How to Use Claude Code: 3 Things Beginners Need to Know
How to use Claude Code without the jargon: a folder that holds the site, a notebook it reads first, and a check before you believe it's done.
How do you use Claude Code as a beginner? Forget the jargon. It comes down to three things: a folder, a notebook and a check. The folder holds your site, the notebook is a file Claude Code reads first, and the check is you seeing it work. Understand those three and everything else is detail.
Why Claude Code tutorials lose beginners
Every tutorial I watched assumed I already knew half of it: terminals, repos, deploys. So people quit before they build anything.
I built every one of my sites this way. Client sites, my own sites, and the funnel for my own course. It all comes back to the same three things.
| What it is | My rule | |
|---|---|---|
| The folder | The one folder on your computer that holds the whole site | One folder per site |
| The notebook | CLAUDE.md, the file Claude Code reads first | Facts, rules, and what’s next |
| The check | Seeing it work in your browser | If you didn’t see it work, it isn’t done |
1. The folder
Your whole website lives in one folder on your computer. Every page, every image, every setting.
You open Claude Code inside that folder, and that folder is its whole world. It reads the files, writes the files and runs commands. Anything risky gets checked first, by a safety check or by you.
Nothing is hidden. You can open the folder any time and see exactly what it made.
My rule is one folder per site. Never put two businesses in one folder.
2. The notebook
Claude Code forgets everything between sessions. So you give it one file it reads first, called CLAUDE.md.
Three things go in it: the facts about the business, the rules you’ve learned, and what’s done and what’s next. I made a whole video on this one, written up as Claude Code memory: stop re-explaining your business.
3. The check
This is the one no one teaches. When Claude Code says “done,” is that proof? No.
I took over a website where every form said “Thank you, message sent.” Not one of those messages had ever arrived. Not one. The page looked perfect. The leads were going nowhere.
So here’s the rule: look before you believe it. Open the site in your browser. Click the buttons. Send the form and see the lead land. If you didn’t see it work, it isn’t done.
Git, hosting and domains can wait
Do you need Git, hosting and domains on day one? No. Everything else is detail. Learn each one the day you need it, not before.
Your first Claude Code prompt
Make an empty folder, open Claude Code in it, and type this:
We’re building a one-page website for my business. Interview me first, then write CLAUDE.md, then build the page. Don’t tell me it’s done until I’ve seen it in the browser.
That one prompt uses all three: the folder, the notebook and the check.
Common questions
Do I need to learn Git, hosting and domains before I use Claude Code?
No. Git, hosting and domains are detail. Learn each one the day you need it, not before. To start, you only need to understand the folder, the notebook and the check.
Does Claude Code change files without asking?
Not anything risky. By default a safety check reviews each action and stops the risky ones, and you can switch to a mode where it asks you before every change. It works inside the folder you open it in, reading files, writing files and running commands there, and you can open that folder any time to see exactly what it made.
How do I know Claude Code has actually finished a task?
You look. When Claude Code says done, that’s not proof. Open the site in your browser, click the buttons, send the form and see the lead land. If you didn’t see it work, it isn’t done.
That’s the foundation of how I build: picking a site worth building, getting Google to trust it, and making sure every lead actually arrives. The rest of the series is in my Claude Code tutorials. If you want the whole method, from keyword research to launch, get the free video and the Claude Code Microsite Blueprint.