What’s the best way for a beginner to create a pottery e-commerce website?

AI can be useful, but use it as an explanation and debugging tool rather than blindly copying a complete store. It can help you understand HTML, CSS, and JavaScript or explain errors, but you still need to review and understand anything that handles customer information or payments. For this particular project, a hosted store is likely the safest starting point.

For a real online shop, a hosted platform such as Shopify is probably the most practical choice. You can select a theme, customize the branding and layout, and let the platform handle payments, security, checkout, and much of the store administration. Squarespace or Wix may also be enough for a smaller catalog. Building the storefront from scratch is a much bigger project than making a simple informational page.

Before choosing a solution, clarify the scope with your friend: how many products will there be, do they need inventory tracking, what payment and shipping methods are required, and who will maintain the site? If the business needs a working shop soon, use a prebuilt platform. If the main goal is your own learning and there is no urgent deadline, build a small non-commerce prototype first.

First decide whether the site needs to sell products immediately or just introduce the business. A gallery, about page, and contact form can be built with basic HTML and CSS, then e-commerce can be added later. If you want to learn web development, start with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and use a beginner-friendly resource such as MDN. A framework is not necessary for a simple first page.

Avoid treating payment processing like a beginner practice project. A store also involves security, customer data, checkout reliability, shipping, tax rules, maintenance, and accessibility. Using an established e-commerce service reduces those risks. You can still learn by customizing the theme and building a separate small site from scratch.