirm everything works before you buy a domain. The domain just replaces that temporary address with your own branded one.
Why is my site live at the temporary address but not at my domain?
Almost always because the DNS records that connect your domain to your host are missing, wrong, or still spreading. Double-check the records match what your host asked for exactly, then give it up to 24 hours. DNS changes are not instant.
Is this safe to do myself, or will I break something?
The steps themselves are safe and reversible: you are not touching anything a visitor can see until it works. The real risks are subtler, like security and data handling, which matter once real people and real information are involved. Those are worth a proper look before you take payments or collect customer data.
What if my app has logins or a database, not just pages?
Then it is a web app, not a static site, and it needs a bit more: the database has to be hosted too, and your secret keys must be kept off the public code. The launch idea is the same, but the safety checklist is longer. Our article on moving an app off a builder covers it.
Keep reading
What is a domain and do I need one? →What is hosting, in plain English? →What does deploy actually mean? →The fortress websites system →All playbook articles →
No pressure
Show us what you built.

If you have made something and it needs to become real, send it over. We will tell you honestly what it needs to be live, safe and yours, whether that is a quick fix you can do or a proper build. No obligation.

Start here

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Whether you can name exactly what you want built, or you just know something is leaking, the next step is the same conversation.