# Sites by Agents > Build and launch your own website with an AI coding agent. A practical educational guide by Valid Agenda. Canonical: https://sitesbyagents.com/ The interactive book teaches five stages from the recorded masterclass: plan in ChatGPT and brief Codex, let Codex build and preview, ask it to save to GitHub, deploy with Vercel, and connect a domain. Both the book and written guide include six lesson clips and cover reviewing and publishing later updates. Codex handles the local server and GitHub commands; you choose the direction and check the result. ## Read and build - [Complete written guide](https://sitesbyagents.com/guide.md): All five learning stages, setup instructions and official references. - [Prompt library](https://sitesbyagents.com/prompts.md): The starter prompt and follow-up prompts. - [Webinar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W12o95rBnCA): Watch the original walkthrough on YouTube. - [FAQ](https://sitesbyagents.com/faq.md): Ownership, costs, tools and support. ## Beyond the website - [About Sites by Agents](https://sitesbyagents.com/about.md): The educational project and its connection to Valid Agenda. - [Get help](https://sitesbyagents.com/get-help.md): Support when DIY feels overwhelming and fractional technology advice for the next business challenge. - [Contact](https://sitesbyagents.com/contact.md): Contact the publisher or report a problem. - [Privacy](https://sitesbyagents.com/privacy.md): Hosting, videos and external services. - [Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/): Official service information. - [Book a conversation](https://www.validagenda.com/book): Discuss scope, availability and fees directly. ## Resources - [Agent resources](https://sitesbyagents.com/agents.md) - [Source repository](https://github.com/DavesAgenda/sba-masterclass) --- # Talk to Valid Agenda. > Contact Valid Agenda about Sites by Agents, a problem with the guide, or help with your next website project. Canonical: https://sitesbyagents.com/contact Publisher: [Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/) ## Questions about this guide Sites by Agents is an educational project by Valid Agenda Pty Ltd, led by Dave Pengelley. If you spot an unclear instruction, a broken link or a problem playing a lesson, tell us which page you were using and what happened. Include the public page address and the device or browser you were using so we can understand the issue. - [Email help@validagenda.com](mailto:help@validagenda.com) ## Help with your project For advice about a build or wider technology decisions, use Valid Agenda’s booking page. Bring your goal, what you have tried and where you are stuck. Any paid work, scope, availability and fees are agreed separately; reading this guide does not create a service agreement. Do not include passwords, API keys or private customer information in an enquiry. - [Book a conversation](https://www.validagenda.com/book) - [Support options](https://sitesbyagents.com/get-help) ## Privacy questions Use the same email address for questions about personal information or to request access or correction. The privacy page explains how this educational site works and links to the publisher’s policy. - [Read the privacy information](https://sitesbyagents.com/privacy) --- # Privacy on Sites by Agents. > How this educational site, embedded videos and external contact links handle information, with a route to Valid Agenda’s privacy policy. Canonical: https://sitesbyagents.com/privacy Publisher: [Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/) ## Reading the guide You can read Sites by Agents without an account or submitting a contact form. The site is hosted on Vercel. Loading pages makes requests to the hosting service, which receives technical information such as your IP address, browser details and requested URLs to deliver the site. ## Google Analytics The live site uses Google Analytics to understand visits and how people use the guide. Google’s tag can collect page views, referral information, browser and device information, and interactions enabled in the Analytics settings. It can use cookies to distinguish visits. Requests go to Google, whose privacy policy explains its handling of that information. Browser privacy controls and tracking blockers may limit collection. - [How Google uses information from partner sites](https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites) ## Videos and other websites Lesson videos load a YouTube player only after you choose to load them. The player uses youtube-nocookie.com; loading or playing a video still connects your browser to YouTube, whose own privacy terms apply. You can instead use the written lessons. Links to GitHub, Vercel, Is Agentic and other services take you to websites operated under their own policies. - [Google and YouTube privacy policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) ## Contact