Writing Good Prompts

Every message you send to a CatDoes agent kicks off a series of steps — designing layouts, building features, and refining your app. The clearer your prompt, the fewer steps the agent needs to get it right, and the fewer credits you spend.

​

Why Prompt Quality Matters

CatDoes agents work step by step. Each step consumes credits. A vague prompt forces the agent to guess what you mean, try different approaches, or ask follow-up questions — all of which use up credits without moving your project forward. A well-written prompt does the opposite: it gives the agent a clear target so it can get things right on the first try.

​

Be Specific About What You Want

The most common mistake is being too broad. Compare these two prompts: Vague:

“Make the homepage look better.”

Specific:

“Redesign the top of the homepage with a large centered title, a short description below it, and a ‘Get Started’ button. Use the brand colors we already have.”

The vague prompt leaves the agent guessing — which part of the homepage? What does “better” mean? The specific prompt tells it exactly what to build and how it should look.

​

Describe What You Want to See

Focus on the end result — what should it look like when it’s done? You don’t need to know anything technical. Just describe what you’d want to see on the screen, and the agent will handle the rest. Instead of:

“Fix the layout.”

Try:

“I want three pricing cards sitting next to each other, evenly spaced, centered on the page.”

Think of it like describing a room to an interior designer. You say “I want a cozy reading corner with a lamp and a bookshelf” — you don’t need to tell them which screws to use.

​

Upload a Mood Board or UI Inspiration

If you have screenshots, mood boards, or examples of designs you like, upload them and tell the agent what they are. This is one of the most effective ways to get great design results. For example:

• Collect a few screenshots of websites or apps whose style you like
• Upload them and say: “This is my mood board. I want my site to have a similar feel — clean layout, lots of white space, modern typography.”
• Or upload a single screenshot and say: “I like how this site does their hero section. Design mine with a similar layout but using my brand colors.”

You can also upload rough sketches or wireframes you’ve drawn — even on paper. The agent will understand the layout you’re going for and build from there. The more visual context you give, the less the agent has to guess. A mood board with three or four reference images plus a sentence about what you like about each one gives the agent a clear direction.

​

Describe the Look and Feel

The biggest gap between what you want and what the agent designs comes down to your prompt. You have a picture in your head — the agent doesn’t. The more you can describe that picture, the closer the result will be. Instead of only saying where things go, tell the agent what vibe you’re going for. Words like “modern,” “playful,” “corporate,” “minimal,” or “bold” go a long way. Example:

“I want a landing page that feels clean and professional — something like a fintech company. Mostly white space with a bold headline.”

If you have brand colors or preferences, state them upfront. Otherwise the agent will pick something reasonable, but it might not match your vision.

• Colors: “Use dark blue and white as the main colors.”
• Layout: “Two columns on a computer screen, but stacked on top of each other on a phone.”
• Style: “Keep it clean and simple — no flashy effects.”
• Reference: “Something like the Stripe homepage — modern and minimal.”

You don’t need design terminology. Everyday descriptions like “clean,” “bold,” “playful,” or “professional” work well.

​

Break Large Tasks Into Smaller Ones

If you need a full page with a navigation bar, a welcome section, feature highlights, testimonials, and a footer — don’t ask for it all at once. Break it into focused requests:

1. “Add a navigation bar at the top with our logo on the left and menu links on the right.”
2. “Below the navigation bar, add a welcome section with a big heading, a short tagline, and a signup button.”
3. “Below that, show three features side by side, each with an icon and a short description.”

Smaller, focused prompts keep the agent on track and reduce the chance of it misunderstanding what you want. You can review and adjust each part before moving on.

​

Mention What’s Already There

When you’re changing something that already exists in your project, tell the agent what to keep. This helps it avoid accidentally removing or replacing things you like. Good:

“Add a phone number field to the contact form, right below the email field. Keep everything else the same.”

Less helpful:

“Add a phone number field.”

The agent looks at your project before making changes, but giving it context in your prompt helps it make better decisions.

​

Iterate Instead of Starting Over

If the first result is close but not quite right, tell the agent what to change rather than starting from scratch. Instead of:

“That’s not what I wanted. Redo it.”

Try:

“I like the layout, but make the heading bigger and change the background to light gray.”

Small adjustments cost fewer credits and build on work that’s already done.

​

Quick Reference