The problem with most AI builder prompts
Most people open an AI builder, type "build me a website for my bakery", and get back a generic site that looks like every other bakery site on the internet. They tweak colours for twenty minutes, give up, and conclude AI builders don't work.
The issue isn't the builder. It's that "build me a website for my bakery" contains zero information about what makes your bakery worth visiting. An AI can't read your mind. It needs the same brief you'd give a designer: who you're talking to, what you want them to do, what makes you different.
A good prompt takes three minutes to write. A bad prompt costs you three hours of manual editing. This guide shows you how to write the three-minute version.
The four components every prompt needs
Every useful AI builder prompt includes these four pieces, in order of importance:
1. Audience and their problem
Start with who visits your site and what problem brought them there. Not demographics—actual situations. "Freelance designers who need to invoice clients but hate accounting software" is useful. "Small business owners aged 25-45" is not.
The AI uses this to make every decision: headline tone, page structure, how much jargon to use, whether to lead with price or proof. If you skip this, you get a site written for nobody in particular.
2. Your offer and constraints
What do you sell, and what limits how you sell it? This includes obvious things like "subscription therapy app, €15/month" and less obvious things like "UK-only service, GDPR-compliant contact forms, no phone support".
Constraints are features. "We only serve Edinburgh" becomes "Local massage therapy in Edinburgh—next availability within 48 hours". "We don't do custom orders" becomes "Fixed menu, consistent quality, no surprises". Tell the AI your constraints and it will frame them as benefits.
3. Differentiation or proof
One specific thing that makes you credible or different. Not a mission statement. A fact: "5,000 hours of tutoring delivered since 2019", "same-day appliance repair or the callout is free", "featured in The Guardian's best productivity apps".
If you're new and have no proof yet, state your specific approach: "We teach Spanish through cooking classes, not textbooks" or "CV reviews with side-by-side before/after examples, not generic tips".
4. Desired action
What should a visitor do? "Book a free 15-minute intro call", "Download the app and start a 7-day trial", "Get a quote within 24 hours". One primary action. If you want people to do three different things, you want three different landing pages.
The AI will structure the entire page around driving that action. Vague prompts like "learn more about our services" produce vague pages with ten different CTAs that convert nobody.
What to leave out of your prompt
Bad prompts aren't just missing information—they include the wrong information. Here's what wastes tokens and confuses the builder:
Visual specifications
Don't write "modern minimalist design with lots of white space and a colour palette of navy blue and coral". The builder already knows how to make modern sites. You're not hiring a designer, you're briefing an AI that has seen ten million web pages.
Exception: If you have strict brand constraints, say "use #1A1A2E for primary buttons" or "company logo is a red circle". Concrete assets, not aesthetic adjectives.
Page structure requirements
Skip "I want a hero section, then testimonials, then features, then pricing". The AI knows information architecture. It will choose a structure that serves your audience and goal. You can rearrange blocks later if you disagree.
Hedging and politeness
Don't write "I think it would be nice if maybe the site could possibly mention that we do custom orders". Write "We do custom orders—lead time is 3 weeks, 50% deposit required". The AI doesn't need you to be polite. It needs you to be clear.
Five worked examples: before and after
Example 1: Coaching business
Weak prompt: "Build a website for my life coaching business. I help people achieve their goals and live their best lives. I want it to look professional and inspiring."
Strong prompt: "Career coaching for mid-level managers stuck in technical roles who want to move into leadership. I run 6-week group programs (€800, next cohort starts March 15) and one-off CV reviews (€150). I've coached 60 people in the last two years, 70% got promoted or changed roles within 6 months. Primary action: book a free 20-minute clarity call."
The strong version gives the AI a specific person to write for, concrete proof, and a clear conversion goal. Result: a page that speaks directly to your actual customers instead of everyone and no one.
Example 2: Local service
Weak prompt: "I run a dog walking business in Manchester and need a simple site to get more clients."
Strong prompt: "Dog walking for working professionals in South Manchester (M20, M21, M19). Solo walks, no group packs, £18 per 45-minute walk. I'm a former vet nurse, fully insured, I send a photo after every walk. Service area: 3km radius from Didsbury. Primary action: WhatsApp me to check availability."
The strong version answers the first three questions every local service customer asks: Do you cover my area? How much? Why should I trust you? The AI can build a page that closes that loop immediately.
Example 3: SaaS product
Weak prompt: "Website for our project management tool. It helps teams collaborate better."
Strong prompt: "Project management for architecture firms—track site photos, RFIs, and contractor schedules in one place instead of email and spreadsheets. €49/month for teams up to 10. We integrate with AutoCAD and Bluebeam. Built by architects who got sick of CC'ing everyone on photo updates. Primary action: start 14-day trial, no card required."
Generic SaaS prompts get generic SaaS pages. Specific verticals and specific pain points get pages that convert because they sound like they were written for a real person.
Example 4: E-commerce store
Weak prompt: "Online shop selling handmade jewellery."
