The short route from one sentence to a published simple website
Most people who want a simple website don't want to learn a page editor. They want to say what the site is for, answer a couple of questions and see it live. That's the route Anticode takes. Simple still has a floor, though: a site needs a way to contact you, a privacy policy if it collects anything, and a layout that works on a phone. Here's what you decide, what's decided for you, and what's checked.
The route, step by step
- Say what it's for. One or two sentences: "a website for my piano lessons in Harrogate, with my rates and a way to get in touch".
- Answer up to three questions. The Architect only asks where the answer would change the site, and offers suggested answers you can tap.
- Read the plan. A short summary: the site's name, its kind, the sections, the look and the features. Change anything you disagree with.
- Build it. Pages are laid out by the design engine. A preview build runs in your browser with no account.
- Fix the words. Click text on the page and type. Or ask for a change in a sentence.
- Publish. To a free anticode.dev address, or your own domain on a paid plan.
What you're asked, and what you're not
A simple website builder shouldn't ask you thirty questions, and it shouldn't silently guess the important ones either. The Architect's questions are limited to things that change the build, so the questions differ from one site to the next. Typical ones:
- Do you want a booking calendar, or just a contact form?
- Should prices be on the site?
- Which feel suits you: calm and organic, crisp and Swiss, or playful?
What you aren't asked about is the craft underneath: font pairing, type sizes, spacing, corner radius, contrast, how the layout reflows on a phone. Those come from the design system the Designer picks (one of seven, each with one font family) and from the design engine. If you do care, you can change the theme, action colour and headline scale in the visual editor afterwards, but you never have to.
What a simple site still needs
A one-page site for a tutor, a handyman or a local club can be very small and still do its job. It can't skip these:
| Need | Why | On Anticode |
|---|---|---|
| What you do, where, and for whom | The first thing anyone reads; also what search engines use | Drafted from your sentence; edit it to sound like you |
| A way to reach you | A site nobody can act on is a brochure | A contact form, with each message saved and emailed to you |
| Privacy policy | If a form collects names and emails, visitors should know what happens to them | A Privacy Policy and Terms written from what your site actually does |
| Phone layout | Most local searches happen on a phone | The design gate blocks publishing without a phone viewport |
| Readable and usable by everyone | Keyboard users and screen readers need basics | Gate checks for a page language, visible focus, reduced-motion support and alt text |
The generated legal pages are a starting point, not legal advice. Read them once; if you do something unusual with personal data, adjust them. The privacy policy guide explains what they should say.
Checks you don't have to think about
Simple shouldn't mean careless. Before the site can be published, the Critic runs nineteen design checks and the design gate blocks pages that miss the basics, including placeholder text, empty links and stock AI phrases. Sentinel runs twelve security checks on the exact HTML, such as where forms send data and whether anything looks like a secret key. You'll see the results in the build log; most sites pass without you doing anything. When something fails, the report says what and why.
Editing later without breaking it
Simple mode shows the preview and the visual editor and nothing else, which is all most people need. Change a price by clicking it. Move a section with the move buttons or by dragging. Ask for bigger changes in words: "add a section with my summer timetable". Your most recent saves are kept as versions, so you can go back to yesterday's version if a change goes wrong. Pro mode, with its code, map and report tabs, is there if you ever want it.
When simple isn't the right goal
- You need a shop with a cart. Anticode sells through payment links from your own provider; there's no cart or checkout on the site.
- You need member logins. Published sites have no visitor accounts.
- You need a blog with comments or RSS. CMS collections can hold posts, but not comments, RSS or scheduling.
- You need the site in another language. The builder and generated pages are in English.
If none of those apply, a small site is usually the right size. The one-page website page covers the single-scroll version in more detail.
Questions people ask
Do I need an account to try it?
Not for a preview build, which runs in your browser. Model-written builds and publishing need an account.
Can I use my own domain on a simple site?
Yes, on a paid plan. Free sites use a name.anticode.dev address with a small "Made with Anticode" badge. See pricing.
What if I don't like the design it picks?
Say so in a sentence ("make it calmer" or "use the Swiss style"), or change the theme and action colour in the visual editor.