The exact prompt I start every client website with

Most people prompt AI the way they search Google: one line, hope for the best, complain about the result. For paid work that's gambling, not directing. A master prompt turns the same tool into a contractor with a written brief.

Why one prompt beats fifty

Every correction you make mid-build is context the AI didn't have at the start. The master prompt front-loads that context: who the client is, what the stack is, what "done" means. Fewer corrections, fewer regressions, faster delivery.

It also makes your work repeatable. When project #2 starts, you don't start from zero — you edit a document that already encodes your standards.

The structure

Six sections, always in the same order: context, stack, design rules, pages and features, what not to do, and the QC checklist the build must pass. The skeleton looks like this:

# MASTER PROMPT — [CLIENT] WEBSITE
 
## 1. CONTEXT
Business, audience, one-line goal of the site.
 
## 2. STACK
Next.js + Tailwind + Vercel. No extras without asking.
 
## 3. DESIGN RULES
Tokens, type scale, spacing. What is forbidden.
 
## 4. PAGES & FEATURES
One block per page: sections, copy source, states.
 
## 5. DO NOT
The mistakes I never want to see again.
 
## 6. QC CHECKLIST
What "done" must pass before I look at it.

Sections 3 and 5 do the heavy lifting. Design rules keep output consistent across sessions; the "do not" list is where your taste accumulates — every project adds a line.

How to adapt it

Don't copy mine verbatim — the value is in the arguments you have with yourself while filling it in. Start with a project you'd actually bill for, write the six sections, run the build, and note every correction you make. Those corrections are the next version of the prompt.