You Built Your Law Firm Website With AI. Here's What Nobody Told You About Launching It.

Here's what sits between "it looks done" and "it's safe to run ads to."

Publish isn't launch

A website that can sign cases is five things, not one:

1. 1.Code: what the AI tool generated.
2. 2.A host: the server that hands the site to visitors.
3. 3.A domain: yourfirm.com, bought from a registrar.
4. 4.DNS: the records that point the domain at the host, and keep your email working.
5. 5.SSL: the padlock. Without it, Chrome warns your prospect away.

The builder gives you the code and a borrowed host: a URL like yourfirm.lovable.app. Nobody puts that on a billboard. Connecting your own domain inside Lovable requires a paid plan, and everything else on this list is on you.

Where to host it: four realistic options

• ·Stay on the builder (paid plan + your domain). Best for attorneys who never want to see a DNS record. The catch: your code lives with the builder unless you sync it to GitHub.
• ·Cloudflare. Best for attorneys comfortable with DNS. $0 for a static site, $5/month if you add server code. The catch: setup runs through Git or a command line, not a button in the AI tool.
• ·Vercel Pro. Best for Next.js sites, which is most v0 output. $20/month per seat. The catch: the free Hobby plan is non-commercial only, and a law firm site is commercial.
• ·Netlify (paid plan). Best for simple static sites with forms. $9/month Personal. The catch: on the free plan, sites pause when credits run out.

Prices as of October 2026. They move, so check before you commit.

The easiest path: stay on the builder, and pay for it

If you can't say what a nameserver is, don't move the site. Upgrade the builder you used, connect your domain inside it, and let one vendor own the whole stack. When something breaks, there's one company to call.

Two things to do anyway, because the builder won't prompt you:

• ·Turn on GitHub sync. It costs nothing and puts a copy of your site's code in an account you own.
• ·Don't "save money" on a free host. Free tiers are built for hobby projects. One forbids commercial use outright; another switches your site off when you hit a usage cap. Neither is where you send paid traffic.

If even the builder's domain screen feels like a risk, pay someone once to wire it up. That's a one-afternoon job for anyone who does it weekly.

The smartest path: your code, your host, your rules

If DNS doesn't scare you, own the stack. Export the code to GitHub, then deploy it somewhere that isn't the tool that built it.

Cloudflare is the pick for most law firm sites. Static hosting on the free tier has no published bandwidth cap, so a busy ad month doesn't produce a surprise bill or a dark site. One update for 2026: Cloudflare now recommends Workers with static assets for new projects. Pages still works, but new features land on Workers, so start there.

Vercel is the pick if the site is Next.js. Budget for Pro from day one. The free Hobby plan is restricted to non-commercial personal use, and a firm's website is commercial no matter how small the traffic.

Either way, the move is the same: GitHub repo, connect the host, add your domain, update DNS at the registrar, confirm the padlock.

The gotchas AI won't mention until they cost you

1. 1.The free plan isn't licensed for your firm. Vercel's free tier is non-commercial only. Running a practice on it is a terms-of-service problem waiting to become a downtime problem.
2. 2.The free plan can switch your site off. Netlify's free plan is a hard credit limit; when it's used up, every site on the account pauses until the next cycle. Picture that in the month your billboard goes up.
3. 3.The contact form goes nowhere. AI builders draw a beautiful form and often wire it to nothing. Submit a test lead from your phone and confirm it reaches the inbox or CRM a human actually watches. Then do it again after launch.
4. 4.You don't own the code until it's in your GitHub. If it lives only inside the builder, a lapsed card or a terms change is a site outage you can't fix.
5. 5.Moving the domain can kill your email. Pointing DNS at a new host is where firms lose MX records and stop receiving client email. Copy every MX, SPF and DKIM record before you touch nameservers.
6. 6.Logins and integrations break on the new domain. If the site uses a backend for forms or accounts, its allowed URLs still point at the old address. Update them, or submissions silently fail.
7. 7.Accessibility lawsuits are a Florida specialty. Plaintiffs filed 961 federal website accessibility suits in Florida in 2025, nearly double 2024 (Seyfarth Shaw). AI-generated sites routinely miss alt text, contrast and form labels. An overlay widget isn't a shield: suits against sites already using widgets kept climbing (UsableNet).
8. 8.The AI made things up. Builders invent case results, awards and "as featured in" logos to fill a layout. Under Florida Bar Rule 4-7.13, a material statement that is factually inaccurate makes the ad deceptive. Verify every number, name and badge.
9. 9.The chatbot is practicing law. If the builder added a chat widget, Florida Bar Ethics Opinion 24-1 says visitors must be told they aren't talking to a lawyer, and the bot shouldn't drift into legal advice. "You have a strong case" is exactly the line it can't say.

The Florida Bar check every AI-written page needs

AI tools write marketing copy for a generic business. Your website is a lawyer advertisement, and the Bar's substantive rules apply to it. Read every page against this list before it goes live:

• ·A lawyer or firm name and the city, town or county of a real office. Required in every advertisement (Rule 4-7.12(a)).
• ·"Best," "top," "leading," "#1." Comparisons and quality claims must be objectively verifiable (Rule 4-7.13(b)(3)).
• ·"We'll get you the compensation you deserve." That's a prediction of results. Swap in "pursue" or "seek" (Rule 4-7.13(b)(1)).
• ·Verdicts and settlements. They must be objectively verifiable, and you need the client's informed consent (Rule 4-7.13(b)(2)).
• ·Testimonials. They must be real, unpaid, not drafted by you, and carry a disclaimer that the reader may not obtain the same results (Rule 4-7.13(b)(9)).
• ·AI-generated photos of "our attorneys" or "our team." An image that creates the impression it's your lawyer or staff needs a clear disclaimer (Rule 4-7.13(b)(5)).
• ·A Spanish version of the site. Required disclosures must appear in every language the ad uses (Rule 4-7.12(c)).
• ·"Approved by The Florida Bar." Prohibited, full stop (Rule 4-7.13(b)(10)).

One pattern to watch: AI copy loves outcome promises. The line that feels like great marketing is often the one that breaks 4-7.13.

Pre-launch checklist

• ·Site served from your own domain, with the padlock showing
• ·Code synced to a GitHub account the firm owns
• ·Hosting plan permits commercial use and won't pause on a usage cap
• ·Test lead submitted from a phone and received by a human
• ·MX, SPF and DKIM records copied before any DNS change; email tested after
• ·Every result, award, credential and "featured in" logo verified against a real source
• ·Florida Bar check completed on every page, English and Spanish
• ·Chatbot, if any, discloses it isn't a lawyer and gives no legal advice
• ·Accessibility scan run; alt text, contrast and form labels fixed
• ·Analytics and call tracking live before the first ad dollar is spent

Sources

• ·Vercel documentation, Hobby plan: non-commercial use only
• ·Netlify free plan and pricing, credit-based plans (2026)
• ·Cloudflare guidance: Workers static assets for new projects
• ·Seyfarth Shaw, federal website accessibility lawsuit filings, 2025
• ·UsableNet, 2025 Year-End Digital Accessibility Lawsuit Report
• ·Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, Rules 4-7.12 and 4-7.13
• ·Florida Bar Ethics Opinion 24-1 (generative AI), January 2024

This article is general information about website hosting and Florida lawyer advertising rules, not legal advice. Check current rule text with The Florida Bar's Ethics and Advertising Department.