Prompting best practices

One of the most effective ways to get better results is to let the AI fill in the gaps before writing code. After stating what you want, add something like:

"Ask me any questions you need in order to fully understand
what I want from this feature and how I envision it."

Startbase will respond with focused follow-up questions, sometimes ones you wouldn't have thought to specify. This clarifies your requirements up front and prevents wasted effort later.

1. Plan before you prompt
Before using Startbase, define what you're building. Use a quick planning session to answer: What is this product? Who is it for? Why will they use it? What is the one key action?

Build a one-page site for a budgeting app targeted at Gen Z
freelancers. The main CTA should be "Start Saving Smarter."
Focus on a bold, expressive aesthetic with large text and
punchy colors.

2. Map the user journey
The best outputs come from clear, logical flow. Map the journey your user takes from landing on the page to completing a key action. Even a simple three-step sketch (Hero, Features, CTA) makes your prompts much more effective.

3. Get the design right first
Your visual language is a foundation, not a polish layer. Choose a direction (calm and elegant, bold and disruptive, premium and sleek) and feed that style directly into your prompt.

Use a calm, wellness-inspired design. Soft gradients, muted
earth tones, round corners, and generous padding. Font is
"Inter". Overall tone should feel gentle and reassuring.

4. Prompt by component, not page
Startbase works best when you build in modular parts. Instead of generating an entire page at once, build one section at a time: a hero, a feature grid, a pricing table. Review, refine, then move to the next.

5. Design with real content
Don't use placeholder text. Even rough real copy helps the AI produce better layouts, spacing, and design decisions. A real headline might need two lines instead of one. Placeholder text hides those issues.

6. Speak atomic: buttons, cards, modals
The smaller and more specific your UI language, the better the AI performs. Instead of "a section with a signup," say "a form with an email input and a rounded CTA button." Think cards, badges, toggles, chips.

7. Use buzzwords to dial in aesthetic
Startbase understands terms like "minimal," "cinematic," "playful," "premium," and "developer-focused." These influence typography, spacing, shadows, and color palette. Use them early and consistently.

8. Use prompt patterns for layouts
Use structured, repeatable patterns. A good layout prompt breaks the section into visual parts, clarifies their order, and defines styling. Build a personal prompt library for common patterns.

Create a feature section with a centered headline, followed
by three horizontally aligned cards. Each card includes an
icon on top, a headline, and a short description. Cards should
have soft shadows and lift on hover.

9. Iterate incrementally
Make one request at a time. "Add a sidebar navigation" followed by "make the sidebar collapsible" works better than requesting everything at once.

10. Reference the preview
You can reference what you see: "the button in the top right", "the card with the user avatar". The AI understands spatial references to the current UI.

11. Think about backend early
When designing with a backend in mind, anticipate auth logic, dynamic content, and loading states. Shape your UI as if the backend is already there. It helps you prompt smarter and future-proofs your layout.

12. Version control is your friend
Startbase autosaves your changes, but think in milestones. Make one meaningful change at a time, check the result, then move forward. This is how real design systems are built: layer by layer, with intention.