The exact 4-step setup to go from blank terminal to a polished, production-ready site — using Claude Code as your developer.

Why this works

You don't need a designer. You don't need a dev team. You need the right setup before you start prompting — because Claude Code is only as good as the environment, animations, design taste, and components you give it access to.

This guide is the exact stack that turns Claude Code from a generic code generator into a senior-level web designer.

Step 1 — Install Claude Code

Claude Code runs locally on your machine through your terminal. One command and you're in.

Install command:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Then run:

claude

Requirements: Node.js 18+ installed. Sign in with your Anthropic account when prompted.

Why this matters: Claude Code can read your full project, edit multiple files at once, run commands, and iterate — that's what makes it different from copy-pasting code from a chat window.

Step 2 — Add Animation Support (Framer Motion)

Default AI-generated sites look static and lifeless. Animation is the #1 thing that makes a site feel premium.

Install Framer Motion:

npm install framer-motion

Then tell Claude Code in your project context: