How the internet works (optional)
You don't need to understand this to complete the tutorial. But if you're curious about what's actually happening when you build a website, here's the short version.
The three-part system
Think of a website like a restaurant:
- Your browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox) is the customer — it makes the order
- A server is the kitchen — it stores the food (your files) and serves them when asked
- Your code (HTML, CSS) is the recipe — it describes exactly what to cook
When someone types your URL into their browser, their computer sends a request to a server somewhere in the world. That server sends back a file — usually an HTML file — and the browser turns that file into the webpage you see.
What the files actually are
| File type | What it does | |-----------|-------------| | HTML | The structure — what's on the page (text, images, buttons) | | CSS | The style — colors, fonts, layout, spacing | | JavaScript | The behavior — things that move, click, or update |
For this tutorial, Claude Code will write all of these for you. Your job is to describe what you want.
What "deploying" means
Right now, your files just live on your computer. Deploying means copying them to a server on the internet so anyone can access them. We'll do this with a tool called Vercel — it's free and takes about 2 minutes to set up.
That's it. You now know more than most people who call themselves "non-technical." Let's build something.