Part I: Setup (the boring bit that makes it work)01
Chapter 01The stack
What do I actually need, and what does it cost?
Two bills. That's it.
One tool per job. No alternatives section.
| Job | Use this | Why this one | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| The builder | Claude Code with Opus 5.5 | The best front-end designer available right now, and it can run commands, not just write code | $20/month (Claude Pro) |
| Domain | Cloudflare Registrar (new domains) | Sold at cost, no renewal price jump. Already own one? Keep it where it is and point its DNS at Cloudflare | ~$10 to $15/year for a .com or .ca |
| Hosting, forms, email, database, file storage | Cloudflare Workers | One account covers everything a small business site needs | $0/month for most sites, $5/month for the extras |
| Where the code lives | GitHub | Free, standard, your code stays yours | Free |
| The key vault | Bitwarden Secrets Manager | Free tier, built for exactly this, your agent reads and writes it without you pasting anything | Free |
| Framework | Next.js | You won't touch it. Opus is extremely good at it, and it runs on Cloudflare cleanly | Free |
| CMS (Path B) | Payload | Runs inside your site on the same Cloudflare account. No second bill | Free software, needs the $5 Cloudflare plan |
| Payments (Path C) | Stripe | Standard, secure, the agent knows it inside out | Per-transaction fees only |
| Analytics | GA4, Tag Manager, Search Console | Free, and Search Console is the only place Google tells you how it sees your site | Free |
The monthly bill
| Wix / Squarespace | WordPress | This guide | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting and site builder | ~$25 to $50/month | ~$15 to $40/month for decent hosting | $0 (or $5 with the extras) |
| Theme and plugins | Included, limited | Premium theme plus paid plugins, often renewed yearly | Not a thing. Opus designs it |
| Contact form, emailed to you | Often an add-on or a higher plan | A forms plugin | Included, free |
| Emails to your customers (confirmations, receipts) | Often an add-on | An email plugin plus a sending service | $5/month plan |
| Online store | Higher plan, plus fees | WooCommerce plus extensions, plus fees | Stripe fees only |
| Custom design | Template, or pay a designer | Theme, or pay a developer | Opus |
| Upkeep | Them | You: core, theme and plugin updates, forever | Almost none. No plugins to patch |
| Who owns the code | Them | You | You |
| AI | n/a | n/a | $20/month Claude Pro |
"But WordPress is free." The software is. Running it isn't. You're paying for hosting, the plugins that make it do what you want, and your own time keeping those plugins updated so the site doesn't get hacked. Out-of-date plugins are one of the most common ways WordPress sites get hacked.
Do I need Cloudflare's $5 plan?
Probably not to start. The free plan handles a normal small business site comfortably: 100,000 page loads a day, your contact form, spam protection, a small database, and email forwarding to your inbox.
| You want... | Free plan | $5/month (Workers Paid) |
|---|---|---|
| A fast custom site | ✅ | ✅ |
| Contact form that emails you | ✅ | ✅ |
hello@yourdomain forwarded to your Gmail | ✅ | ✅ |
Reply from hello@yourdomain in Gmail | ✅ (with a catch, see chapter 8) | ✅ (cleaner) |
| Automatic emails to visitors or customers (confirmations, order emails) | ❌ | ✅ 3,000/month included |
| A CMS (Path B) | ❌ (too heavy for the free plan) | ✅ |
| A store (Path C) | ✅ if Stripe's own receipts are fine | ✅ for your own branded order emails |
| More than 100,000 page loads a day | ❌ | ✅ (nice problem to have) |
Start free. If you ask for something that needs the paid plan, the agent tells you, you click upgrade, and it carries on. Nothing gets rebuilt.
Words you'll see
- Agent: an AI that can actually do things on your computer (run commands, create files, call services), not just chat. Claude Code is the agent here.
- API key / token: a long password that lets a program use one of your accounts. Treat each one like the key to that account, because that's what it is.
- Repository (repo): the folder on GitHub where your site's code lives.
- Deploy: push the latest version of the site to the internet.
- Staging: a private copy of your site on a throwaway address, where you check changes before they go live.
- Worker: Cloudflare's name for a small program running on their servers. Your whole site runs as one.
- DNS: the phone book that tells the internet where your domain lives and where its email goes.
Next: step 1, the domain.
On a phone, swipe left and right to turn pages.