Build a secure, no-cost e-commerce website with AI agents (almost free of cost)
Follow a complete series of copy-ready prompts that make an AI coding agent (Claude Code or Codex) build, secure and launch a real e-commerce website for you: Postgres database, Cloudinary images, Stripe payments, Resend email, admin panel, reports, GitHub and Vercel. Each episode has one prompt and a sample result.
Who it is for
Founders, makers and freelancers who want to launch a store without writing code by hand or paying for a store platform.
What you will have at the end
A working, secured online store with products, cart, checkout, payments, order emails, an admin panel and sales reports, hosted on free tiers and tracked in GitHub.
What you need
- A computer (macOS, Windows or Linux) where you can install software
- A code editor you like: VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf or similar
- An account with Claude (for Claude Code) or ChatGPT (for Codex)
- About 30 to 60 minutes per episode, with two or three episodes per day
- No coding experience is needed, but you will read what the agent tells you
How it works: each episode gives one prompt. The examples use a fashion store, and you replace the keywords (store type, products, country and more) with your own. Free-tier limits change, so check each provider's pricing page.
0 of 24 episodes done
Prepare
Plan the store, set up your computer and give your agent safe permissions.
- 1Episode 1: Plan your store before you buildTurn your idea into a short written plan, a feature list and a free-tier budget that the agent will follow in every later episode.30 min
- 2Episode 2: Prepare your computer and accounts for the buildInstall a code editor (VS Code or Cursor), Node.js, Git and a local PostgreSQL safely, and line up the free accounts the store will need.45 min
- 3Episode 3: Install your AI agent and give it safe permissionsInstall Claude Code or Codex, sign in, open an empty project folder and write the rules and deny list that keep secrets safe.40 min
- 4Episode 4: Create the store project and see it runningScaffold a Next.js, TypeScript and Tailwind project with clean folders, lint checks, an env example and a home page you can open in your browser.30 min
Foundation
Create the project, GitHub history, local database and design.
- 5Episode 5: Put the project on GitHub with a safe daily workflowCreate a private GitHub repository, protect it from leaked secrets, and learn the branch, commit and pull request routine with an automatic check.40 min
- 6Episode 6: Build the store database on your computerCreate a local PostgreSQL database, define the store tables with Drizzle, run migrations and load safe sample data.45 min
- 7Episode 7: Give your store a brand, a design system and a home pageSet colors, fonts and reusable parts once, then build a responsive, accessible header, footer and home page that every later page will share.45 min
Storefront
Products, images, cart, accounts and checkout.
- 8Episode 8: Build the catalogue: categories, search and product pagesShow your products from the local database with category pages, filters, search, detail pages, search-engine metadata and structured data.50 min
- 9Episode 9: Add Cloudinary for fast, safe product imagesConnect Cloudinary, upload your product photos with signed requests, and serve resized, compressed images with proper alt text.40 min
- 10Episode 10: Build a shopping cart that trusts the server, not the browserAdd a cart with quantities and stock checks that saves for guests, merges into accounts later, and always takes prices from the database.50 min
- 11Episode 11: Add secure customer accounts with sign up and loginAdd sign up, login and an account page using Auth.js, safely hashed passwords, a customer or admin role, and protected pages.55 min
- 12Episode 12: Build checkout and save a pending orderAdd a checkout page with address, shipping options and a tax placeholder, then save a safe pending order whose prices the server calculates itself.45 min
Payments and email
Take real payments and send order emails.
- 13Episode 13: Take test payments with a hosted checkout and webhookConnect your payment gateway in test mode so customers pay on its hosted page and a signed webhook marks the order paid, without your site ever touching card data.50 min
- 14Episode 14: Send order, verification and password-reset emailsConnect Resend, verify your domain, and send order confirmations, shipping updates, email verification and password reset emails that reach the inbox.45 min
Back office
Admin panel, orders, stock and sales reports.
- 15Episode 15: Build a locked admin panel to manage productsCreate an admin area only the admin role can open, where you add and edit products, variants and categories, upload images, publish drafts and see an audit log.55 min
- 16Episode 16: Manage orders, shipping, refunds and stock from the adminAdd an order desk to the admin panel: status changes, tracking-number emails, refunds through your payment gateway, stock levels with low-stock alerts, and a customer list.50 min
- 17Episode 17: Build sales reports you can trust, with CSV exportAdd admin reports for sales by day, week and month, top products, average order value, low stock and customer growth, with date ranges and a safe CSV download.40 min
Secure and test
Harden the site and prove it works.
