Websites
A website built with AI or by a designer?
Karina Paviotti
Founder, Design by Karina
11 min read
A website built with AI can be online in an afternoon, and for some businesses that's exactly the right call. What AI can't do on its own is decide what your website needs to say, and to whom. That decision is a designer's real job, together with making it feel like you.
In short
AI website builders are fast and affordable, and you don't need design or code skills to build a website with AI. They're really good for testing an idea or getting a simple site online.
They start from what's common, so the result often looks and sounds like many other sites, and they don't know your customers.
When your website has to make people trust you enough to book, call or buy, the thinking behind it matters more than the tool.
The three options at a glance
AI builder, yourself | AI, plus your own design work | A designer | |
|---|---|---|---|
What you pay | A monthly plan, often €10 to €30 | The plan, plus a lot of your own time | A one-time project price, plus hosting |
Time to live | An afternoon to a few days | A few weeks, next to your work | A few weeks, with someone else doing it |
What you get | A good-looking start, based on your prompt | A site you shaped yourself, page by page | A site built around your clients and what they need to hear |
Good for | Testing an idea, a first online presence | Founders who enjoy it and have the time | Businesses where trust decides who gets the client |
I didn't start in web design. I started in product, helping shape payment experiences for drivers at Uber. One thing it taught me is that the interface is the easy part. What moves the needle is who this is for, what they're deciding in that moment, and what has to be true for them to say yes.
AI has made the easy part even easier, and honestly, I think that's great. But it also makes the other part more visible. When anyone can have a nice-looking website in an afternoon, looking nice stops being the reason people choose you. What I love about this work is understanding a business and turning what it needs to say into an experience that makes sense for the person on the other side of the screen. So let's look at what AI does well, where it falls short, and how to decide what's right for you.
What can AI build for you today?
Quite a lot. Most website builders now have AI built in, and some tools build the whole site from a single prompt. These are the ones I'd look at first:
Tool | What it does with AI | Price |
|---|---|---|
Wix | An AI website builder and AI creation tools on every plan | Free plan; your own domain needs a paid plan |
Framer | AI agents and AI credits to design and edit pages | Free; $10 or $30 / month |
Lovable | Builds a site or an app from a prompt, as code | Free credits; Pro around $25 / month |
ChatGPT or Claude | Writes and edits texts, structures pages, suggests ideas | Free; paid plans monthly |
Prices from each tool's pricing page, checked October 2026, except Lovable's Pro price, which comes from comparison sites. They change often, so check before you choose. A custom domain usually needs a paid plan.
What AI does really well
I'd rather be honest about this, because it's a lot:
Getting started. A blank page is the hardest part, and AI takes it away in minutes.
A first layout. Sections, a structure, a color palette, something you can react to.
Drafts. A first version of a text you can then make your own.
Speed and price. For testing an idea, nothing beats it.
The boring bits. Alt texts, summaries, translations to start from, a meta description.
Making things
A first layout in minutes
Drafts of every text
Variations to choose from
Translations to start from
The repetitive work
Deciding things
Who the site is really for
What they worry about, and what answers it
Why you, in your own words
What to leave out
Checking that every fact is true
Where AI websites fall short
None of these are reasons not to use AI. They're the things to watch out for when you do.
It starts from what's common. AI is very good at what most websites do, which is why the result often looks and sounds like many other sites. That's fine for a first version. It's a problem when the people visiting are comparing you with three others that look exactly the same.
It doesn't know your clients. It knows what you put in the prompt. It doesn't know that your clients are nervous before a first session, that they always ask about the price, or that they found you through a friend. Those are the things a website has to answer.
It sounds like everyone. AI texts are often correct and smooth, and that's exactly the problem: they could be about anyone. Your clients choose you for how you think and how you talk, and that has to be on the page.
It can be wrong. AI makes things up with total confidence, from a service you don't offer to an opening hour that isn't true. Every fact needs a human check.
