howtocodeai.com
Hosting guide

Where to put your AI-built site on the internet.

Every tutorial here ends with "upload it" — this page is the where. The honest version: most beginner projects can be hosted free, and one cheap paid option covers everything our tutorials teach. Disclosure: some links below are affiliate links (details); it doesn't change the advice.

The decision in one paragraph

If your project is plain HTML/CSS/JS files (everything in our beginner tutorials), free static hosts work: Netlify is the easiest first deploy ever made, Cloudflare Pages is the fastest. The moment a tutorial mentions cron jobs (the self-updating site), PHP, or running Python on the server, you want classic shared hosting — that's our top pick below, and it's also the simplest mental model: a folder on the internet with a file manager.

Our pick for tutorial-followers

TOP PICK Shared hostingfrom ~$3/mo (promo, renews higher)

Hostinger

Beginners following our tutorials: file-manager uploads, PHP, databases, cron jobs, and email on one cheap plan

Pros
  • Drag-and-drop File Manager — exactly the upload flow our tutorials teach
  • Cron jobs included (required for the self-updating-site pattern)
  • PHP + MySQL when your projects grow past static
  • One plan hosts dozens of sites
Cons
  • Promo pricing jumps at renewal — pay multi-year upfront if committing
  • Shared hosting performance is fine for content sites, not for heavy apps
Visit Hostinger ↗

Why this one: it's what the author runs 49 sites on, and every upload instruction in our tutorials maps 1:1 to its file manager. Verified 2026-06-04 — promo pricing changes; check the current price.

The free options (genuinely good)

Static hostingFree

Cloudflare Pages

Free, fast static sites on a custom domain with effectively unlimited bandwidth

Pros
  • Genuinely free with generous limits
  • Global CDN speed by default
  • Custom domains free
Cons
  • Static files only — no PHP, no server cron
  • Deploy flow (dashboard upload or git) is a step up from a file manager
Visit Cloudflare Pages ↗
Static hostingFree tier

Netlify

The easiest free deploy that exists: drag your folder onto the dashboard, site is live

Pros
  • Drag-and-drop folder deploy — easiest first deploy of any option
  • Free tier covers small sites comfortably
  • Form handling and redirects built in
Cons
  • Free bandwidth is capped monthly — fine until a post goes viral
  • Static only on the simple path
Visit Netlify ↗
Static hostingFree

GitHub Pages

Free hosting for people already learning the git workflow (or planning to)

Pros
  • Free, reliable, no surprises
  • Versioned by nature — every deploy is a commit
  • Pairs naturally with Claude Code / Cursor workflows
Cons
  • Requires the git workflow — a real learning step for non-developers
  • Static only; soft limits on heavy traffic
Visit GitHub Pages ↗
Static / frontend hostingFree hobby tier

Vercel

Next.js and v0-generated projects — it's the same company, the integration is seamless

Pros
  • Best-in-class for React/Next.js deploys
  • Free hobby tier is generous for personal projects
  • Preview deploys for every change
Cons
  • Hobby tier is for non-commercial use — monetized sites need the paid plan
  • Overkill for plain HTML sites
Visit Vercel ↗

Common questions

Do I need a domain?

Free hosts give you a subdomain (yoursite.netlify.app) — fine for practice, wrong for anything public-facing. A .com runs ~$10–12/year at any registrar; buy the domain separately from hosting so you're never locked in.

Can I start free and upgrade later?

Yes, and you should if you're unsure. Moving a static site is copying files — fifteen minutes. Start on Netlify today; move to paid shared hosting the day you need cron jobs or PHP.

What about Replit / Lovable / Bolt hosting?

App builders host what you build in them — convenient, but the hosting is part of their subscription and your site lives in their platform. The options on this page are for code you own as files, which is everything our tutorials produce. See the decision guide for that fork in the road.