- 18Episode 18: Harden your store: headers, limits, admin safety and a reviewAdd security headers, rate limiting, strict input checks and safer admin access, scan for leaked secrets and weak packages, set up backups, and get an honest OWASP-style review.60 min
- 19Episode 19: Test the whole buying journey and write a pre-release reportAdd unit tests for price and stock maths, an automated browser test of a full test-mode purchase, accessibility and speed checks, and a plain-language test report.55 min
Go live
Online database, deployment, legal pages, launch and upkeep.
- 20Episode 20: Create the online database and migrate it safelySet up a free Neon Postgres database for production, run your migrations on it without risk, and rehearse a backup and restore.45 min
- 21Episode 21: Deploy your store to Vercel with your own domainConnect your GitHub repository to Vercel, set the environment variables, get preview deployments for every pull request, and attach your domain.50 min
- 22Episode 22: Add legal pages, search basics and trust signalsAdd privacy, terms, returns, shipping, cookie and contact pages, plus sitemap, robots, page metadata, product structured data and analytics that wait for consent.50 min
- 23Episode 23: Run the go-live checklist and open for real ordersSwitch to live payment keys, make one real small purchase and refund it, test email delivery, take a backup, set up monitoring and alerts, and tick off a launch-day table.60 min
- 24Episode 24: Maintain your store and keep growing it safelySet up weekly and monthly routines for updates, backups and security, learn to add features on branches, read your reports, and reuse the whole series for another store.40 min
What “almost free” means for an AI-built online store
The software side costs nothing to start: GitHub, Neon Postgres, Cloudinary, Resend, Stripe and Vercel all have free plans, and an AI agent writes the code. You will still pay for a domain name, a small fee on each sale to your payment gateway, and possibly the plan that Claude Code or Codex needs. Check each provider's pricing page, because free plans change.
Tools used in this series
- Claude CodeAnthropic's coding agent for the terminal and VS Code
- OpenAI CodexOpenAI's coding agent, the alternative used throughout
- Cursor and VS CodeUse the code editor you like: VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf or similar
- GitHub CopilotAI assistance inside VS Code
- ChatGPTFor the planning chat in Episode 1
- ClaudeFor the planning chat in Episode 1
Questions about building a store with AI agents
Can I really build an e-commerce website for free with AI?
Almost. The services in this series (GitHub, Neon Postgres, Cloudinary, Resend, Stripe and Vercel) have free plans, and the code is written by an AI agent. Four costs remain: a domain name each year, a fee on each sale from your payment gateway, the paid plan that Claude Code or Codex may need, and a paid hosting plan if your host's free tier is for non-commercial use only (Vercel's Hobby plan is). Free plans change, so each episode tells you to check the provider's pricing page.
Do I need to know how to code to follow this series?
No. Every episode is one prompt that you paste into your AI agent, written for non-programmers. The agent explains each step in plain language, asks you for any account it needs, and shows how to check that it worked. You still read what it says, because you stay in charge of decisions such as prices, tax and policies.
Should I use Claude Code or Codex?
Either one works. The prompts have an AI agent keyword, so they read correctly for both. Episode 3 shows how to install each, how their permission settings differ, and how to write the rules file so the agent follows the same security rules whichever you choose.
Do I have to use VS Code, or can I use Cursor or another editor?
Use whichever code editor you like. The episodes mention VS Code because it is free and common, but Cursor, Windsurf, JetBrains editors or even a plain terminal work the same way: you open your project folder and run the agent in its terminal. Where an episode says VS Code, read it as your editor.
Is a store built by an AI agent secure?
It can be, if you ask for security and check it. The series keeps secrets out of the code, sends card payments to a hosted checkout page so card data never touches your site, validates every input, locks the admin area, and spends a full episode on a security review and another on testing. You are still responsible for reviewing the result before you take real payments.
Which payment gateway does the series use?
Stripe is the default, because it works with a hosted checkout page and signed webhooks. The prompts use a payment gateway keyword, so you can enter PayPal or another gateway that works in your country, and the agent follows the same pattern. Check that your chosen gateway accepts businesses in your country before you start.
How long does it take to build the whole store?
The 24 episodes add up to about 19 hours of work. Most people finish in one to two weeks at two or three episodes a day. The prompt does the building, and most of your time goes into reading the agent's report, making decisions and testing.
Can I build a different kind of store, not fashion?
Yes. The examples use a fashion store called Thread & Needle, but you can change the store name, type of store, products, country, currency, payment gateway and domain at the top of any episode. Your answers are saved in your browser and fill every prompt in the series.
Where does my store's data live?
While you build, your data lives in a PostgreSQL database on your own computer. For the live store, episode 20 moves it to a free online Postgres database on Neon, with migrations and a backup test. Product images go to Cloudinary, and your code is stored in your own GitHub repository.