The AI Website Workshop
Your follow-along workbookBuild. Optimize.
Get found.
Four steps from your current website to your new one.
Watch the lesson. Copy the prompt. Check off your progress.
With Billy Sticker · ChiroCandy
Before you begin
Three tools. One simple setup.
You do not need all four AI tools. Pick one coding agent and use the same project throughout the workshop.
AI tool
BuildCreates and edits your website. Choose Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, or OpenCode.
GitHub
SaveStores your website files and their change history. Think of it as your project’s home base.
Vercel
HostTurns your saved project into a website you can visit, review, and eventually launch.
Have these ready
Check your access
Choose a plan that includes the coding agent and enough usage for your build. Check current provider plans; Vercel Hobby is for personal, non-commercial use. Never paste passwords, API keys, or patient information into these prompts.
Audit your current site.
Make a map before you move anything. Your existing URLs are the starting point for the rebuild.
Your audit checklist
Finish with: audit/current-urls.csv and a short audit report.
Prompt 01 · Audit & URL map
Replace [CURRENT WEBSITE URL], then paste into your agent.
Audit my current website before a rebuild: [CURRENT WEBSITE URL]. Work in this project and save your findings. Do not change the live site. Use your available browser or a small crawl script. Start with robots.txt, sitemap indexes and all child sitemaps, then follow internal links including menus, footer, service pages, location pages and blog pagination. Respect access restrictions. Record PDFs and other linked assets separately. If a browser or network tool is unavailable, tell me what access or export you need. Save audit/current-urls.csv with these columns: current_url, discovered_from, status_code, page_title, meta_description, h1, canonical_url, indexability, page_type, proposed_action, future_url, redirect_needed, notes. Deduplicate exact URLs, but retain distinct paths and record URL variants or redirects. Preserve existing URLs by default. Mark removals, combinations and URL changes as proposals for my review. Look for broken links, missing or duplicate titles, unclear headings, blocked pages and missing key content. Identify forms, booking links, phone links, tracking and integrations that the rebuild must preserve. Save a short audit/site-audit.md with priority fixes and a plain-English rebuild plan. Check coverage against the sitemaps and crawl. Ask whether I have a CMS page export or Google Search Console or analytics export to catch unlinked pages and identify valuable pages. If unavailable, continue and state the limitation. Do not claim traffic, rankings or completeness from a crawl alone. End with URLs found, sources checked, failed or inaccessible URLs, remaining gaps, and decisions I need to make. Never guess missing results.
What your URL map should look like
| Current URL | Action | New URL | Redirect? |
|---|---|---|---|
| /services/back-pain/ | Rewrite | /services/back-pain/ | No |
| /meet-the-doctor/ | Keep | /meet-the-doctor/ | No |
| /old-service/ | Combine, if approved | /related-service/ | 301, if approved |
The full CSV also records titles, response codes, how each URL was found, and audit notes. Keep existing URLs whenever practical. A crawl may miss unlinked pages; compare with a CMS or Search Console export if available.
Get the homepage right.
Give your agent the ingredients. Review one page before building the rest of the site.
Your homepage checklist
Finish with: an approved homepage, saved project, and preview link. Your old site stays live.
Prompt 02 · Design the homepage
Add your website, inspiration, audience, and brand details.
Build a new homepage using these inputs: Current website: [URL] Design references: [URLS OR SCREENSHOTS] Business and audience: [WHO WE HELP AND WHERE] Main visitor action: [CALL / BOOK / REQUEST INFORMATION] Brand assets: [FILES OR FOLDER] Read audit/current-urls.csv and audit/site-audit.md first. Use the references for visual inspiration. Keep our identity and use only assets we own or have permission to use. Preserve accurate business information and valuable existing content. Flag missing facts; do not invent testimonials, credentials or results. Build only the homepage for review, using a maintainable setup suitable for GitHub and Vercel. Make it clear and usable on phones and desktops, with accessible navigation, readable text and prominent calls to action. Show me a preview and explain how to open it. Keep the existing live website unchanged. Wait for homepage approval before building the other pages.
Prompt 03 · Save & preview
Use after your first working homepage. No DNS changes yet.
Help me save this website in my own GitHub account and connect the repository to my Vercel account. Guide me through any required sign-in. Keep passwords, API keys and private data out of GitHub. Run the build, fix errors, commit and push the project, then deploy it to Vercel. Verify the deployed page and give me the preview URL. Keep the temporary site out of search results and document how that protection will be removed for the real launch. Do not change my existing domain or DNS yet. Save the repository link, Vercel project link and preview link in project-notes.md.
Visual guide · GitHub to Vercel
Build the rest of the site.
Use the approved homepage as the design system and the URL map as your page-by-page plan.
Your full-site checklist
Finish with: a complete preview site and an updated URL map showing what happened to each page.
Be useful.