Strong prompt: "Sterling silver jewellery for people who break out from cheap metal—hypoallergenic, tarnish-resistant, under £60 per piece. Every item is made to order in my Sheffield studio, ships within 5 working days. I've sold 400+ pieces on Etsy with 4.9-star average. Primary action: browse the collection and add to cart."
The strong version positions the product (solves a specific problem), sets expectations (made to order, clear lead time), and provides proof (real sales data). The AI can write product descriptions and homepage copy that reinforces all three.
Example 5: Portfolio site
Weak prompt: "Portfolio for a freelance graphic designer."
Strong prompt: "Brand identity design for food and drink startups—logos, packaging, menu design. My clients are pre-launch or first-year businesses with £2k-8k budgets. I've designed for 15 brands in the last 18 months, three are now stocked in Waitrose. Day rate £450, typical project is 2-3 days. Primary action: email me with your launch date and budget."
Portfolio sites fail when they try to appeal to everyone. This prompt tells the AI exactly who the work is for and what qualified leads look like. Result: a page that attracts the right clients and repels the wrong ones.
How to iterate on the first result
You will not get a perfect site on attempt one. That's expected. The difference between people who ship and people who give up is knowing how to iterate.
When you get your first result, ignore colours and fonts. Read the copy. Does it sound like it was written for your customer? Does it lead with the thing that matters most to them? If yes, you're 80% done—tweak blocks, swap images, adjust colours. If no, your prompt was vague.
Specific fixes for common issues:
- Tone is wrong: Add one sentence to your prompt describing how your customers talk. "My audience is senior executives—formal, no exclamation marks" or "My audience is university students—casual, memes are fine".
- Wrong emphasis: The AI buried your differentiator in paragraph three. Tell it explicitly: "Lead with same-day delivery, that's the main reason people choose us".
- Missing a key section: Your prompt didn't mention a crucial detail. Add it: "Include a 3-step explanation of how the service works" or "Add an FAQ section covering refunds and delivery times".
- Too much text: You'll fix this by deleting blocks, not rewriting the prompt. AI builders err on the side of including information. Cut ruthlessly.
In Marcus, every project starts with a prompt, but you're not locked in. Edit the prompt and regenerate, or edit the page directly. The prompt is a starting point, not a contract.
Three mistakes that kill prompts
Mistake 1: Writing for yourself instead of your customer
You write "I'm passionate about sustainable fashion and ethical manufacturing". Your customer thinks "Will this dress fit me and can I return it if it doesn't?" Prompts that focus on your values instead of customer problems produce sites that nobody reads past the hero section.
Fix: Rewrite every sentence in your prompt from the customer's perspective. Not "I offer holistic wellness coaching", but "You're burned out from work and the generic mindfulness apps aren't working".
Mistake 2: Describing what you do instead of what changes
"We provide comprehensive digital marketing services including SEO, PPC, and social media management." Okay. What happens if I hire you? "We get you to the top 3 Google results for your main service in 90 days, or you don't pay" is a prompt the AI can work with.
Fix: Every service description needs an outcome. "Do X, get Y, within Z timeframe" or "Do X, Y happens, proof is Z".
Mistake 3: Treating the AI like a search engine
You don't need to include "website" or "landing page" in your prompt. You're already using a website builder. Don't write "Create a website that tells people about my accounting services". Write what an accountant would say to a potential client in the first thirty seconds of a phone call.
The AI isn't Google. It's a tool that converts business briefs into pages. Brief it like you'd brief a human.
The three-minute prompt framework
Here's the template. Fill in the blanks, paste it into Marcus, hit generate:
[Service/product] for [specific audience with specific problem]. [How you solve it, including key constraint or approach]. [Price or commitment required]. [One piece of proof or differentiation]. Primary action: [single clear next step].
Example: "Monthly bookkeeping for trades businesses (plumbers, electricians, builders) who hate spreadsheets. I handle invoices, expenses, and VAT returns—you send me photos of receipts via WhatsApp, I handle the rest. £95/month, everything included. I've filed 200+ VAT returns with zero late penalties. Primary action: book a free 30-minute setup call."
That's 68 words. It took two minutes to write. The AI has everything it needs to build a page that works.
The alternative is typing "build me a bookkeeping website", getting a generic result, spending two hours moving blocks around, and wondering why the page doesn't convert. Three minutes up front saves three hours on the back end.
What happens after you hit generate
Marcus reads your prompt and makes about fifty decisions: page structure, section order, headline hierarchy, how much proof to include, whether to lead with price or benefits, tone of every sentence, what to put in the FAQ, whether you need testimonials or a demo video.
You get a first draft in under a minute. It won't be perfect, but if your prompt was specific, it will be close. You'll delete two sections, rewrite one headline, swap the hero image, and ship.
If your prompt was vague, you'll spend twenty minutes editing and then regenerate with a better prompt. That's fine. The second attempt will be fast because you now know what was missing.
The goal isn't to write a perfect prompt on attempt one. The goal is to write a prompt specific enough that the AI makes good decisions by default, so you're editing details instead of rebuilding structure.