There is now a ChatGPT website builder: ChatGPT Sites. You describe the site in a chat, ChatGPT builds it, shows you a preview, hosts it on a chatgpt.site address and, if you want, connects your own domain. According to OpenAI, Sites is part of Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise, not Free or Go. Hosting is free until December 31, 2026; from January 1, 2027 you pay for usage beyond your plan's monthly allowance (as of November 2026). The older route still works too: ChatGPT writes copy, structure and code snippets, and you put them into WordPress, a site builder or your own hosting. Either way, the content, legal pages and the check before launch stay with you.
My view: the era of expensive websites is over. I like the idea of being in charge yourself, with no contractor needed. My fifteen AI employees run on Claude, and I pay for ChatGPT alongside it, because I use both regularly. Everything about Sites below comes from OpenAI's help center and documentation (as of November 7, 2026). On top of that, I tested Sites with Codex, and Codex published things to Sites. Build, approve, let others join in: it's the ChatGPT counterpart to Claude Artifacts, and it's pretty easy. What "being in charge" means with Sites is in the section on limits.
Two ways to build a website with ChatGPT
Sites has been around since summer 2026.
How the ChatGPT website builder works, step by step
These steps follow OpenAI's help center, as of November 2026.
1. Open Work
On the web, select Work in ChatGPT. In the desktop app, select ChatGPT and then Work, or Codex. OpenAI says Sites isn't available in the ChatGPT Classic app. Whether Sites shows up for you, you'll see in your account. Older tutorials point to canvas; on November 7, 2026, OpenAI's help center no longer had an article on it. What Work does beyond websites is covered in ChatGPT Work vs Claude Cowork: Delegating.
2. Describe it and attach your material
Use the word "website" in your request or mention @Sites. OpenAI recommends attaching your own sources and telling ChatGPT to flag missing information instead of filling it in. An example for a small business:
Use @Sites to build a website for my painting business.
Use only the details in the attached file services.pdf.
Pages: home with services, contact, legal notice, privacy policy.
Goal: visitors call or send an email.
Mark missing details visibly as [MISSING] and don't make anything up.
Save a version, but don't deploy anything yet.
The last line matters. According to OpenAI, every Sites deployment URL is a production deployment. To review first, ask ChatGPT to save a version without deploying it.
3. Review the preview and refine
Click through the preview, compare the copy against your material and check the phone layout. Ask for changes in the chat; OpenAI suggests one change at a time and saying what to keep.
4. Choose who can visit
A new site is visible only to you and, in a workspace, its admins. Under Share you pick the audience, up to "Anyone on the internet". Test links and forms as a visitor before you widen it.
5. Connect a custom domain
OpenAI says Sites doesn't register domains, so you need one you own and access to its DNS records. In the site's settings, select Add domain, copy the records into your domain provider's panel and refresh the status after a few minutes. A domain in your own name is what lets you move later. What to watch for when buying one is in How to Buy a Domain Name Forever and Keep It.
What ChatGPT Sites costs
What a credit costs depends on your plan, says OpenAI. From December 1, 2026, usage per site is supposed to be visible. A simple site without storage should stay cheap. For a comparison with builders, agencies and hosting, see What Does a Website or Landing Page Cost?.
Where ChatGPT hits its limits
Hosting: The site runs on OpenAI's platform. Under the Sites Terms, OpenAI may show attribution such as "powered by ChatGPT" in your footer or toolbar, and may remove or disable a site "at any time for any reason". A deleted site can't be restored.
Files: Website content stays yours under the terms. To get the source code, you ask Codex to export it. There is no built-in backup of database records and uploaded files together, and restoring an earlier version brings back the code, not the data. If you want to stay in charge, export the code after every larger change.
Upkeep: Changes go through the chat, and a deployed change is live at once. Co-editing requires a workspace.
Technology: Sites runs on its own runtime; OpenAI notes that some frameworks and databases aren't supported. Payments only through a third-party processor, no protected health information.
Law and data: This is not legal advice. Under the Sites Terms you alone are responsible for your site and its content, and you are the data controller for personal data it collects, for example through a form or cookies. If you run a business site in Germany, § 5 DDG requires a legal notice with name, address and email. OpenAI describes EU regional hosting only for Business and Enterprise workspaces with EU data residency. And on Free, Go, Plus and Pro, OpenAI may use the conversations in which you build the site for training if "Improve the model for everyone" is on.
Launching doesn't make a site findable. Start with How Do I Get Found on Google? Local SEO and Optimizing Your Website for AI Search.
Building a website with ChatGPT, without Sites
On any plan, ChatGPT can propose an outline, write copy from your notes and produce HTML and CSS for single sections. Assembling, uploading and maintaining is then your job. That gets tedious as the site grows, because in a plain chat ChatGPT doesn't see your files as a whole. Builders are compared in Website Builders Compared, free routes with your own hosting in Build a Website for Free: The Real Ways, webspace and uploads in Web Hosting Comparison: Prices, Space, SFTP.
ChatGPT, Claude Code or an AI site builder?
Honestly: Sites takes the most off your plate, hosting included, and that is exactly the price. With Claude Code the source code sits in your folder and runs on any host, but you upload it yourself. Builders' AI generators are compared in AI Website Generators Compared; what building by instruction really means is in What Is Vibe Coding? A Plain Guide. The Claude Code route, step by step with a test run, is in Build a Website With Claude Code: A Guide. What Lovable does and what else is out there is in Lovable Alternatives: 6 Options Compared. For the broader picture, see Claude vs ChatGPT 2026: Compared.
How Ralf builds kevinwelter.com
I'm a developer, and I still haven't written a single line of code myself in a year and a half. That includes my website: Ralf, my AI employee for websites, builds and maintains kevinwelter.com in Claude Code. His page puts the difference to a generator this way: "You do not give him a vague wish like a generator. You give him an assignment, sources, and clear limits." He uses only claims that can be supported by your sources, and approval for the launch stays with you. OpenAI's own tips for Sites point the same way: your own material, gaps flagged instead of filled. Every route to your own website, with and without AI, is collected in Build Your Own Website: A Guide With AI.
Frequently asked questions
Can I build a website with ChatGPT for free?
Not with Sites: OpenAI excludes Free and Go. On the free plan, ChatGPT can still write copy and code that you put in place yourself. Free routes with your own hosting are in Build a Website for Free: The Real Ways.
Can ChatGPT build a WordPress site?
ChatGPT can write copy, layouts and code snippets for WordPress; WordPress itself you install with your host. Sites isn't WordPress hosting: the docs describe their own runtime and database and don't mention WordPress. When you don't need a CMS at all is in WordPress Alternatives: 5 Options Compared.
Can I use my own domain with ChatGPT Sites?
Yes, where custom domains are available for your account. You buy the domain yourself and add the DNS records Sites gives you.
Who owns the code of my ChatGPT site?
Under the Sites Terms, the content you provide stays yours. You export the source code via Codex; back up database records and uploaded files separately.
Where to go from here
Start with your material, not the tool: services, contact details, legal information. Sites then gives you a preview, and you'll see whether this route is enough. To hand the work to an AI employee and keep the approval, see how Ralf works. Ralf is a ready-made template in the Premium tier of my community at 149 US dollars a month; in the Standard tier at 5 US dollars a month you build him yourself (according to his page). Both are in the AI Employee Framework. For your specific case, let's look at it together.
