How to publish a website built with AI

Open the folder the AI generated. If there is only an index.html file, maybe with an images folder and a stylesheet, it is a static website. It needs nothing more than ordinary hosting.

If there is a package.json file and a src folder, it is a JavaScript project, almost always React with Vite. It has to be built (the command is usually npm run build), and what goes live is the generated folder, normally dist, not the whole project.

If package.json mentions next, express or a database, or there is an api or server folder, it is an application with a server. It needs hosting that runs Node.js, with environment variables configured, and it won't work on ordinary file hosting.

Many people hear it's just a matter of “dropping it in the public folder”. But there are two different folders with similar names. The hosting's public_html is where the files the browser receives live. The public folder of a React or Next project is a folder of images and static files inside the code.

Copying the whole project into public_html makes the browser receive code that hasn't been built: you get a blank screen or a list of files. For a static site, the files go into public_html. For a React project, the contents of the build folder go there. For an app with a server, neither works.

Static website: upload the files through the hosting's file manager or use a service like Netlify, Vercel or Cloudflare Pages, which publish the folder directly. Then connect the domain.

React or Vite: run the build on your computer, check that the generated folder opens, and upload only that folder. If the site has several routes (/about, /contact), configure the hosting to return index.html for any address. Without that, reloading an inner page gives a 404 error.

App with a server: needs Node.js hosting, the right Node version, the environment variables (API keys, database address) and a start command. Platforms that connect to GitHub and deploy on every change are usually the safest path.

With the site live on a temporary address, connect your domain: in the panel where it was registered, point the A record (or the CNAME) to the hosting. The security certificate, the browser padlock, is usually issued automatically a few minutes after the domain points correctly.

Finally, check that the text shows up in the page source (right click, “view page source”). If the content only appears after JavaScript runs, Google and ChatGPT may read an empty page, and that weighs on the company being found.