Someone still has to take care of it. A site built as code by an AI tool still needs hosting, updates and someone who understands it when something breaks. A site in a builder like Wix or Framer is easier, because the builder takes care of that.
Does Google penalize AI websites?
No, not for using AI. Google's guidance says what matters is whether the content is helpful, accurate and made for people, not which tool made it. What it does warn about is using AI to create many pages without adding value for users, which can count as spam. And it asks you to check facts and review everything before you publish, including titles, descriptions and image alt texts.
So an AI-assisted website can rank perfectly well. An AI website full of generic pages that say what every other site says usually won't, because there's no reason for Google to show it over the others.
How to choose between AI and a designer
The honest answer depends on what your website has to do for you. This takes a minute.
TOOL 1
COST: ONE EXTRA CLIENT
What one extra client is worth
If you build it with AI yourself
It can absolutely work, especially to start. A few things make a big difference:
Write the brief before the prompt. Who is it for, what do they worry about, why you, what should they do next. Give the AI those answers, not just "modern and warm".
Rewrite every text in your own words. Read it out loud. If it sounds like it could be about anyone, it is.
Use real photos. Of you, your space, your work. People are choosing a person, so they want to see one.
One page, one job. Each page should lead to one clear next step, like booking a call.
Test it on your phone, and with someone who doesn't know your business.
TOOL 3: CHECKLIST
Good to know in the Netherlands
A Dutch business website shows its KVK number, so put it in the footer. If you use analytics or marketing cookies, you need consent before they're placed, so check that your AI builder's cookie banner really blocks them until people say yes. And if your site is in Dutch, have a native speaker read the AI texts, because they often sound translated.
When a designer makes the difference
When the decision to reach out is personal. Coaches, therapists, studios, practices, consultants: people don't just compare what you offer, they try to feel whether you're the right person. That feeling comes from what the site says, in what order and how, much more than from how modern it looks.
A good designer doesn't start with the layout. They start with the questions on the right side of the image at the top of this article. The design then becomes the way those answers are told, so the right people recognize themselves, and the wrong ones don't waste your time.
And it doesn't have to be one or the other. Plenty of businesses start with an AI site, learn what their clients ask, and come to a designer once they know what the site really has to do. That's a perfectly good order.
Who we are, and what we do
We're Design by Karina, a boutique Shopify agency in Rotterdam, working closely with founder-led fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands to turn what makes them special into thoughtful online shopping experiences.
Not every business needs an online store, though. For coaches, creative studios and service businesses, we design and build websites in Framer or WordPress that explain what you do, build trust and turn visitors into enquiries.
Brand Sites
For coaches, studios and service brands that don't sell online but still need people to choose them.
Ecommerce strategy
Who is buying, what do they need to know, and what helps them choose your brand? We define the positioning, customer journey and store structure before design begins.
Shopify design
A store should feel unmistakably yours and make shopping intuitive. We design brand-led Shopify experiences, from the homepage to product pages, with mobile users in mind.
Shopify development & migration
We build stores that are intuitive to shop, easy to manage and ready to grow. Moving from WooCommerce or another platform? We help you make the transition with a clear plan for your store, content and customer experience.
Conversion & retention
We look at what customers need to see, understand and feel before choosing a product, from product messaging to trust-building elements and retention emails.
Growth after launch
We review available data, identify friction in the customer journey and make prioritized improvements over time.
Why founders choose us
Strategy before pixels. Before opening a design file, we want to understand who you're building for, what your customers need to know and what might be stopping them from buying.
A background in product design. Before starting Design by Karina, I worked in product design at Uber's Money Design team in Amsterdam, helping shape payment experiences for drivers.
Fewer projects, more care. We deliberately limit the number of projects we take on at a time, so I'm closely involved in every project and decisions don't get lost between teams.
We say it straight. We'll tell you honestly when something isn't worth the investment, even when the easier answer would be yes. Including when an AI site is all you need for now.
Launch is the starting line. After launch, we keep using real customer behavior to make the site better.
What does a website cost with us?
