Use AI to generate a brand-new website for a business with no existing site to copy.
Build from Scratch is for clients who have no existing website, or cases where you want to create a completely fresh design rather than rebuilding an existing one. Instead of downloading and analysing an original site, you provide business details and the AI designs and builds the entire React application from nothing.
Once created, the site enters the normal pipeline at the Demo Complete stage — you can host, revise, and deliver it exactly like any other lead.
Click the Build from Scratch button in the top toolbar of the main window. A dialog opens with two paths.
If you already have a site folder on disk (perhaps from a previous build or an external tool), use Path A to register it with the pipeline without running the AI:
Click Browse and choose a folder containing the existing React site.
Fill in Business Name, Website URL (the original site URL if applicable), and a Slug (used as the deployment subdomain and folder name).
If the folder is already ready to deploy, tick "Demo Complete" to add the site with that step already checked off. You'll land straight at Host Demo.
The folder is copied to edited_sites/<slug>/ and added to the pipeline.
This is the primary path. The AI receives a detailed brief and constructs a complete React website with no source material.
Fill in: Business Name, Business URL (their social page, Google Maps listing, or existing basic site if any), Phone, Email, Address, and a brief description of what the business does.
The Niche dropdown is populated from your example_sites/ folder. If you've saved example sites from a niche (via the ★ EXAMPLE action in the Swiper), selecting that niche tells the AI to use them as style inspiration.
A new PowerShell terminal opens. The AI receives a 6-phase prompt and begins construction.
The AI works through all phases autonomously. When the terminal closes, the site appears in the pipeline with Demo marked complete.
The from-scratch prompt instructs Claude to work through these phases sequentially in a single session:
| Phase | Name | What the AI Does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Research | Reads any provided URL or example sites to understand the business and industry aesthetics. |
| 2 | Plan | Creates a site structure plan: pages, sections, content hierarchy, and color palette. |
| 3 | Build | Constructs the full React application with all pages and components. |
| 4 | Analyze | Reviews the built site for visual consistency, missing content, and technical issues. |
| 5 | Revise | Applies fixes identified in the analysis phase. |
| 6 | Document | Writes a DESIGN_NOTES.md file explaining every design decision — colors, fonts, layout rationale, and component choices. |
The from-scratch build typically takes longer than a demo rebuild — plan for 10–20 minutes depending on site complexity and model choice.
Build from Scratch uses the Website from Scratch model setting in Settings → AI Model & Effort. This defaults to Opus 4.7, max effort for the highest quality output. You can change it to Sonnet 4.6 for faster results if quality is acceptable.
Providing a niche with saved example sites produces noticeably better results. Run a few discovery searches, save good-looking sites as examples, and your from-scratch builds will match that aesthetic.