I was paying $40 a month for Squarespace. That's $480 a year for a website I didn't fully control, couldn't customize the way I wanted, and that felt increasingly limiting for what I needed. So I decided to build my own.
The result? This website you're reading right now. Built in about 3 hours total. And my ongoing hosting cost? Zero—I'm already on Vercel Pro for other projects.
Why I Made the Switch
Don't get me wrong—Squarespace is a solid platform. It got me online quickly when I first started ShirePath. But over time, the limitations became more apparent:
- Customization ceiling: I kept bumping into walls when I wanted to do something slightly different
- No ownership: My content lived on their platform, in their format, on their terms
- Recurring costs add up: $40/month doesn't sound like much, but it's $480/year for something I could own outright
- The timing was right: AI coding assistants have matured to the point where building a custom website is no longer a massive undertaking
The Process: Working with Claude Code
For those unfamiliar, Claude Code is an AI-powered coding assistant that can help you build software through natural conversation. You describe what you want, it writes the code, and you iterate together until it's right.
But here's what made this project efficient—I didn't just have one conversation. I orchestrated multiple AI agents working in parallel.
My Workflow: Orchestrating AI Agents
The key insight was treating Claude Code instances like a team:
Plan mode parallelization: I spun up multiple Claude Code instances, each in plan mode working on different parts of the website simultaneously. One was designing the homepage layout while another was figuring out the blog architecture.
Queue-based execution: Here's the trick—I let Claude plan autonomously in the background, but I executed those plans one at a time. This gave me control over what actually shipped while maximizing parallel thinking time.
Exploratory QA: Once pieces were built, I did manual testing to find issues. Found a bug? Spin up a Claude instance dedicated to that specific problem. This kept each conversation focused and efficient.
Describe, review, iterate: For each feature or fix, the number of iterations varied. Some things Claude nailed on the first try. Others needed refinement. The pattern was always the same: describe what I wanted, review what Claude produced, then iterate until it was right.
The Time Breakdown
This is where it gets interesting:
- ~1 hour focused work: Active collaboration—reviewing plans, making decisions, QA testing, providing feedback
- ~2 hours background: Claude instances planning and working while I was doing other things entirely
That's the real magic. While Claude was thinking through one problem, I could be reviewing another solution, or frankly, making lunch. The AI did the heavy lifting; I did the steering.
What We Built
This isn't a basic template site. It's a modern web application built with:
- Next.js for the framework—fast, SEO-friendly, and scalable
- MDX for the blog—I write in Markdown, and it becomes a beautiful, interactive page
- Responsive design that works on every device
- Full SEO optimization built in from the start
- Complete ownership of every line of code
Everything Squarespace gave me, plus more control. And I can extend it however I want going forward.
The Numbers
Let's be direct about the economics:
Before (Squarespace):
- $40/month ($480/year)
- Limited customization
- No code ownership
After (Custom + Vercel):
- $0/month (already on Vercel Pro)
- One-time ~3 hour investment
- Full code ownership
The savings pay for themselves immediately, and I have a better product.
The "Wow" Moment
About two hours in, I had a realization. I was looking at a fully functional website—blog system, responsive design, modern architecture—and it hit me: this would have taken me days or weeks to build alone. Not because I couldn't do it, but because the actual coding, debugging, and iteration takes time.
Claude didn't just write code faster. It eliminated the friction between having an idea and seeing it implemented. That's a fundamentally different way of working.
Important Caveat: Review Everything
Here's something I want to be very clear about: AI is powerful, but it's not infallible.
Throughout this process, I reviewed every piece of code Claude produced. Sometimes it made mistakes. Sometimes it misunderstood what I wanted. Sometimes it produced something that worked but wasn't quite right.
The human is still the quality gate. This isn't "hands off"—it's "hands on the steering wheel." You're directing, reviewing, and ultimately responsible for what ships. If you accept code without reviewing it, you're accepting whatever bugs, security issues, or design problems come with it.
Think of it like having a very fast assistant who's great at following instructions but still needs supervision.
Who This Is For (And Who It Isn't)
This approach works well if you're:
- Tech-curious and willing to learn
- Wanting more control over your online presence
- Comfortable reviewing output and providing feedback
- Looking to reduce recurring costs
Some honest considerations:
- You need some technical comfort—not expertise, but willingness to engage with code
- Developer background helps, but isn't strictly required
- You have to be willing to review and iterate, not just accept whatever's generated
The future is heading toward making this accessible to everyone. We're not quite there yet, but the gap is closing fast.
The Takeaway
This is technology advocacy in action. I'm not just telling clients what tools exist—I'm using them myself, understanding their strengths and limitations, and sharing what I learn.
Building this website wasn't just about saving $480 a year. It was about demonstrating what's possible when you approach technology strategically. The right tools, used the right way, can dramatically reduce the time and cost of achieving your goals.
If you're curious about how AI could help your business—whether it's building a website, automating workflows, or something else entirely—that's exactly the kind of conversation I have with clients every day. Get in touch to learn more.
The technology is here. The question is how to use it wisely.