# Build and publish your first app

Build your first web app by chatting with WebDIY, try it in the Preview and put it online at its own address.

By the end of this page, you'll have your own web app live on the internet, built entirely by chatting with WebDIY. All you need is a browser, an email address, and a few minutes.

## Before you start

On the Free plan your organization gets 500 credits a month, and once those are gone, up to 100 a day. Credits pay for WebDIY's work on your app, for your app's computer while it's running and for hosting. If you run out partway through a message, the message stops. You can pick up again the next day, when your balance is back up to 100, or buy more credits. See [How credits work](https://web.diy/docs/plans/credits).

## Step 1: Create your account

1. Go to [web.diy](https://web.diy/) and select **Get started**.
2. Select **Continue with Google**, or enter your email address and select **Continue**.
3. If you used email, we'll send you a code. Enter it on the **Check your email** screen and select **Verify code**.
4. Enter your name, pick a theme (System, Light or Dark) and select **Get started**.

> **What you should see:** You're taken to the Home screen of your new organization.

## Step 2: Describe your app

1. On Home, type what you'd like to build in the message box. Say who it's for and what it should do, something like:

   > A booking page for a yoga studio. Visitors see this week's classes, pick one and leave their name and email. Calm colors, and it works well on phones.
2. Send the message.

> **What you should see:** Before it builds anything, WebDIY replies with questions about your idea. Sometimes it shows a short form with choices, and you can answer there or in the chat.

[Write a good first prompt](https://web.diy/docs/get-started/first-prompt) has more on what to say.

## Step 3: Watch WebDIY build it

Once WebDIY has what it needs, it starts building.

> **What you should see:**
>
> - The chat shows what WebDIY is doing at each stage.
> - The **Preview** tab shows "Starting your app's computer", then your app, up and running.
> - WebDIY checks its own work, taking screenshots of the preview and clicking through your app, and you can follow its checklist in the chat.
> - Each reply shows how many credits its message used.

## Step 4: Ask for changes

To change anything, send another message, like "Make the header green" or "Add a page about the teachers".

You can type your next message while WebDIY is still working. It waits as a card above the message box and runs when the current step ends.

> **What you should see:** After each message the Preview updates in place, and it keeps your place in the app where it can.

To try your app at another size, choose **Desktop**, **Tablet** or **Phone** in the Preview's toolbar, or drag the edge of the preview. If you'd rather see it on its own, select **Open preview in a new window**. You can open it in a new tab or a new window, or at one of 13 device sizes, anywhere between a small phone and a 4K display.

## Step 5: Publish

1. Select **Publish**, the blue button with a globe at the top of your project.

   Only a project's Admins can publish, and you're the Admin of any project you create.
2. In the panel that opens, select **Publish**. WebDIY builds a clean copy of your app and shows you each stage as it goes.
3. When it's finished, select **Open site**.

> **What you should see:** Your app is live over HTTPS at its website.diy address. The first address is two random words and a number, like `https://quiet-river-4821.website.diy`, and you can change it. Anyone with the address can open your site, though search engines don't list website.diy addresses. On the Free plan, sites show a small "Built with WebDIY" badge.

Whenever you make more changes, the Publish button shows a badge. Select **Publish**, then **Publish changes**, to update your live site. We keep your published site up even if you run out of credits.

To change the address, open **Tools**, then **Publishing**.

## Where to go next

- [Connect a custom domain](https://web.diy/docs/publish/custom-domains) (Pro and Max)
- [Your app's database](https://web.diy/docs/database/overview)
- [How credits work](https://web.diy/docs/plans/credits)