Stuck With an AI-Built Website? We Fix It and Take It Over

Section 1

Why AI-built websites get stuck

AI tools are very good at producing a first version and much less good at living with it. Each new prompt is written without a full picture of the project, so changes quietly undo earlier ones, files grow messy and small problems compound. The result is a site that works in the preview, then breaks when a real person uses it on a real phone. That is a normal stage of AI-assisted building, not a sign you did anything wrong.

Section 2

How to fix AI code loops

A code loop is when the tool keeps 'fixing' the same problem and each fix creates the next one. To break out of it, stop prompting and go back to the last version that worked. Copy the exact error message, name the one file involved and ask for the cause before any change. Make one change at a time and check it. If the same bug survives three attempts, the tool is missing context that a person needs to supply. That is usually the moment to bring in a developer.

Section 3

Debugging AI-generated website code

We debug AI-generated code the way we debug any code: reproduce the fault, read the real error in the browser console or server logs, find the cause and fix that, not the symptom. AI code has its own habits to check for, such as components duplicated with small differences, values hard-coded in several places, missing error handling and packages that were installed but never used. Finding these early is what stops the bug from coming back.

Section 4

Why does my AI website keep breaking?

The usual causes are no version control to fall back on, changes that overwrite each other, dependencies that update or conflict, secrets and settings that differ between your preview and the live site, and no tests to catch a regression. Sites also break at the edges: an empty form, a slow connection, a small screen. A developer adds the safety net, meaning version control, checks and monitoring, so a change stops being a gamble.

Section 5

Fixing a broken layout in Cursor and other AI editors

Layouts break in AI-edited projects for a handful of repeat reasons: Tailwind classes built from strings that never get compiled, conflicting styles from two components, fixed widths that overflow, a missing 'min-w-0' on a flex child, or a full-height section using 100vh that misbehaves on phones. We use the browser's inspector to find the exact element causing it, fix it once and check it at the sizes people actually use, rather than asking the tool to guess again.

Section 6

Cleaning up Claude-written web code

Code written with Claude or any other assistant is often functional but untidy: oversized files, repeated blocks, unused imports and functions, loose typing and comments that describe the edit instead of the code. We run the type checker and linter, remove dead code and unused packages, split large components and agree consistent naming. The site behaves the same afterwards, but a developer can now read it, so changes get cheaper.

Section 7

How to make an AI website look professional

Professional design is mostly decisions AI tools avoid making: a real colour palette taken from your brand, a considered type pairing, consistent spacing, real photography of your work or team, and copy that says something specific about your business. We replace the generic parts first, because that is where visitors decide whether to trust you. Then we tighten spacing, hierarchy and calls to action so the page leads people towards contacting you.

Section 8

Removing the generic AI aesthetic

You can usually spot an AI-generated site by its tells: purple-to-blue gradients, glassy cards, the same rounded grid of three features with icons, a pill badge above a centred headline, stock gradient blobs and phrases like 'revolutionise your workflow'. None of it is wrong on its own. Together it says 'template'. We remove or restyle the tells, and build in a look that belongs to your brand instead.

Section 9

Fixing mobile responsiveness on an AI website

AI tools often preview on a desktop screen, so mobile is where problems hide: text that overflows, sideways scrolling, tiny tap targets, menus that will not open and images larger than the screen. We test on real phone sizes, fix widths and breakpoints, use viewport units that behave on mobile browsers and check that buttons and forms are comfortable to use with a thumb. Google indexes the mobile version of your site, so this matters for search as well as customers.

Section 10

Customising generic AI website templates and changing default fonts in v0

A site that came from a tool such as v0 usually loads its fonts in the root layout using next/font and maps them to a variable that Tailwind uses as its default sans-serif. Changing the font therefore means editing both the font import and the Tailwind theme (which lives in the config file or in the global CSS, depending on the Tailwind version). We handle that, then carry the change through headings, buttons and components so the whole site reflects your brand, not the tool's defaults.

Section 11

Optimising the speed of an AI-generated website

Generated sites are commonly slow for fixable reasons: large unoptimised images, too many client-side scripts, fonts loaded badly, third-party tags nobody needs and pages that render on the browser when they could be built on the server. We measure with Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights and your real-user data in Search Console, fix the biggest problems first, and check the result on a mid-range phone, not just a fast laptop.

Section 12

Refactoring an AI website's architecture

If a site has grown into one tangled codebase, we refactor in small, safe steps rather than starting again. That means adding a few tests around the pages that earn you money, then reorganising by feature, separating data from display, deciding what runs on the server and what runs in the browser, validating form and API input and making sure no secret keys are exposed to visitors. Often the design stays and the foundations change underneath.

Section 13

Better prompts for fixing a website layout

If you want to keep prompting first, be specific. A good layout prompt names the page, the screen width and the file, and limits the change. For example: 'On the pricing page at 375px wide, the three cards overflow to the right. Do not change the desktop layout. Only edit PricingCards.tsx. Explain the cause first, then show the smallest change that fixes it.' Vague prompts like 'make it responsive' invite the tool to rewrite things that were working.

Section 14

Hiring a developer or freelancer to fix your AI website

Whoever you hire, ask to see the code first, ask what they would fix in what order, and insist the work happens in version control so you can see and reverse every change. A freelancer can be a good fit for a one-off fix. The catch is what happens afterwards, when something else breaks or a package needs updating. We work as your ongoing technical partner, so the same people who fix the site also host, monitor and develop it.

Section 15

Independent and tool-neutral

VV Design is an independent web studio. We are not affiliated with Cursor, Anysphere, Anthropic, Vercel, Lovable, StackBlitz or any other tool mentioned on this page, and those names are used only to describe the kind of project we work on. We are happy to work with whatever you built with.

Process

How we deliver