and booking If you email Valid Agenda or follow its booking link, you choose what information to share through those services. Avoid sending passwords, API keys or confidential customer data. Valid Agenda’s published privacy policy covers its handling of personal information, service providers and requests for access or correction. This page describes the educational site; it does not replace that policy. - [Valid Agenda privacy policy](https://www.validagenda.com/privacy) - [Privacy enquiries: help@validagenda.com](mailto:help@validagenda.com) --- # Build it yourself. Keep the ownership. > Sites by Agents is a practical learning project by Valid Agenda: build a website with an AI agent and keep control of the result. Canonical: https://sitesbyagents.com/about Publisher: [Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/) ## A useful first project This guide takes a small website from an initial brief to a local preview, a GitHub repository, hosting and a domain. The interactive book is one way to follow it; the complete written guide and prompt library are here whenever you need to look something up. You choose the purpose, judge the output and decide what to publish. An AI agent can help with implementation, but reviewing the result is still part of the work. - [Read the complete guide](https://sitesbyagents.com/guide) - [Use the prompt library](https://sitesbyagents.com/prompts) ## By Valid Agenda Valid Agenda is led by Dave Pengelley and helps business owners work out what to build next and how to move it forward. That can include fractional technology and AI advice, focused prototypes, and coordinating specialist support. Sites by Agents gives you a practical place to start. If the next challenge extends beyond a website, or you would rather have help with the build, there is a route to a conversation. - [Find the right help](https://sitesbyagents.com/get-help) - [Explore Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/) ## Use the tools that fit The examples use an AI coding agent, GitHub and Vercel. Other agents and hosts can work too. Keep your domain, accounts and repository accessible to you, and understand the services and costs you are choosing. - [Watch the webinar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W12o95rBnCA) - [View this site's source](https://github.com/DavesAgenda/sba-masterclass) --- # You don’t have to work it all out alone. > Get help when a DIY website feels overwhelming, or talk to Valid Agenda about fractional technology and AI advice beyond your website. Canonical: https://sitesbyagents.com/get-help Publisher: [Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/) ## Stuck in the build? You may have a working draft but be unsure about the code, hosting or next step. Or the tutorial may have become more work than you wanted to take on. Bring the goal, what you have tried, and the point where progress stopped to a conversation with Valid Agenda. - Work out what needs fixing before you publish. - Decide what to keep doing yourself and where help would be useful. - Discuss a focused piece of support or a more guided build. - [Talk through your website](https://www.validagenda.com/book) ## The website is live. What comes next? A website can bring larger questions into focus: how enquiries reach your team, which tools should connect, where automation would help, or what a new service needs to become viable. Fractional technology advice gives you experienced input for those decisions without starting with a full-time executive hire. - Choose the technology work that supports your business priorities. - Assess AI and automation opportunities against a real workflow. - Scope a prototype or next product before committing to a larger build. - Choose suitable tools, delivery partners and ownership arrangements. ## Start with a conversation Tell Valid Agenda what you want to achieve, what is already in place and where you need support. Discuss scope, availability and fees directly before agreeing to any work. Using this educational site does not sign you up for a service. - [Book a conversation with Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/book) - [Learn about Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/) ## A little preparation helps Share context, not passwords or API keys. Access arrangements can be discussed if work is agreed. - Your website or local preview, if you have one. - The outcome you want and the main obstacle. - Your preferred timing and an indication of budget. - A short description of the tools your business already uses. --- # The complete website-building guide. > A readable, step-by-step guide to briefing an AI agent, testing locally, using GitHub, deploying and connecting your domain. Canonical: https://sitesbyagents.com/guide Publisher: [Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/) ## Follow the