5 Websites You Can Build for Free This Weekend

You don't need to know how to code. You don't need to pay for hosting. You just need a couple of hours, Claude Code, and a free GitHub account.

Here are five real website ideas you can build and put live on the internet this weekend. Every single one of them costs $0 to host.

1. A Portfolio Site for Your Work

Whether you're a photographer, designer, writer, consultant, or contractor — a portfolio site is the single best thing you can put online. It's your digital business card, except it actually shows your work.

What to include:

• A hero section with your name and what you do
• A gallery or grid of your best work (6-12 pieces)
• A short about section — who you are, who you work with
• A contact form or just your email

The prompt to get started:

Build me a portfolio website for a freelance photographer. Dark, minimal design. Include a photo gallery grid, about section, and contact form. Make it mobile responsive.

Swap "photographer" for whatever you do. Claude Code builds the whole thing. You replace the placeholder images with your actual work and push it live.

2. A Landing Page for Your Side Project

Got an idea for an app, a product, a newsletter, or a service? A landing page is how you test demand before building anything. Put it up, share it, see if people care.

What to include:

• A headline that explains what you're offering in one sentence
• 3-4 benefit bullets
• An email signup form (use Kit or Formspree for the backend)
• Social proof if you have any (testimonials, numbers)

The prompt:

Build a landing page for a meal prep delivery service called "FreshBox." Include a hero section with headline and email signup, features section with 3 benefits, how it works section, and a pricing section. Modern, clean design.

Even if FreshBox doesn't exist yet, you now have a live page collecting emails from people who want it. That's validation.

3. A Restaurant or Café Website

If you own or know someone who owns a restaurant, café, or bar — they probably need a better website. Most restaurant sites are either terrible or powered by a $30/month Squarespace subscription.

What to include:

• Hours and location (with Google Maps embed)
• The menu (a clean, readable HTML menu beats a PDF every time)
• Photos of the food and space
• A reservation link or phone number

The prompt:

Build a website for a coffee shop called "Morning Ritual" in Montreal. Include the menu with prices, location with opening hours, a photo gallery, and a warm modern design with earth tones.

This is the kind of site that a restaurant would pay $1,500-3,000 for. You just built it for free.

4. A Personal Blog

You don't need WordPress to blog. You don't need Substack. A simple static blog hosted for free on GitHub Pages works perfectly.

What to include:

• A blog index page listing your posts
• Individual post pages with clean, readable typography
• An about page
• An email signup form if you want to build a list

The prompt:

Build a minimal personal blog. Dark theme, clean typography. Include a homepage that lists blog posts with titles and dates, individual post pages, and an about page. Make it feel like a premium reading experience.

When you want to write a new post, just tell Claude Code to create one. Push to GitHub. It's live. No login screens, no dashboards, no plugins.

5. A Small Business Website

This is the big one. Whether it's a plumber, a salon, a yoga studio, a law firm, or a landscaping company — every local business needs a website. Most are paying too much for one that doesn't even load fast on mobile.

What to include:

• Homepage with what you do and why people should pick you
• Services page with descriptions and pricing
• About page with your story
• Contact page with a form, phone number, and map
• Testimonials if you have them

The prompt:

Build a professional website for a residential landscaping company called "GreenSpace Landscaping" in Toronto. Services include lawn care, garden design, and seasonal maintenance. Include a homepage, services page with pricing, gallery of past work, and contact page. Professional green and white color scheme.

This is literally what businesses pay thousands for. And you can build it, host it, and hand it over in an afternoon.

The Process Is the Same Every Time

For all five of these:

1. Open your terminal
2. Create a project folder
3. Run claude and describe what you want
4. Review the result, ask for changes
5. Push to GitHub, turn on Pages
6. Your site is live

Total time: 1-3 hours depending on complexity. Total hosting cost: $0. Forever.

Pick one and build it this weekend. Once you've done it once, you'll want to build more.