Practical AI Application: Building a website in 30 minutes

Over the holidays in December 2023, I took some time to explore a few tools that were already incorporating Generative AI. Of course, the first one I looked into was built on WordPress.

At the recommendation of Adam Warner, I used GoDaddy's free site builder to create a website with Generative AI-generated copy and images, integrating essential features like email and payment gateways before launching it. Ever the entrepreneur, I decided to take a shot and build my next big idea. In just 30 mins I had it completed and knew it would be an overnight success. I give you: Brunchwith.me

The premise was straight-forward enough. I want to run a company that allows me to follow my passion. And nothing excites me more than a mid-morning meal with a hot coffee and good conversation - I even think I'm pretty good at it! And the idea was born. I need to get paid to have brunch with people so I set out to build a site to help me do that. (note - this was a free trial that expired after a week, so payment gateways no longer work - though if I get enough interest, sure, I'll turn it back on!)

Here's an overview of the features I tested on GoDaddy's new semi-automated WordPress site builder, specifically the premium version:

So what did the process actually look like? Well, it started by purchasing the domain name via GoDaddy (honestly, finding a clever domain name available is directly correlated with how quickly a new idea gets started - old habits die hard).

Once purchased, GoDaddy's walked me through the process of creating a homepage. I told the first chat interface a little about my project and it helped me whip up a homepage template. I added a couple images of my own, then used dalle-3 to create the rest. I also used ChatGPT to provide some additional copy.

Lest you think I was super-thoughtful with these prompts, I'm sharing the links to the two conversations here for the greater good, showing that it didn't require extensive thought:
Brunch Conversation Starters
Luxurious Brunch Synonyms

Once I had my layout setup and assets and copy, I was feeling pretty good about the site. The final piece was to integrate the site my workflow and the steps here again were pretty straight-forward:

1. Connect my google calendar: Make sure the website only shows the spots I want to be available (no brunch after lunch!)
2. Connnect email address: now I'm notified when someone requests a particular spot
3. Connect GoDaddy payment gateway to my bank account: Here, GoDaddy has very compelling rates, tbh. It's better than Stripe! (not sponsored - but feel free to reach out)

Achieving a functional website from a simple idea in 30 mins, is completely legit.

Frankly, I was shocked at how simple this was to put together. The two caveats I would add are that I'm familiar with WordPress, and though the traditional UI was abstracted away quite a bit, I understood what GoDaddy's builder was attempting to do. Having this experience and context certainly helped me where others likely would have hit a roadblock. Secondly, while this is an entire website it's also just a "proof of concept" ie. I don't expect to make revenue from this.

AI played it's part in helping be a creative boost throughout my process. This is continually where I see the real value in Generative AI - it's not an answers engine, it's a brainstorm ignitor. And again, this was back in December of 2023. We have already seen incredible, new capabilities for these models. It's such an exciting time. Does this interest you? What are you building?