Hey Reader,

Yesterday, I built a new website from almost scratch. Design, layout, copy, deployment. All in one day while also doing other things.

No developer. No agency. No Webflow template. Just me and my Claude Code.

I started off by having a wireframe I built last week in an hour, that was just about nailing the offer, the positioning and the copy.

Here’s how that looked (it already used my brand font and colors):

So, I opened Claude Code last morning and told it to:

1. Read the wireframe’s content so it gets the idea
2. Tell me it’s assessment about the offer
3. Read relevant skills like my writing-style, the paladin-guild skill, and the frontend-design skill.

We then spent a few hours on refining the offer, the messaging, the copy and the wireframe. I actually realized that the guild is not only for those who are already in an AI mess (that’s one group), but it’s about the transformation of going from just chatting to automating your business.

So we arrived at this version (it’s technically a high-fidelity wireframe) (last saved at 14:04 yesterday):

Then I told Claude to:

It did it.

Then I said:

It started making a bunch of files I didn’t even fully understand, but I just rolled with the vibe.

Then, I made a few graphics in Keynote, gave it images in the proper folders (it told me where to put them), and obviously made a bunch of small changes:

Changes to the copy, moving some buttons, adding a section, removing a section, moving a section, adding images, etc.

I wish I had the full conversation but it was around 400k tokens total, and I had to compact the conversation to get more work done related to the guild.

It was a lot of back and forth to be honest, but the good thing is that while I wait for Claude Code, I can work on other stuff. It’s a bit tough from a multitasking standpoint, but Claude Code went to work for 2-3 minutes at a time, so naturally I switched to either another Claude Code convo working on something else, or my other software.

The final version looks like this:

Once we had the website ready to go in my folders, the next question was: how do I deploy this to the internet? Currently it’s just a bunch of HTML files on my computer.

Claude Code told me:

1. We needed to setup a private github repo (Claude Code did this, I just had to log in and approve things)
2. We needed to link that repository with Vercel (Claude Code gave me step-by-step instructions so I was done in 2 minutes)
3. Then we needed to link my domain (Vercel did this automatically in my Cloudflare account)
4. Then I had to just click Deploy.

Once we were done, I also told it to save what we did into its main CLAUDE.md, so it knows next time what’s our website’s system.

(Oh also, see those brand logos there? I had to make them transparent, and Claude Code also wrote a script that turned all white pixels into transparent for a .png file 😂)

Will it stand the test of time?

I want to add more things to the site in the future:

• A private client work offer for AI strategy
• An educational blog
• Free downloads (Claude Skills, automations, guides, etc.)
• Promotional material for booking speaking gigs

So I don’t yet know how well that is going to work, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. I didn’t have to touch any of the HTML code so far, and I’ll keep it that way because I’m not THAT technical.

I used to pay $47/month for Webflow to host my previous site with CMS. So far, I’m paying Vercel exactly $0/month.

So my $200/month Claude Code subscription now only costs $153/month :D

Why this matters (and it’s not about websites)

A year ago, this project would have been a $3,000-$5,000 agency job and taken 3-4 weeks, and hours of meetings with the designers and the strategists and whatnot. I’ve worked on enough websites to know.

And to be honest, I was a bit nervous about it. I’ve seen plenty of AI-generated websites and most of them look like AI slop. You can tell: Perfectly symmetric minimalistic cards, generic stock-photo energy, Inter font, blue-to-purple gradient. They all look the same because the AI was working from the same generic training data with no real context about the brand.

The difference was the Skills. Claude Code wasn’t guessing my brand. It had the actual brand guide, the actual voice, the actual offer details. That’s the difference between “generate a website” and “build this specific person’s website with full context.”

And that’s the same principle behind everything in the Guild. Generic AI output is what you get when you use AI without context. Specific, useful output is what you get when you give it your Skills.

And that's exactly what your business needs.

What’s changed in the Paladin Guild

Speaking of the Guild, I’ve restructured a few things based on what I’ve learned from our first cohort of members.

The biggest change: the Claude ecosystem is now the core of what we do. Skills, Cowork, plugins, Claude Code (coming soon!). This is where the fastest results are for non-technical people. Make.com automations are still in there (and they’re still the path to full automation), but most members are getting their biggest wins from Skills and Cowork first. So that’s where the focus is now.

The other change: unlimited one-on-one calls with me. Not 1 call. Not 3 calls. As many as you need. If you’re stuck on something, if you want my two cents on what to do next with your AI stuff, if you need help picking which template to start with, you book a call and I help you figure it out. That’s it.

I did this because the members who got the most value were the ones who actually talked to me. The templates are great, but the 25-minute call where I look at your specific situation and say “start here, skip that, this is what matters for your business” is worth more than any template.

So now it’s included for everyone. The only limit is that there are 10 slots for 25 minute calls per week. First come, first served. I currently charge $500/hr for an AI consultation, so this 1:1 access for $200/quarter or $600/year is a steal.

I’m going to close doors next Sunday, and only open again once a month from now on. So if you want to join our April cohort, now is the time!

​Check out my new site for what you get and how I can help you go from chatting with AI to automating your business. Also check it out as a case study for what’s possible with AI today in a day.

Talk soon,
Dave

Dave Talas

P.S: I've put together a Claude Crash Course, do you want it?