Guide
Writing good prompts
The prompt is the brief. A vague brief produces a generic site, and no amount of model power fixes that. This page covers the four things worth stating explicitly, the things you can safely leave out, and how to phrase corrections once a build exists.
The four things worth stating
| Element | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Decides the whole page structure. | A booking page for a mobile dog groomer |
| Who it is for | Sets vocabulary, reading level, and proof points. | Busy pet owners in south London |
| The one action | Everything on the page is arranged around it. | Get them to request a slot by phone or form |
| The feel | Chooses palette, type, spacing, and imagery. | Friendly and clean, not clinical |
Say those four things in ordinary sentences and you have a strong prompt. Anything beyond that is refinement, and refinement is usually better done against a real preview.
Weak versus strong prompts
Weak
"Make me a nice website for my business." Nothing here constrains the outcome, so the agent has to invent the business, the audience, and the goal. You will get a competent page about nothing in particular.
Strong
"A landing page for Northline Roofing, a family firm in Leeds doing flat-roof repairs and full replacements. Visitors are homeowners with a leak who want someone out this week. Main action: call the number or send the form. Include a short 'how our quotes work' section, three customer quotes, and the areas we cover. Straightforward and reassuring — no stock-photo gloss."
That prompt names the business, the audience, the urgency, the action, the required sections, and the tone. The agent has enough to build something specific on the first pass.
Using reference links
Paste a URL and the agent will open the page, screenshot it, and read it before building. The link is highlighted in your message so you can see it was recognised. This is the most reliable way to communicate a look you like, and it also works for pulling in real information — an existing about page, a menu, a price list.
What the agent will not do
What you can leave out
- Exact colour codes. Describe the mood — warm and earthy, cold and technical — unless you have brand colours that must be matched.
- Layout instructions. "Three columns with a 24px gap" is harder to get right in a prompt than "three cards side by side" after seeing the first draft.
- Technical stack. The build target is fixed; naming frameworks in the prompt has no effect.
- Filler. "Please make it amazing and modern and beautiful" adds no information the agent can act on.
Phrasing corrections
Once a build exists, corrections beat rewrites. Point at one thing, say what is wrong, and say what it should be instead. The agent edits the existing files rather than regenerating the site, so everything you already liked stays put.
| Instead of | Say |
|---|---|
| Rebuild it, I don't like it | The hero is too busy — one headline, one line of text, one button |
| Make it better on mobile | On phones the pricing cards should stack instead of scrolling sideways |
| Add more content | Add an FAQ with six questions about delivery times and returns |
| Wrong colours | Swap the blue for a deep olive green and keep everything else |
Long or multi-page briefs
For a site with several pages, list the pages and one line about each rather than writing paragraphs about all of them. The agent expands each line into a full page and keeps the navigation, header, and footer consistent across them. If a page needs specific content you already have, paste it in — real copy always beats generated copy.