recording, one step at a time This is the walkthrough from the 17 September 2026 masterclass, written for people who do not code. ChatGPT helps you plan; Codex builds the site, runs the preview and handles the GitHub work. You choose the direction, connect your accounts and check the result. The short clips below show key moments from the stream. The prompts are reusable examples adapted from the demonstration. You can follow the written steps without watching the whole recording. Video: [Meet the three tools](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCb6RpqFiyc) (1:35; source 09:24–10:59). Dave introduces the agent, GitHub and hosting: the tools used to take an idea to a website you control. - [Watch the full masterclass](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W12o95rBnCA) ## 01. Start with a clear brief. Give your agent enough context to build something useful. You’ll need: An idea, ChatGPT for planning, and the Codex desktop app for building. Be specific about what visitors should be able to do. ‘A one-page site for a local architect, with three projects and an email link’ gives the agent more direction than ‘make a modern website’. Review the proposed scope and keep the first version small. - Start in ChatGPT. Describe who the site is for, what it should say and what visitors should do. Ask for a short plan. - Ask ChatGPT for design mockups. Share your colours, logo or a site you like, then choose a direction. In the stream, Dave explored several ideas before choosing the book layout. - Ask ChatGPT to turn the chosen design into a build brief for Codex, using Next.js and Vercel. You can copy these names without learning the technology. - Create a project folder in Codex. Paste in the brief and attach the design reference. Ask it to build the site and show you a preview. Video: [Turn your design into a build brief](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiTOB8BQ0T0) (4:33; source 36:00–40:33). Ask ChatGPT to turn the chosen design into instructions, then copy the brief into Codex. The model and quota discussion reflects the recording; you do not need to match those settings. - [Copy the starter prompt](https://sitesbyagents.com/prompts) ## 02. Ask Codex to show you the site. Turn the first draft into a site you are happy to share. You’ll need: Your Codex project and the brief from step 1. Try ‘Make the heading smaller’, ‘Reduce the spacing between these sections’, or ‘Stack this layout on mobile’. Make one clear request at a time and check it. If a command fails, share the full error with your agent instead of guessing at a fix. - Ask Codex to build the site, start the preview and open it for you. In the stream, Codex ran the local web server and checked the site itself. - If Codex asks you to sign in, approve access or finish a setup step, follow its instructions. Ask it to explain anything unfamiliar. - Read the page and try the links. Check it at phone and desktop sizes. Describe changes in ordinary language, or attach a screenshot. - Ask Codex to check the site and fix errors before publishing. Review the result yourself too. ```text Start the site and open a preview for me. Check that it works on a phone and a computer, fix any errors, and explain anything I need to do in plain English. ``` ## 03. Give your code a home. Save a version of your site outside your computer. You’ll need: A GitHub account connected to Codex. The repository holds the project. A commit saves a snapshot of changes. A push sends it to GitHub. Ask Codex to handle both after meaningful updates so you have a history to return to. A private repository can also be connected to Vercel. - Create an empty repository on GitHub: a folder online for your site and its history. Dave made this demo public so viewers could read the source; choose the visibility that suits your project. - In Codex, connect the GitHub plugin and complete the sign-in and access prompts, as demonstrated in the stream. - Copy your repository’s URL into Codex and ask it to save the site there. Codex handled the Git setup, commit and push in the demonstration. - Open the repository in your browser and confirm the files arrived. You do not need to type Git commands to follow this walkthrough. ```text Here is my GitHub repository: [paste URL]. Save this site there. Check that passwords and private files are excluded, push the project, and tell me when I can see it on GitHub. ``` Video: [Let Codex save your site to GitHub](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVzdG-Z45Ks) (5:11; source 1:34:11–1:39:22). Create the repository, connect GitHub in Codex, and give Codex the repository URL. It handles saving and sending the files. - [GitHub’s publishing guide](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/creating-and-managing-repositories/adding-locally-hosted-code-to-github) ## 04. Put your site on the internet. Make the website