Answer the questions your visitors actually ask, with original and accurate information.
Be understandable.
Use clear topics, headings, business details, and relevant links between pages.
Be accessible.
Make pages usable on mobile and readable by search engines. Match schema to visible facts.
Prompt 04 · Build the full site
Use once you have approved your homepage and URL map.
The homepage design is approved. Build the remaining pages using audit/current-urls.csv, audit/site-audit.md and the approved design. Reuse its navigation, typography, colors, buttons and footer. Preserve existing URLs and important content unless I have approved a change. Make sure every page across the entire site, including the homepage, is properly structured for SEO and AI visibility. Apply the requirements below consistently, and verify each page before marking it complete. Write useful, accurate content for each service and location. Use clear page titles, descriptions, headings, internal links, descriptive image text and relevant FAQs. Make the main content accessible to search engines. Include truthful business details and relevant structured data that matches the visible page. Flag facts or claims that need my review. Do not invent locations, reviews, credentials or outcomes, or create repetitive pages just to target keywords. Restore the documented forms, booking tools and integrations. Add a sitemap and appropriate canonical URLs. Implement permanent redirects for approved URL changes to the closest relevant replacement; do not send every removed page to the homepage. Flag pages with no suitable replacement for a decision. Update the CSV with each page's disposition and save a short completion checklist. Run the build, commit and push to GitHub, and verify the updated Vercel deployment. Keep the temporary site out of search results and leave the current domain and DNS unchanged.
Check it. Then launch it.
Pass the final audit before connecting your real domain. DNS is the last step, not the first.
Your launch checklist
Finish with: a verified live website, a launch report, and a rollback plan.
Prompt 05 · Pre-launch audit
Add the preview and current URLs. Ask for evidence, not guesses.
Audit the rebuilt website at [PREVIEW URL] against audit/current-urls.csv and the original site at [CURRENT URL]. Check the actual deployed pages as well as the project files. Do not change DNS. Account for every old URL: retained page, approved redirect or approved removal. Check that redirects reach a relevant working page without loops or unnecessary hops. If a redirect requires the live domain to test, mark it pending and explain how to test it after launch. Check for missing content, broken internal links and missing images. Review phone and desktop layouts, navigation, keyboard access, text contrast, page speed and image sizes. Check page titles, descriptions, headings, canonical URLs, sitemap, robots.txt, noindex settings and structured data. Verify that production settings will allow the intended public pages to be indexed while keeping previews excluded. Check phone links, booking links, analytics and forms. Use only clearly labeled test data and ask me before submitting anything that contacts staff or customers. A form is not verified until delivery to its intended destination is confirmed. Save audit/launch-checklist.md with PASS, FIX or NOT VERIFIED for each check, evidence, and the affected URLs. Separate launch blockers from later improvements. Fix safe code issues, rerun the affected checks, and list manual checks I must complete. Do not report untested items as passed.
Your go-live gate
Every old URL has a plan. Forms actually deliver. Important pages work. Email DNS is protected. Anything untested is marked pending, not passed.
Prompt 06 · Domain & launch
Use only after review. Your agent must ask before changing DNS.
The site has passed review and I am ready to plan the launch. Domain: [DOMAIN] DNS provider: [PROVIDER OR UNKNOWN] Vercel project: [PROJECT LINK] Read audit/launch-checklist.md and identify any unresolved blockers. Inspect the current DNS records and save a copy before proposing changes. Use the exact domain configuration shown in this Vercel project, not generic example values. Walk me through adding the domain and its www version to Vercel, choosing the primary version, and redirecting the other version. Preserve the existing primary version where practical. Show the specific website DNS records to change and wait for my approval before changing them. Preserve email records, verification records and unrelated subdomains. Explain how to restore the old website records if needed. After I approve the change, help apply it or guide me through it. Verify DNS, HTTPS, the primary-domain redirect, key pages, old URL redirects, forms and tracking. Confirm public pages are indexable and canonical URLs and the sitemap use the live domain. Help submit the sitemap in Google Search Console. Record anything still pending rather than calling it complete. Save audit/post-launch.md with the launch date, test results, rollback details and a short follow-up list for checking errors, indexing and traffic over the next few weeks. Keep the old hosting available until the new site is verified.
Visual guide · Connecting your domain
Vercel tells you what to enter. Your DNS provider is where you enter it.
- Have your agent identify where your DNS is managed and explain the exact website records to change.
- Review and approve those changes, then save them at your DNS provider.
- Return to Vercel and check the domain status. DNS updates can take time to appear.
- Test your live website, HTTPS, redirects, and form delivery.
If Vercel manages your DNS
Use this editor only when your domain’s DNS is managed by Vercel. Otherwise, make the changes at your existing DNS provider.
Keep moving at your pace
Your take-home toolkit.
Save the prompts, download your blank URL map, or print this page as your workbook.