Best Practices

Build faster and better with these proven patterns.

Start with Structure

Get the foundation right before styling:

1. Define all sections and their order
2. Establish content hierarchy
3. Add actual content (not placeholders)
4. Then apply visual polish

It’s easier to style a solid structure than restructure styled content.

Use Real Content Early

Placeholder text creates placeholder results:

✓ “Hero headline: ‘Design that drives results'”
✗ “Add a catchy headline”

✓ “About section with this bio: [actual bio]”
✗ “Add an about section”

Real content helps Sticklight make better design decisions.

The Layered Approach

Build in layers, not all at once:

Layer 1: Architecture

“Build a landing page with hero, features, testimonials, pricing, and CTA footer”

Layer 2: Content

“Hero headline: ‘Ship faster with AI’. Subhead: ‘From idea to live site in minutes.’ CTA: ‘Start Building'”

Layer 3: Style

“Apply minimal aesthetic: generous whitespace, subtle shadows, Inter font”

Layer 4: Polish

“Add hover animations to cards, smooth scroll between sections”

Set Brand Early

Establish your brand kit before building:

“Initialize design system: Primary #3B82F6, secondary #10B981, Inter font, generous spacing”

This ensures consistency from the start.

Iterate, Don’t Restart

Build on what you have:

✓ “Add a testimonials section after features”
✓ “Change the hero to split layout”
✓ “Swap the font to Roboto”

✗ “Start over with a different approach”

Use rollback if you need to restore a previous state.

Review at Each Stage

Check these at each milestone:

• Mobile view – Does it work on small screens?
• Content flow – Is the story clear?
• CTAs – Are actions obvious?
• Load time – Is anything heavy?

Use the responsive preview toggle to check different devices.

Production Standards

Before publishing, verify:

• All placeholder content replaced
• Links point to correct destinations
• Forms submit successfully
• Images load properly
• Alt text added to images
• Mobile experience is complete

Leverage Visual Editing

Use chat for structure, visual editing for fine-tuning:

• Chat: “Add a pricing section with 3 tiers”
• Visual: Click to adjust exact padding on each card
• Chat: “Make the middle tier stand out more”
• Visual: Fine-tune the specific shadow value