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Guides· Design· 3 min read

How to design a website with AI, like a designer would

Design a website with AI the way a designer does: brief, references, hierarchy, type and color, then refine. A practical method for AI website design.

The short answer

Treat the AI as a fast designer you are briefing. Start with a short brief (purpose, audience, mood, one action), give it one or two reference sites you like and say why, let it produce a first design, then refine hierarchy, type, color and spacing in that order, one change at a time. Finish by replacing every placeholder with real content.

  • A brief beats a feature list: say who, why and how it should feel.
  • References work best with a reason: "the calm spacing of X", not just "like X".
  • Refine in order: hierarchy, then type, then color, then details.
  • Most people judge a page by the first screen, so design that first.

01Step 1: write a design brief

Designers start with questions, not pixels. Answer them in a few lines and give them to the AI as your first message: what the site is for, who will visit, what they should feel, and the one thing they should do. The AI website prompts guide has thirty briefs to adapt.

02Step 2: give references, with reasons

"Make it like Apple" produces a cliché. "Use the generous spacing and single-product focus of Apple's product pages" produces a decision. Name what you like about a reference: its type, its restraint, its photography, its rhythm. Two references with reasons are enough.

03Step 3: design the first screen

Nielsen Norman Group's eyetracking found 57% of viewing time on the part of a page visible before scrolling and 74% on the first two screens (NN/g). Get the first screen right before you touch anything below it: what this is, who it is for, what to do next.

04Step 4: refine in a designer's order

Fixing color before hierarchy is like painting a wall before deciding where it goes. Work top-down.

  1. 1HierarchyIs the most important thing the biggest and first? One headline, one main button per screen. Visual hierarchy explains how.
  2. 2TypographyTwo typefaces at most, with real contrast in size and weight between headings and body.
  3. 3ColorA neutral base and one accent reserved for actions. How to choose website colors covers contrast.
  4. 4SpacingAsk for more space between sections than feels necessary. Crowding is the most common flaw.
  5. 5DetailsImagery, icons, motion. Last, and sparingly.

05Step 5: make it real

Replace sample copy, photos, prices and testimonials with real ones. Invented testimonials are not only a credibility risk: the FTC's 2024 rule bans fake reviews, AI-generated ones included (FTC).

06AI design tool, AI website builder or AI designer?

The terms overlap. What matters is what you get at the end.

Three kinds of AI design tools
Tool typeYou getGood for
AI design tool (mockups)Images or design filesExploring ideas before building
AI website builderA live, editable websiteGoing from idea to published site
Design-first AI builderA site whose layout and type were decided before codeSites that should not look templated
Where Orlume fits

Orlume works as an AI website designer and builder in one: Orlume runs a multi-agent pipeline: a design pass decides layout, typography, hierarchy and spacing first, and separate agents then write and check the code, so design is never a side effect of code generation. A site starts from a text prompt, or on paid plans from an uploaded screenshot or design.

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Sources

  1. 1.Scrolling and attention · Nielsen Norman Group
  2. 2.FTC announces final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials · US Federal Trade Commission

Written by the Orlume team · Updated October 2026

Keep reading

Questions

Questions, answered.

The things people ask before they start building.

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Can AI design a website?

Yes. Current AI website builders produce full layouts, typography and color, and the best decide the design before writing code. A clear brief makes the biggest difference.

What is the best AI website designer?

One that produces a real, editable site, lets you refine in plain language, and makes deliberate design choices rather than filling a template. Try two or three with the same brief.

Is AI web design good enough for a business?

For most small business, portfolio and launch sites, yes, once real content replaces the placeholders and someone checks it on a phone.

How do I give AI design references?

Name a site and say exactly what you like about it: spacing, type, photography or tone. On some tools you can upload a screenshot too.

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