I want to start with a confession: I had zero programming background when I decided to build my own website.

No computer science degree. No years of JavaScript experience. No “I’ve been coding since I was 12” story.

What I did have was curiosity, a simple idea, and a powerful AI tool: Codex.

This is the story of how I went from knowing nothing about web development to launching a small but real game website — entirely by myself.

The Idea: A Simple Game, Not a Startup

I wasn’t trying to build the next big SaaS or a complex platform. I just wanted to create a small game website that: Works Loads fast Is useful and fun Can actually be finished by one person I chose a classic and timeless format: word search games.

They’re simple, accessible to all ages, and surprisingly hard to do well if you care about UX, performance, and content scale.

The Biggest Problem: I Can’t Code

Here’s where most people stop. I didn’t know: How to set up a project What a framework is How routing works How to deploy a site Even “HTML + CSS + JS” sounded overwhelming. This is where Codex changed everything.

Instead of asking “How do I learn programming for 6 months?”, I started asking:

“What’s the smallest step I can take today?”

Using Codex as My Developer Brain

Codex became more than a tool — it became my pair programmer, tutor, and architect. I used it to: Generate page layouts Explain code line by line in plain English Fix errors I didn’t even understand yet Refactor messy logic into something clean Suggest better structure when things felt wrong Most importantly, Codex didn’t just give answers — it explained the “why”. That’s how learning actually happened.

Building the First Real Pages

Once I had a basic structure, things started to click. I built: A homepage Individual game pages Printable word search layouts Simple navigation SEO-friendly URLs

At some point, I realized: “This is no longer a toy. This is a real website.”

That moment was incredibly motivating.

Launching the Site (Yes, It’s Live)

After iteration after iteration, I finally launched my project:

👉 word search printable

It’s a simple game website focused on printable and playable word search puzzles.

Is it perfect? Absolutely not.

But it’s real, public, and built from nothing — and that matters more than perfection.

What I Learned as a Zero-Basics Builder

Here are a few lessons I wish I knew earlier:

You don’t need to “learn everything first” You can learn while building. In fact, it’s better that way. 1.

AI doesn’t replace thinking — it amplifies it You still make decisions. Codex just removes friction. 1.

Small, boring ideas actually ship Simple games > complex dreams that never launch. 1.

Shipping changes your mindset forever Once you ship once, you stop fearing “starting”.

Who This Is For

If you’re: A non-developer A solo builder Someone with ideas but no technical confidence Tired of tutorials and just want to make something Then yes — this path is possible for you too.

Final Thoughts I didn’t become a “real developer” overnight.

But I did become a builder.

And that happened the moment I stopped waiting for permission, stopped chasing perfect knowledge, and started using the tools available right now.

If someone with zero coding experience can build a live game website, the bar might be lower than you think.

Thanks for reading — and keep building.