The short answer
Yes. AI tools like ChatGPT, Lovable and v0, and builders like Wix and Squarespace, can make a good-looking page in an afternoon. The catch is everything under the page: your domain, hosting, business email, security, speed on mobile data, POPIA, getting found on Google, backups and your own time every month. For a side project that is fine. For a business that relies on its site, someone has to own all of it.
What AI and builders do well
Let me be fair here, because I use AI every day. You can describe your business to ChatGPT and get decent first words for your home page. Tools like Lovable and v0 turn a few sentences into a working layout. Wix and Squarespace give you templates, hosting and a padlock in one monthly plan. A few years ago, a page like that needed a designer. Now it needs a free evening.
So the page is not the problem. The page is the bit above the water.
What sits under the page
A website that brings in work is mostly stuff nobody sees. Builders handle some of it for you, like hosting and the padlock. AI tools mostly hand you the page and leave the rest to you. Either way, these are the layers someone has to look after.
Your page
Design, words and photos. AI or a builder gets you here in an afternoon.
Under the page, there are 9 layers. Tap one to see what it is.
- What it is
- Your address, like yourbusiness.co.za. It renews every year.
- If you ignore it
- You stay on a free address with the builder’s name in it, or a renewal slips past and your site and email go down.
- Rough effort
- A yearly renewal. Builders often give the first year free, then the normal price applies.
- What it is
- The server your site lives on, every day it is online.
- If you ignore it
- A page made in an AI tool sits on a preview link nobody can find, or on a free plan that is not meant for a business.
- Rough effort
- Included in a builder plan. For an AI-made site, you set it up and keep paying for it yourself.
- What it is
- An address on your own domain: you@yourbusiness.co.za.
- If you ignore it
- Customers get a Gmail address, or your quotes land in spam because the domain settings were never added.
- Rough effort
- Usually a separate monthly fee per mailbox, plus an hour or so of setup.
- What it is
- The padlock in the browser, strong logins, and keeping the software patched.
- If you ignore it
- A browser warning scares visitors off, or someone gets in and puts their content on your site.
- Rough effort
- Builders handle most of it. Code an AI tool wrote for you is yours to keep up to date.
- What it is
- How fast the page opens on a phone, on prepaid data, away from Wi-Fi.
- If you ignore it
- Big photos and heavy effects make the page slow and eat your visitors’ data. Some give up before it opens.
- Rough effort
- Resizing photos and testing on a real phone, every time you change the page.
- What it is
- A privacy policy, forms that only ask what you need, and asking before you use tracking cookies.
- If you ignore it
- You collect personal information without the basics in place, and a customer can complain to the Information Regulator.
- Rough effort
- A policy to write and keep current, and your form and cookie settings to check.
- What it is
- Page titles, a Google Business Profile, Search Console, and pages that answer what people actually ask.
- If you ignore it
- A good-looking site that nobody finds.
- Rough effort
- A day or so to set up. Google says changes can take hours or months to show.
- What it is
- A copy of your site you can put back if something goes wrong.
- If you ignore it
- One bad edit, a lapsed account or a hack, and you start again from nothing.
- Rough effort
- Check your plan includes them, and try a restore once so you know how.
- What it is
- Changes, renewals, checks, and fixing whatever broke.
- If you ignore it
- Old prices and holiday hours stay up for months.
- Rough effort
- It depends on you. Write down the hours for one month and you will know the real number.
Two of these catch people out most. The domain: Wix and Squarespace both give you a free domain for the first year on their yearly plans, then it renews at the normal price. And email: on Wix, a business address is bought separately from the website plan. Neither is a trick. It is just a cost to plan for.
When doing it yourself is the right call
I tell people this straight: you do not always need me.
- You are testing an idea
- You want to see if anyone bites before you spend money. A quick page is perfect for that.
- It is a hobby or side project
- If nobody loses income when the site is down for a day, the risk is small.
- You enjoy it and have the time
- Some people like tinkering. If that is you, the hours are not a cost.
- You only need the basics
- Your name, what you do, where you are and a WhatsApp button. A builder handles that well.
Signs it is time to hand it over
If two or more of these sound like you, the site is costing you more than it should.
- You spend more evenings on the site than on the work it is meant to bring in.
- Customers ask for your email and you still give them a Gmail address.
- Your contact form asks for personal details and you have no privacy policy.
- You search for your business plus your town on Google and cannot find yourself.
- The page takes ages to open on your own phone, away from Wi-Fi.
- You are scared to change anything in case it breaks.
Check your own site in 15 minutes
Whoever built it, you can check the basics yourself today. You need your phone and a cup of coffee.
- Open your site on your phone, on mobile data. Time how long it takes to show something useful.
- Look for the padlock next to the address. Tap it and check there is no warning.
- Send yourself a message through your contact form. Check it arrives, and not in spam.
- Find your privacy policy. Check it says what you collect, why, and who to contact.
- Search Google for your business name and your town. Note where you show up, if at all.
- Write down who owns your domain, when it renews, and which card pays for it.
- Ask your builder or host where your backups are. If nobody knows, you do not have any.
POPIA in plain words: if your site collects names, numbers or emails, you need to say what you collect and why, and keep it safe. This is a plain-language overview, not legal advice. The Information Regulator has the official guidance.
These seven checks are the basics. The fuller list every site of ours passes before launch, with speed and accessibility scores, is on how we work.
My take
I have nothing against building it yourself. I would rather you start with a free page this week than wait a year for a perfect one. But be honest about the hours. Once the site starts bringing in work, the stuff under the water is a job, and it is usually not the job you started your business to do.
Kris, founder of TechOnEdge
Quick questions
Is it cheaper to build my own website?
The build is cheaper, sometimes free. The running costs are not: a domain, a paid plan, email and your own hours every month. For comparison, our Launch Page is R999 once-off and Managed Hosting is R249/month, with email and backups included. Add up your own numbers before you decide.
Can ChatGPT build a whole website for me?
It can write the code and the words for a page, and tools built on AI can put a preview online. You still have to connect a domain, set up hosting and email, keep it secure and get it onto Google. The chatbot can explain those steps; it cannot do them for you on your accounts.
Can I move my Wix or AI-built site to a web designer later?
Usually you can move the domain and the content: words, photos and products. The design itself often has to be rebuilt, because builder sites run on the builder’s own system. Make sure the domain is registered in your name so it can move with you.