Start a new website - which way in?
Most people meet bernard because they want to move a website they already have. That is one way in. If you have no site yet, or you want a new one next to the site you run, there are other ways to start, and you can mix them.
The prompt
“I want to start a new site for [business name]. Ask me what I already have - an old site, another bernard site, a look I love - and tell me which way in suits me best.”
Signed in, Get my prompt fills in your site for you. Otherwise press Copy and fill in the [bracketed] parts. First time? Connect your AI to bernard once: Use your own AI (opens in a new tab).
Three ways to start
1. Bring in the site you have. Go to Account → Add a new site → Bring in a site from elsewhere and give bernard the web address. It brings the pages, words and photos across. The family Move what I already built onto bernard covers that in detail.
2. Start from a blank page. Go to Account → Add a new site → Start from scratch. You get a one-page starter draft, and Bernard builds it with you from a short interview. See I don’t have a website yet - build me one.
3. Copy a site you already run. Go to Account → Add a new site → Copy one of my sites. bernard copies the pages, styling, photos and style into a new site. See Start a new site from one I already run.
Then give it a look
A new site needs a look before it needs pages. You can decide that look in three ways:
- Tell bernard your style first. Your colours, your fonts and how you want to sound. See Decide how a new site looks before you build it.
- Borrow a look you love. Screenshot a site whose style you like and ask for yours in that style. See Copy a design you’ve seen, and Can I copy the look of someone else’s website? for what you can and cannot take.
- Match a page you already have. Make a new page look like one of your other pages, on this site or another. See Make this page look like my other page.
Then design the pages
You choose where you do the design work:
- With Bernard, in the workshop, by describing what you want.
- With your own AI (Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini), connected to bernard once.
- In Claude Design, if you want to see and change a page visually before it goes to your draft. See Design a new page in Claude Design and put it on my site.
Whichever way you start, everything lands on a draft. You look at the preview, and nothing goes live until you approve it.
Questions people ask
- Do I need an existing website to use bernard?
- No. Moving a site across is one way in, not the only one. You can start from a one-page starter and build from there, or base the new site on one of your other bernard sites. Every route lands on a draft, and nothing is public until you approve it.
- Which way in is quickest?
- If you already have a site you are happy with, moving it is quickest, because the pages, words and photos already exist. If you have nothing, start from scratch and let Bernard interview you. If you run another bernard site, copy it and change what is different.
- Can my own AI create the site for me?
- No. Creating a site is something you do yourself in bernard, under Account, Add a new site. It takes about a minute. After that, your connected AI can design, fill and tidy it like any other site, and every change still waits for your approval.
- Does a second site cost extra?
- Every plan covers one site. Room for another is a switch you can add on any plan, at the same price whatever size you are on. Your Account shows the price before you add it.