A step-by-step playbook for going from a raw idea to a deployed website — or an iOS app on the App Store — using Claude Chat, Claude Code, and Cowork. Built by a non-engineer, for non-engineers.
Each tool has a job. You move from one to the next as your idea gets more real.
Tick boxes as you go. Your progress is saved in your browser.
Start in Claude Chat. Describe the rough idea, let Claude ask clarifying questions, then iterate on a single-file HTML mockup until it looks right. Don't worry about code quality — this is just to nail the concept and a visual reference.
Open Claude Code and point it at your project folder. From here, Claude Code does the real development work: scaffolding the app, wiring services, and pushing it live to Vercel via GitHub. For simple sites you'll be live within an hour. For heavier apps (admin panels, databases, edge workers), plan for more dev cycles.
Only needed if you want a native iOS app on the App Store. Use Cowork with the Claude in Chrome plugin to fill out App Store Connect submission forms — metadata, descriptions, screenshots, keywords. You'll need an Apple Developer license ($99/year) before this step.
Two app examples that followed the same path.
Customer-facing web app with an admin site. Required Cloudflare Workers for edge logic and a more involved Claude Code development cycle. Same workflow — just more time in Step 2.
Internal CRM with Supabase backing the data layer. Heavier on schema design and auth flows, but still went from idea to live in a few days.
What you're looking at right now — generated in Claude, refined into HTML, and deployable to Vercel within an hour.
Print the checklist, share the deck, plan your project in the tracker.