Lesson 2 of 5 · 10 minutes · Module 1: Get ready
Write a short brief for your page
AI can only use what you tell it. In this lesson you’ll write down five things about your business or club, in your own words. That’s your brief. In lesson 3 you’ll paste it into a prompt and Claude will turn it into a page.
You need
- Somewhere to write: a notes app, a document or paper
- Your real details: the name, an email address or phone number you’re happy to show, and your opening hours if you have them
A narrated walkthrough of this lesson is coming. The steps below cover everything in it.
Step 1 of 8
See how a brief turns into a page
Our brief for Brook Lane Bakes had five lines, and each one ended up in a different part of the page. The name went at the top. What it is and who it’s for became the welcome. What visitors should do became the big button. The sections became the menu.
Screenshot captured 3 October 2026. - Name
- Sections you asked for
- What it is and who it is for
- What visitors should do
CheckpointYou can see which line of a brief makes which part of a page.
Step 2 of 8
Write the name
Write the name exactly as you want it to appear at the top of your page, with the capital letters you use. Ours was Brook Lane Bakes.
CheckpointYou’ve written your name the way you want it shown.
Step 3 of 8
Say what it is, in one sentence
Write one plain sentence a stranger would understand, as if you were telling someone you’d just met. Say what you make or do, and where. Ours was: a home bakery in a small town that makes sourdough loaves and celebration cakes to order.
CheckpointSomeone who has never heard of you would understand your sentence.
Step 4 of 8
Say who it’s for
Write who your customers or members are. Ours was: local families and people planning a birthday or a party.
CheckpointYou’ve named the people you want to reach.
Step 5 of 8
Say what visitors should do
Pick one thing you want visitors to do, such as email you, phone you or come along. Write your real email address or phone number. Anything on the page can be read by anyone, so use contact details you’re happy to share. Our example uses hello@example.com because Brook Lane Bakes is made up: that address is kept for examples and never receives mail.
CheckpointYou’ve written one action, with real contact details.
Step 6 of 8
List the sections you want
Name each section and say what goes in it. Be exact. If you want three items, name all three. Our brief asked for three items but only named two things, so Claude split cakes into two cards that say nearly the same thing. You’ll see that in lesson 4. Include your real opening hours or session times if you have them.
What we noticed in the page Claude made from our brief, including the two cake cards. Read our reply.
CheckpointEvery section is listed, and every item you want is named.
Step 7 of 8
Put the five lines together
Copy the template below into your notes and fill in each line. Keep it short. You’ll paste it into the prompt in lesson 3, so it doesn’t need to be perfect.
The prompt · works in Your notes (you’ll paste this into Claude in lesson 3)About the business: - Name: [your business or club name] - What it is: [one sentence: what you make or do, and where] - Who it's for: [who your customers or members are] - What I want visitors to do: [one action, with your real email address or phone number] - Sections: [each section you want, and what goes in it]CheckpointYou have five lines in your own words, with your real contact details and nothing you wouldn’t want a customer to read.
Step 8 of 8
Stuck? Ask Claude to interview you
This step is optional. If you’re not sure what to write, start a chat with Claude and paste the prompt below. It asks you one question at a time. Answer in your own words, then check the brief it writes: it should only contain things you told it.
The prompt · works in Claude (or any AI chat tool)I want a one-page website for my small business. Help me write a short brief for it. Ask me questions one at a time to find out: the name, what the business is, who it's for, what I want visitors to do, and which sections the page needs. When you have all five, write the brief as a short list.The first reply we got: it asked for the name of the business, and nothing else yet. Read our reply.
Screenshot to come
We haven’t captured this step yet. We’d rather show nothing than an old or made-up screen.
CheckpointYou have a brief, and every line in it came from you.
Common problems
When you have finished
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Step 1 was captured by tools/capture/build-a-website-with-ai.mjs from the unedited lesson 3 page, opened from a local file. Step 8 happens in a signed-in Claude chat, so it has no screenshot yet rather than a made-up one; the reply we got is saved in outputs/.