available to visitors. You’ll need: Your GitHub repository and a Vercel account. Once GitHub and Vercel are connected, a push to the production branch can automatically build and publish the next version. Other branches can get preview links so you can review changes before they reach the main site. - Sign in to Vercel with GitHub, as Dave did. Choose Add New → Project and allow access to your site’s repository. - Import your repository. Vercel recognised this Next.js site, so Dave kept the suggested settings. - Select Deploy. If it fails, share the error with Codex and ask it to fix the site and save the update to GitHub. - Open the supplied .vercel.app address. Test navigation, mobile layout and video playback on the deployed site. Video: [Publish your site with Vercel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMiHiEFg6t0) (1:49; source 1:39:46–1:41:35). Sign in with GitHub, import the site, and select Deploy. Then open the new website address. - [How Vercel Git deployments work](https://vercel.com/docs/deployments/git) ## 05. Make the address your own. Let people find your website at an address you own. You’ll need: A registered domain and access to its DNS settings. DNS changes need time to reach different networks. Use Vercel’s domain status to check progress. If verification fails, confirm which provider actually manages your nameservers and compare every record with Vercel’s instructions. Use the values shown for your project; do not copy a random IP address from an old guide. - Buy a domain from a registrar, or use one you already own. In Vercel, open your project’s Settings → Domains and add it. - Vercel will show the DNS records it needs. At the provider managing your DNS, copy the exact record types, names and values it gives you. - Keep unrelated records, especially those for email. If you want both the root domain and www, add both in Vercel and choose the primary address. - Wait for Vercel to confirm the connection, then visit your domain. Tell Codex the final address and ask it to update the site’s links and settings if needed. Video: [Connect your domain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lyS5CL52Xc) (3:11; source 1:44:26–1:47:36). Dave copies Vercel’s DNS instructions into Cloudflare. He deliberately removes his demo website records to show the fix; you do not need to repeat that. Use the values for your own project and keep unrelated records, especially email. - [Vercel’s domain setup guide](https://vercel.com/docs/domains/working-with-domains/add-a-domain) ## Help agents read and use your site. Your visitors may arrive with an AI assistant. Give it clear text, useful links and buttons it can understand, so it can help people find what they need. - Ask Codex to make the important information readable without clicking through animations or watching a video. - Give pages clear headings, links descriptive names, and forms proper labels. Keep the written guide alongside interactive content. - Ask Codex to check page addresses, the sitemap and crawler settings. Keep private information private. ## Check the published site with Is Agentic An extra check after the masterclass: use Vercel’s Is Agentic tool once your website is public. Ask Codex to help with the scan and explain the report. The score is a useful check, not a promise that every agent will succeed. Do not add a made-up API or agent service just to chase a score. An llms.txt file can help describe your content, but does not guarantee discovery. - Open is-agentic.com, enter your live website address and select Score. Use the public address, not localhost or a preview that needs a sign-in. - Give Codex the report link. Ask it to check the evidence and start with failed Essential checks that apply to your site. - Have Codex prepare fixes in a preview. Review them, publish the approved changes, then scan the same live address again. ```text Review my published site at [live website URL] for AI agents. Help me run it through https://is-agentic.com/ and read the report. If you cannot start the scan, tell me how to run it and ask for the report link. Verify the findings, explain the important gaps in plain English, and fix relevant Essential issues on a feature branch. Check that agents can read the main content and use links and forms. Do not expose private content or invent APIs or services. Show me a preview to approve, then help publish the fixes and rescan the live site. Report what improved and what remains. ``` - [Check your site with Is Agentic](https://is-agentic.com/) ## After launch: preview a change, then make it live Dave added the logo and information pages after the first launch. Codex made the changes on a feature branch: a separate version for review. Vercel gave that version a preview address. In this project, main was the version connected to the live site. - Tell Codex what to change and ask it to create a feature branch, check the work and send it to GitHub. - Open the branch’s preview in Vercel. Check the content, links and phone layout. Ask Codex for any fixes. - When you are happy, tell Codex: ‘Merge to main and clean up the branch.’ Codex handled the merge and cleanup in the stream. - Wait for Vercel to finish publishing, then check your real website address too. Video: [Review changes and make them live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND7jYHCNRJM) (2:54; source 2:08:10–2:11:03). Check the updated pages in the preview, ask Codex to merge to main and clean up the branch, then check the published site. - [Copy the update prompts](https://sitesbyagents.com/prompts) ## Dive deeper: what Codex was doing behind the scenes You do not need these commands to follow the masterclass. A local server is a temporary preview running on your computer. An address such as localhost:3000 points to that preview; it is not your public website. In a project like this one, npm install gets the software it needs, npm run dev starts the preview, and npm run build checks that the site can be prepared for hosting. Ask Codex to run them and explain the result. Commands vary by project. A repository holds your files and history. A commit saves a snapshot; a push sends it to GitHub. Codex performed these operations after Dave connected GitHub and supplied the repository URL. ```text npm install npm run dev # A separate check before publishing: npm run build ``` ## Keep moving at your own pace The book and webinar cover the same learning path. Keep checking the actual result as you build. If you would like support with the next step, speak with Valid Agenda. - [Watch the webinar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W12o95rBnCA) - [Get help](https://sitesbyagents.com/get-help) --- # Give your agent a useful starting point. > Copyable website-building prompts for your first brief, mobile layout, visual refinement and checks before deployment. Canonical: https://sitesbyagents.com/prompts Publisher: [Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/) ## Your first website Replace the bracketed text with your own purpose, audience and content. Start small, check the preview, and make one clear change at a time. ```text Build a small website for me, ready to publish on Vercel. The site should: - Purpose: [what the website should do] - Audience: [who it is for] - Visual direction: [colours, typography and references] - Sections: [the content visitors need] Use Next.js, as in the masterclass. Keep the site simple. Use the attached design or brand reference. Make it easy to read and use on a phone and a computer. Build it, start the preview and open it for me. Run the checks, fix errors and tell me what to review. Explain any steps I need to do in plain English. ``` ## Improve the mobile layout Give the small screen the same care. ```text Review this page at mobile widths and fix any overflow, cramped spacing or layouts that should stack vertically. Check tap targets and code blocks. Preserve the desktop design. ``` ## Make the design less generic More intention. Less decoration. ```text Review the visual design for generic AI/SaaS patterns. Remove unnecessary gradients, decorative cards and visual clutter. Use stronger typography, spacing and a more deliberate visual hierarchy instead. ``` ## Check before deployment Turn a working draft into a site you can publish. ```text Prepare this project for production deployment. Run linting and the production build. Fix any errors. Check for broken links, console errors, obvious accessibility problems and mobile overflow. Do not make unrelated design changes. Summarise what you tested and any remaining issues. ``` ## Turn a design into a build brief Use in ChatGPT after choosing your design. This follows the planning handoff in the stream. ```text Turn this website idea and chosen design into a brief I can paste into Codex. Use Next.js for deployment on Vercel. Include the audience, pages, content, brand references and what visitors should do. Keep the first version simple. Ask Codex to build it, open a preview and check it for me. ``` ## Save the site to GitHub Connect GitHub in Codex, then replace the bracketed URL. ```text Here is my GitHub repository: [paste URL]. Save this site there. Exclude passwords and private files. Handle the Git setup, commit and push, then confirm the files are on GitHub. ``` ## Try an update before it goes live A branch is a separate version you can review. The stream used this for the logo and information pages. ```text Make a feature branch for this change: [describe change]. Build it, check it and push the branch to GitHub. Help me open its Vercel preview so I can review it before changing the live site. ``` ## Publish an update I have checked Use after reviewing the preview. In the stream, main was the branch Vercel published to the live site. ```text