Uploading an existing website
Already have a built website? Upload your static site files directly into bldrAgent so we can host, manage, and extend them for you — no migration crawl needed.
Upload your existing website to bldrAgent
If you already have a website built — whether it's a hand-coded static site, an exported build from another tool, or a collection of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files — you can upload it directly into bldrAgent and have it live under your own domain within minutes.
The Upload option creates a new bldrAgent project from your existing files. Once uploaded, bldrAgent hosts and serves your site, and you can use the AI chat to extend it, modify it, or gradually rebuild parts of it with the AI.
When to use Upload
The Upload option is best when:
- You have a finished or near-finished static site and just want to move it to bldrAgent hosting
- You have a site exported from another builder (e.g. an HTML export) that you want to manage in one place
- You want to preserve the existing design exactly and make incremental improvements using the AI
- You're transitioning from a site that can't be automatically crawled (e.g. it requires login or it's behind a private network)
If your site is live on the web and publicly accessible, the Migrate Website option may be a better fit — it crawls your site's navigation automatically. Upload is for when you have the actual files on hand.
What file types are supported
bldrAgent accepts the following file types:
| Type | Extensions |
|---|---|
| Pages and markup | .html, .htm |
| Styles | .css |
| Scripts | .js, .mjs, .cjs, .jsx, .ts, .tsx |
| Data and config | .json, .map, .xml, .webmanifest |
| Text and docs | .txt, .md |
| Images | .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .webp, .svg, .ico, .avif, .bmp |
| Fonts | .woff, .woff2, .ttf, .otf, .eot |
| Video and audio | .mp4, .webm, .mp3, .wav, .ogg |
| Documents | .pdf |
| Archives | .zip |
Server-side code is not accepted. Files with the following extensions will be rejected to keep your project secure: PHP, Java, JSP, ASP.NET, Python, Ruby, Go, shell scripts, and compiled executables.
Upload limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum number of files | 300 |
| Maximum total upload size | 250 MB |
| ZIP archives per upload | 1 (cannot mix a ZIP with other files) |
If your site is larger than these limits, split it into batches and upload the remaining files as additional uploads once the project is created, or use a ZIP archive to compress the files.
Preparing your files
A little preparation makes the upload smoother and the result cleaner.
Use a ZIP archive for large sites
If your site has more than a handful of files, zip the entire folder into a single .zip archive. bldrAgent will extract it and preserve the folder structure inside. This is easier than selecting hundreds of individual files in the file picker.
- Right-click your site folder on Windows and choose Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder
- On macOS, right-click and choose Compress
When uploading a ZIP, do not include any other files alongside it — the ZIP must be uploaded on its own.
Preserve your folder structure
If your site references assets with relative paths (e.g. <img src="images/hero.jpg">), make sure the folder structure inside the ZIP matches what your HTML expects. If images are in an images/ subfolder in your HTML, they should be in an images/ subfolder in the ZIP.
Check for unsupported file types
Before uploading, quickly scan your files for anything in the blocked list (PHP, Python, shell scripts, etc.). If your site has a contact form powered by a PHP script, that script won't be accepted. You can rebuild the form functionality using bldrAgent's AI after uploading the rest of the site.
Remove large unnecessary assets
If you have very large video files or assets that aren't used by the site, remove them before uploading to stay within the 250 MB limit. You can re-add assets later through the project file manager.
How to upload
- Go to your dashboard and click New Project
- Select Upload as the project type
- Give the project a name and category
- Optionally add a brief description of what the site is (this helps the AI understand the context when you ask it to make changes later)
- Click the file selector and choose your files — or a single ZIP archive
- Review the file count and total size shown below the file picker
- Click Upload & host website
bldrAgent will upload your files, set up hosting, and take you to the project editor. Your site will be live at a yoursite.bldragent.com subdomain immediately.
After uploading
Once your site is uploaded and the project is open, you have several options.
Preview your site
Click Preview in the editor to see how your uploaded site looks. Verify that pages load correctly, images display, and navigation links work as expected.
If something looks broken — for example, a stylesheet not loading — check that the file paths in your HTML are correct relative to where the files are in your upload.
Use the AI to extend the site
The AI chat can modify, improve, and extend your uploaded site using plain English instructions:
"Add a sticky navigation bar to every page with links to Home, About, Services, and Contact."
"The site currently doesn't have a contact page. Create one with a name, email, and message field. Style it to match the existing design."
"The footer on every page is missing. Add a footer with the company name, copyright notice, and social media links."
The AI will make changes to the actual files in your project, so edits are applied to the same codebase you uploaded.
Connect a custom domain
Your uploaded site is available immediately on a yoursite.bldragent.com subdomain. To connect your own domain:
- Go to App Settings → Custom Domain
- Enter your domain name
- Add the provided DNS records at your domain registrar
- SSL is provisioned automatically once DNS updates propagate
For more detail, see Managing your domain.
Limitations to be aware of
| Limitation | Detail |
|---|---|
| No server-side code | PHP, Python, Node.js server scripts, and similar are not supported. Client-side JS is fine. |
| No dynamic CMS content | If your site fetches from a headless CMS or external API, those connections will need to be re-established after upload |
| Contact forms with PHP backends | The HTML form will upload, but any PHP mail handler needs to be replaced with bldrAgent's built-in form handling |
| Large media files | Videos over ~50 MB each may slow down the upload — consider hosting large media externally and embedding them |
| 300 file maximum | If your build output exceeds 300 files, use a ZIP or upload in batches |
Frequently asked questions
Can I update files after uploading? Yes. Once the project is created, you can use the AI to modify files, or upload replacement files through the project file manager. You can also ask the AI to add entirely new pages.
What happens to the original files I uploaded? Your files are stored as project files inside bldrAgent. You can view and manage them in the Files tab of the project editor.
Can I upload a Next.js or React build output?
Yes — upload the contents of the out/ or build/ export folder (static export only). Dynamic server-side Next.js features (API routes, server components with runtime fetching) are not supported in uploaded projects.
My site looks broken after uploading — what should I check?
- Confirm all CSS and JS files are included in the upload
- Check that relative paths in your HTML match the folder structure of your upload
- If using absolute paths (e.g.
/css/styles.css), make sure those files are at the root level of the upload
Can I upload a site and then rebuild it with the AI? Yes — this is a great approach. Upload the existing site to preserve the current design, then ask the AI to incrementally improve it, rebuild specific sections, or add new functionality. The AI will work from your existing codebase.
Related
- Building your first app — start a new project from scratch with the AI
- Importing from Figma — import a design directly from a Figma file
- Migrating an existing website — automatically crawl and recreate a live website
- Managing app settings — connect a custom domain and configure your project
