New Website Development
Building my own platform from the ground up with AI tools
Why
I've decided to create a new website from the ground up. My existing website is built with Webflow, which is great for no-code content creation. However, I kept wanting to make small games or experiments, and Webflow isn't built for that.
The bigger push: app store maintenance is exhausting. Apple charges $100 yearly no matter what. Android is free but requires developer activity once a year. I published Codoo on the Android app store with one LLM model update—there's no reason it needs yearly updates. Same with the Oculus app store where I published Zero Art Garden. The reviews, maintenance, compliance—it all adds up.
Having my own platform to publish whatever I want is liberating. Sure, I lose app store visibility, but my chances there were already low. Why not self-publish and build an audience through social media and YouTube? I'd have to do that promotion anyway for app stores. Might as well save the hassle and publish on my own terms.
The final inspiration came from this YouTube video:
Po-Shen Loh's goal boils down to simply delighting people. That resonates with me. That's what I want to do—previously with XR, but really with any use of technology.
How
I have no web development experience. This is only possible because of AI tools. Specifically Claude Sonnet 4 agent mode in GitHub Copilot ($40/month) and Gemini Pro with deep research ($150/month). Those two made this possible. I've stopped my Anthropic ($25) and OpenAI ($25) subscriptions. I've gone back and forth between LLMs—it'll probably change whenever something more useful comes out.
About AI tools and "vibe coding"—I'm not sure how people act like a single prompt builds everything. That hasn't been my experience, even with a greenfield basic website. There's a real learning curve with the web development tech stack. I made several major architecture pivots. Without LLMs, those would have thrown away weeks or months of work. LLMs made restarting palatable.
Watching YouTube helps, as always. These two videos directly influenced how I work with LLMs:
Next Step
My first official publishing includes the basic framework. User sign up and login. Account page, database, privacy, terms, game and devlog layout. Good foundation to build on.