I have checked the preview and am happy with it. Merge this change to main and clean up the feature branch. Confirm the live deployment succeeds and give me the website address to check. ``` ## Check my published site for AI agents Use after publishing. Replace the address with your live website URL. ```text Review my published site at [live website URL] for AI agents. Help me run it through https://is-agentic.com/ and read the report. If you cannot start the scan, tell me how to run it and ask for the report link. Verify the findings, explain the important gaps in plain English, and fix relevant Essential issues on a feature branch. Check that agents can read the main content and use links and forms. Do not expose private content or invent APIs or services. Show me a preview to approve, then help publish the fixes and rescan the live site. Report what improved and what remains. ``` ## When another prompt isn’t the answer If the scope keeps growing or you cannot tell whether the result is ready, a conversation may be more useful than another iteration. - [Talk through the next step](https://sitesbyagents.com/get-help) --- # Before you build. After you launch. > Answers about AI agents, website ownership, hosting costs and when to ask Valid Agenda for help. Canonical: https://sitesbyagents.com/faq Publisher: [Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/) ## Do I need to know how to code? No coding knowledge is needed to follow this walkthrough. In the stream, Codex wrote the code, ran the local preview and handled GitHub commands. You describe what you want, connect your accounts, follow any setup prompts and check the result. ## Which agent and hosting platform should I use? To follow the recording, use ChatGPT for planning, Codex for building, GitHub for the saved files and Vercel for hosting. Other tools can work, but their setup will differ. Check the plans and terms for the tools you choose. ## Who owns the website? Create and control your repository, hosting account and domain account. Keep copies of your source and content. Check the licences of third-party code, images and fonts you use; owning the project does not transfer those third-party rights. ## Is everything free? This guide and its prompts are free to read. Agents, domains, hosting and other services may charge fees. Check the plans you use and any limits that apply. Advice or delivery work with Valid Agenda is discussed and agreed separately. ## What if I feel overwhelmed or the build stops working? Save your working version and describe the specific issue to your agent. If you want someone to help assess the situation or take a more active role, speak to Valid Agenda about the support you need. - [Get help with your build](https://sitesbyagents.com/get-help) ## Can Valid Agenda advise on more than websites? Yes. Discuss the wider technology decisions behind your business: AI opportunities, workflows, prototypes, tools and delivery priorities. Fractional advice can help shape the next step beyond the website. - [Explore fractional technology advice](https://sitesbyagents.com/get-help) --- # Read the site in the format you need. > Machine-readable resources for Sites by Agents, including llms.txt, complete Markdown content and canonical source links. Canonical: https://sitesbyagents.com/agents Publisher: [Valid Agenda](https://www.validagenda.com/) ## Start here The same guide, prompts and information pages are available as server-rendered HTML and Markdown. No account, browser automation or page-turn interaction is needed to read them. Request a normal page URL with Accept: text/markdown for its Markdown representation, or use its explicit .md link. HTML remains the default. Missing page URLs return HTTP 404 with a Markdown recovery message when that format is requested. - [llms.txt — concise content index](https://sitesbyagents.com/llms.txt) - [llms-full.txt — complete content bundle](https://sitesbyagents.com/llms-full.txt) - [Home page as Markdown](https://sitesbyagents.com/index.md) ## Find the original page Each information page links to its Markdown version. HTML metadata and HTTP Link headers advertise the alternate format and llms.txt. Markdown responses link back to their canonical HTML page. The sitemap lists the public HTML pages. - [XML sitemap](https://sitesbyagents.com/sitemap.xml) - [Crawler access rules](https://sitesbyagents.com/robots.txt) ## Scope and attribution This is an educational website by Valid Agenda. These resources describe public content; they do not provide an API for booking, purchases or site management. Follow the official Valid Agenda links for advice and current service details. A visitor must choose to make contact themselves. Please link to the canonical source when referencing the guide. llms.txt is a discovery convention, not a guarantee that any particular search engine or model will use the content.