The AI wrote the code. That was the easy part. The question nobody answers cleanly: where does this thing actually go so other people can use it?

This is the gap we see most often with people who build using Claude Code, Lovable, Bolt, Cursor, or v0. The build feels like magic; deployment feels like hitting a wall in a language you don't speak. Here's the map, in plain English, matched to what you actually built.

First, figure out what you actually built

Three honest buckets:

  1. A static site or landing page (HTML/CSS, or a no-code export) — no server, no database.
  2. A web app with a backend (Next.js, a Node/Python API, user accounts, a database).
  3. A WordPress or content site you want to own and scale.

Where it goes depends entirely on which bucket you're in. Most "where do I deploy this" confusion is just people in bucket 2 reading advice written for bucket 1.

If you built a static site or landing page

You don't need much, and you shouldn't overpay. Free tiers (Netlify, Vercel, Cloudflare Pages) handle this beautifully. If you built it in a visual tool and want a real, ownable site you can keep editing without code, Webflow is the grown-up option — it exports clean and won't trap you.

Skip the heavy hosting here. A static page on a $20/mo managed host is money lit on fire.

If you built a full-stack app (the common case)

This is where AI-built projects usually land: a Next.js app, an API, a database, real users. You need a host that runs a server and a database without making you a sysadmin.

  • Cloudways is our default recommendation for this person. It's managed cloud hosting — you get the power of a real server (DigitalOcean/Vultr/AWS under the hood) with a dashboard instead of a terminal. You can deploy an app, attach a database, and not learn Linux. This is the sweet spot for "I built something real with AI and need it to just run."
  • Kinsta is the premium step up — application + database hosting with excellent performance and support. Worth it when the project is making money and downtime costs you.

The thing to avoid: cheap shared hosting that says it supports Node but throttles it into uselessness. If your app has a backend, host it somewhere built for backends.

If you built (or want) a WordPress/content site

For a content site, blog, or a WordPress build, Bluehost is the easiest on-ramp (cheap, one-click WordPress, forgiving for beginners), and Cloudways or Kinsta are where you go when traffic grows and the cheap host starts straining.

The honest decision tree

  • Static page, no backend → free tier, or Webflow if you want an ownable visual site.
  • Full-stack app, first deploy, no DevOps → Cloudways.
  • Full-stack app that's earning and needs to be bulletproof → Kinsta.
  • WordPress/blog, just starting → Bluehost, graduate to Cloudways later.

One thing the AI won't tell you

Wherever you deploy, put your environment secrets in the host's settings — never in the code the AI generated, and never committed to your repo. AI tools cheerfully hardcode API keys; that's the single most common way an AI-built app gets compromised on day one. (This is exactly the kind of thing the Solo Stack Method governance workflow is built to catch.)

Compare full hosting terms and where each ranks in The Stack.