If you're self-hosted, your site isn't a WordPress dashboard or a page builder — it's plain HTML, CSS, and a bit of JavaScript, sitting in a GitHub repository. There's no admin panel to log into. To change something, you edit the actual file, save it, and your host (Sevalla) republishes the site automatically.

That sounds intimidating if you've never touched code — but it's exactly the kind of task AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT are good at. You describe what you want in plain English, and the AI writes the actual code change for you.

What you're actually editing

Your repo is just a folder of files. The ones you'll touch most often:

  • index.html — your home page content: headlines, sections, pricing, the application form.
  • assets/css/style.css — colors, fonts, spacing, layout. One file controls the whole site's look.
  • assets/img/ — your images. Swap a file here to swap a photo on the site.

You don't need to memorize this. Just know that "change the headline" means editing a line in index.html, and "change the button color" means editing a rule in style.css — the AI will find the right spot for you.

Two ways to make a change

Option 1 — Claude Code (best if you want real control)

Claude Code is a tool that connects directly to your project folder or GitHub repo. You describe the change, it shows you exactly what it's about to edit before doing it, and you approve or adjust. This is the closest thing to "having a developer on call" without needing to become one.

Option 2 — Copy-paste into any AI chat

If you'd rather not install anything, this works with the free version of Claude.ai or ChatGPT:

  • Open your file on GitHub (in your browser) and copy its contents.
  • Paste it into Claude or ChatGPT along with what you want changed — e.g. "Here's my index.html. Change the hero headline to say ___."
  • Paste the AI's updated version back into GitHub's editor and commit the change.

Slower than Option 1, but it works entirely in the browser with tools you probably already use.

Prompts that work well

  • "Change the headline in the hero section to say '___'."
  • "Update the price card to show $X instead of $Y."
  • "Add a new FAQ question about ___ using the same style as the others."
  • "Make the 'Apply Now' button green instead of purple, but keep the same hover effect."

Be specific about what you want changed and where — the more context you give, the fewer follow-up rounds you'll need.

After you make a change

Once the file is updated, it needs to be committed and pushed to GitHub — think of this as "saving and publishing" at the same time. From there, Sevalla picks up the change automatically and your live site updates, usually within a minute or two. No separate deploy step, no waiting on a support ticket.

If this all still sounds like a lot the first time, that's normal — most people just need to see it done once.