For businesses that don't sell online, we build a Brand Site:
Package | From | Best for |
|---|---|---|
Brand Site | €2,900 | For businesses that don't sell online but still need people to choose them. We design a site for coaches, studios and service brands that says what you do in plain words, so the right people feel sure enough to reach out. |
The exact number depends on your pages and content, and you'll see every item in your proposal before we start. Selling products? Then you'll want a Shopify store, and I've written about what that costs and what Shopify is.
From the studio
What we see with clients
One of our clients sells fire-safety certificates for buildings in São Paulo, in a market of about ten websites that all look the same. They all promise "24 hours" and none of them shows a price.
An AI builder would have made an eleventh one, because that's what the market looks like. Instead, the page shows the full price item by item, names the civil engineer who signs the work, makes an honest five-day promise instead of a fake 24 hours, and has a quiz that tells you when you don't qualify. Being different wasn't a design choice. It was the decision to say what the others wouldn't.
Questions
Can AI build a website for me?
Yes. Tools like Wix, Framer and Lovable can build a website from a short prompt, often in minutes. You'll still want to rewrite the texts, add real photos and check every fact before you publish.
How much does an AI website cost?
Many AI website builders have a free plan, and paid plans usually cost around €10 to €30 a month. A custom domain usually needs a paid plan. The biggest cost is often your own time.
Does Google penalize AI-generated websites?
No, not for using AI. Google looks at whether content is helpful and accurate. It does warn against using AI to create many pages that add nothing for users, which can count as spam.
Is an AI website good for SEO?
It can be, if the content is genuinely useful and specific to you. Generic pages that say what every other site says rarely rank, whoever wrote them.
What's the best AI website builder?
It depends on what you need. Wix is easy and all-in-one, Framer is strong for design-led sites, and Lovable builds sites and apps as code. Try the free plans with your own content before you choose.
Can I use ChatGPT to write my website texts?
For a first draft, yes. Then rewrite it in your own words and read it out loud. Your clients choose you for how you think and talk, so the final version has to sound like you.
Do I own a website made with AI?
You own your texts and photos. With a website builder, the site itself lives on their platform, so you pay a monthly plan to keep it online. With a tool that builds code, you can usually export it, but then you need to host and maintain it.
Is a web designer still worth it in 2026?
When your website has to make people trust you, yes. AI makes a website quickly. A designer works out what it should say, for whom, and in what order, and that's what makes the right people reach out.
Can a designer improve my AI-built website?
Yes. What you've learned from it, like the questions clients ask, is really useful input. Often the best result comes from starting with what clients need to hear, and then deciding what to keep.
How long does it take to build a website with a designer?
It depends on the number of pages and how ready your texts and photos are. You'll get a clear timeline in your proposal before we start.
How much does a website cost with a designer?
It varies a lot, because designers include very different things. With us, a Brand Site starts at €2,900, with every item listed in your proposal.
What's the best web design agency in Rotterdam?
It depends on what your business needs, so it's worth talking to more than one. If you're looking for a website that explains what you do in plain words and makes the right people reach out, we'd love to be on your list. Design by Karina is a boutique agency in Rotterdam, and every project starts with understanding your clients before anything is designed. Book a free intro call to see if we're the right fit.
Your store, your numbers
Want a straight answer for your own store? Book a free call and we’ll walk through it together.
Sources
Google Search Central, "Google Search's guidance on using generative AI content on your website" (checked October 2026)
Framer pricing, framer.com/pricing (checked October 2026)
Wix plans, wix.com/plans (checked October 2026)
Lovable pricing, lovable.dev/pricing, free plan credits (checked October 2026); Pro price from comparison sites, to confirm
KVK: business details on your website
Karina Paviotti
Founder, Design by Karina
Karina Paviotti is the founder of Design by Karina, a boutique Shopify agency in Rotterdam. Before starting the studio, she worked in product design at Uber, shaping payment experiences for drivers. Today she leads every project, from strategy to launch, for founder-led fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands.
