The Four-Part First Prompt
'Make me a nice site' forces the model to invent everything, and you won't like its inventions. Name what you're making, what's in it, what you're providing, and the constraints — the more concrete the input, the more predictable the output.
Why it works
Every vague prompt forces the model to invent your requirements, and its inventions are statistically average — which is exactly what 'meh, redo it' feels like. Four short parts (what, structure, inputs, constraints) remove the guessing. This single habit does more for output quality than any model upgrade, because rework costs more than specification every time.
How to do it
- Part 1 — WHAT: name the deliverable in one phrase: 'a one-page business-card site'.
- Part 2 — STRUCTURE: list the pieces in order: 'headline, about, three services, contacts'.
- Part 3 — INPUTS: paste or attach what you have — real texts, images, an example you like.
- Part 4 — CONSTRAINTS: the walls: 'one file, phone-friendly, no bright gradients, English'.
- Send all four in one message; don't drip-feed them across five turns.
- Reuse the skeleton for everything — an email, a table, a bot — the four parts are universal.
Copy this
prompt
WHAT: a one-page site in a single index.html. STRUCTURE: headline with my name, 'about' block, three services, contact line. INPUTS: texts pasted below. CONSTRAINTS: dark, restrained, no gradients, must look right on a phone. [your texts here]
What to watch for
- 'Make it nice' is not a constraint — it's a delegation of taste. Show a reference or name the style instead.
- Missing part 3 (inputs) is the most common gap: without your real texts the agent writes filler you'll delete anyway.
Sources
Original: conon.aiDocumentation: code.claude.com