Prompt effectively
Say what it must not do
Constraints are the cheapest way to raise quality: they remove the generic defaults the model falls back on.
2 min read
Left alone, a model reaches for the average of every landing page it has seen: purple gradient, three feature cards, a testimonial carousel. Name the defaults you refuse.
Useful constraints are specific and checkable:
- "No emoji, no stock-photo clichés, no gradient text except in the logo."
- "Radius 12px at most. One accent colour. Two font families."
- "Animate transform and opacity only. Respect
prefers-reduced-motion." - "Do not invent reviews, ratings, client logos or numbers. Mark missing facts as fill-ins."
Put the list in a file the agent reads every time (AGENTS.md), not in each prompt.