How I Rebuilt My Website in a Few Days — Using AI as an Assistant

How I Rebuilt My Website in a Few Days — Using AI as an Assistant

Last Friday, I sat down in front of my screen with a clear intention: my website needed a real rebranding. Not just a visual refresh — a complete, strategic overhaul. The site existed in English, but it lacked clarity and consistency. Menu tabs were disorganised, some pages had no coherent identity, and several SEO errors had never been addressed. Most importantly, everything was in one language only.

I am a Master's student at Université Paris 8, which means time and budget are both limited. The hosting platform I use offers integrated AI tools — but only in paid plans. So I had to find another way, and that led me to a decision that had long resisted me.

My complicated relationship with AI

I'll be honest: I have always resisted the idea of using artificial intelligence in my artistic work. As a filmmaker and photographer, I need every image and every sequence to come from a personal vision — a human eye. That line, for me, is non-negotiable. But over time, I made an important distinction: AI as a creative tool is one thing, and AI as a strategic assistant is another. For branding, SEO, translation and optimisation, it's a genuine time-saver — not a substitute for creativity.

So I used Claude AI and Manus.im as assistants throughout this process. Each had its strengths and its limits, and working within the constraints of free versions added its own layer of challenge.

What changed concretely

The menu was completely restructured and made consistent across all pages. The Street Photography section was redesigned with its own identity, and Shot on iPhone became a standalone page with its own narrative. All SEO errors were corrected — titles, meta descriptions, alt text, and focus keywords in both languages. And the site is now fully bilingual, French and English, with optimised URLs for each language.

The philosophy behind it

My goal was never just to have a beautiful website. I wanted the site to be a central hub — a reference point — with my social media gravitating around it in coherence with my personal branding. An artist today cannot ignore their online presence. That is not betraying your art. It is giving it a chance to be seen.

What remains to be done

The work continues. The FAQ section, this blog, and further improvements are still in progress. But for now, I am proud of the journey — built alone, with determination and the right tools.