Why most AI websites still look terrible (and how to fix yours)

Hey everyone,

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs

The truth? Most builders are still prompting like it’s 2022. They ask AI to “make it beautiful” and end up with generic, lifeless websites.

I stopped doing that. Instead, I got strategic about design and the results have completely changed how my client MVPs look and feel.

In this newsletter, I’ll show you the exact workflow that makes AI design actually work.

The brutal truth about AI websites

90% of them look like they were designed by a robot. Because they were. And the robot was given terrible instructions.

The mistakes I see everywhere:

• Generic gradients that scream “template”

• Inconsistent spacing that hurts your eyes

• Default Bootstrap-style typography

• Hero sections flatter than a pancake

• Zero brand personality

Here’s the thing: it takes the same amount of time to build something that looks professional. You just need the right workflow.

The Screenshot Method (my secret weapon)

Instead of saying “make this UI beautiful” (useless), here’s what I do:

Step 1: Find a site you love

• Bookmark sites from Awwwards, Dribbble, or just ones you stumble across

• Screenshot the specific sections you want

• Focus on layout structure, not just colors

Step 2: Feed it to ChatGPT strategically

Prompt:
“Analyze this design and create a design.json capturing the exact layout, color palette, spacing ratios, typography hierarchy, and component relationships.”

Step 3: Give Cursor the blueprint

Prompt:
“Use this design.json as the foundation for styling. Apply these exact spacing ratios, color relationships, and typography hierarchy to my components.”

This workflow alone has saved me 10+ hours per client project.

My bonus stack for next-level polish

• 3D heroes: Unicorn Studio templates

• Custom themes: Tweak CN for ShadCN design systems

• Premium components: ReactBits, 21st.dev, Magic UI

• Subtle animations: hover states, scroll fade-ins, tilt effects

• Dynamic backgrounds: Midjourney + Runway for motion

The secret sauce? Be specific.

“Make responsive” = garbage.

“Make this bento grid collapse to 1 column on mobile with 16px padding” = magic.

The secret isn’t working harder. It’s being strategic with prompts and references.

If you’re tired of your MVPs looking like everyone else’s:

👉 Join AI MVP Builders — I’ll be breaking this workflow down with full screen recordings really soon

👉 Need it done for you? IgnytLabs handles design + dev end to end

Keep building,
~ Prajwal

PS: I’m dropping a full video walkthrough of this design workflow next week. Includes the exact prompts and live examples from recent projects.