What should an AI website prompt include?
A useful AI website prompt names your business, its audience, the main action visitors should take, the pages and features you need, and the content and visual style to use. Tell the builder what must stay accurate and what it should ask you to supply. Then review the layout and refine one part at a time.
You do not need to write code to give this brief. But a generated website still needs checking: a convincing booking screen or contact form is not proof that appointments or messages reach you.
1. Gather the details only you can supply
Before you start, collect the information customers actually need. Your existing website can be a useful source, but check it for old prices, outdated services and incorrect contact details first.
- Business and audience: what you do, where you work and who you serve.
- One main action: a phone call, quote request, appointment or another clear next step.
- Pages and features: distinguish a link to your existing booking service from a new booking system.
- Approved content: services, prices you want to display, genuine reviews and images you may use.
- Visual direction: your logo, colours and a plain description such as “clean and practical, with large, readable service descriptions.”
Our free website guide helps with the feature list. Choose multiple features in Step 1, optionally add your business name and current website address in Step 2, then get a combined starter prompt in Step 3.
2. Start with a specific website brief
“Make me a modern website” leaves the builder guessing about your customers, content and priorities. A clearer request says what the site should do and what information it can rely on.
Use this template as a starting point. Replace the bracketed text with your details and remove anything that does not apply. It is a brief—not a promise of automatic migration or a fully tested website.
Modernise the existing website for [business name], a [business type] serving [location / service area].
The main visitor action should be [call us / request a quote / book an appointment].
Use the approved business content and images I provide below. Keep accurate business details. Do not invent prices, reviews, contact details or opening hours. Ask me for anything missing.
Pages: [list the pages you need].
Features: [list only the features you need, and describe what each must do].
Design: [brand colours and preferred style]. Make the text easy to read and contact options easy to find on phones and computers.
For enquiries, use [the delivery destination or existing service I provide]. If a connection is not configured, tell me rather than presenting it as working.
Keep existing page addresses where possible and flag any that need redirects. Do not change my live domain or email settings without confirming with me.
First outline the page structure and ask any necessary questions. Then build the initial layout. We will review and test working features separately.
My approved content and images:
[paste your services, business details and text; attach images you have permission to use]For example, a quote feature needs more than “add a price calculator.” Explain which choices affect the estimate, supply the actual pricing rules, and state whether the result is an estimate or a binding quote. Do not let the builder invent your formula.
3. Improve one thing at a time
Review the first layout before asking for lots of additions. Lovable’s official prompting guidance recommends planning first, using real content and making focused changes with clear boundaries.
A useful follow-up names what to change, where to change it and what to keep. These example requests show the difference:
| Goal | Focused follow-up request |
|---|---|
| Clearer contact | “Make the phone number easier to find on the Contact page and make it tap-to-call on phones. Keep all other pages unchanged.” |
| Readable services | “Increase the spacing between service descriptions on phones. Keep the wording, prices and desktop layout unchanged.” |
| Real enquiries | “Connect this form to the destination I provide. Show a success message only after a successful submission, and a useful error if it fails.” |
After each change, check the result. If it is wrong, describe the specific problem rather than asking the builder to redesign everything. Keep working features intact while you improve the next part.
Does giving the builder your website address move the old site?
No—not by itself. An address provides context, but you should confirm what the builder can access and inspect what it actually uses. Our guide does not fetch or migrate your existing site. Supply approved text and images directly if needed.
List the existing pages you want to keep, especially addresses customers already use. Review any proposed address changes and arrange redirects where necessary. Before connecting the domain, check the current website and business email setup; do not casually replace unrelated settings.
A rebuild can also have costs beyond the builder subscription. See our small business website redesign cost guide for migration, content, support and first-year budgeting considerations.
Check the result before publishing
Review it as a customer, not just as the person who requested it. Use a phone as well as a computer and complete the important actions yourself.
- Business name, services, prices, hours and contact details are correct.
- Reviews are genuine and images are approved for use.
- Navigation, text and buttons work without sideways scrolling on a phone.
- A real test enquiry arrives at the intended destination.
- Booking, ordering or payment journeys work in the appropriate test environment before accepting customers.
- Old page addresses are retained or have a deliberate redirect plan.
- You understand who owns the accounts and who handles updates and failures.
If you cannot verify a payment flow, security setting or migration step, get qualified help. Asking AI to “make it secure” is not a substitute for checking the implementation.
Common questions about AI website prompts
Do I need one enormous prompt?
No. Start with the business purpose, core pages, real content and essential features. Then work through focused follow-up requests. A large brief can describe the overall scope, but individual changes are easier to inspect separately.
Can I use a prompt with a different builder?
The business brief is reusable, but supported features, integrations and import behaviour vary. Check the chosen builder’s documentation instead of assuming the same prompt produces the same working result everywhere.
Will a good prompt guarantee search traffic?
No. A clear brief can help you create a useful website; it does not guarantee Google rankings, enquiries or mentions in AI answers. Accurate content, accessible pages and reliable customer journeys remain important.
Sources and scope
This guide draws on Lovable’s official “Prompting best practices” and “Prompt library” documentation, reviewed 10 November 2026, and the actual three-step workflow on this website. The templates and follow-up requests above are our illustrative examples, not results from a customer project.
To read the official guidance, visit Lovable through our affiliate link, then open its documentation and look for those titles. Capabilities and plan terms can change; confirm them before committing to a build.