What you need.
Cursor installed with the free design helpers from the setup guide, an empty folder, and a clear idea of who the page is for. The free Hobby tier is enough for a first prototype.
Write the brief before the prompt.
One paragraph, written once, beats twenty corrections later. Name the audience, the single call to action, and the sections in order — for example: hero with headline and CTA, three feature blocks, one testimonial, footer. Constrain the output too: one HTML file, styles inline, no frameworks, system fonts.
Build it in six steps.
- Open the empty folder in Cursor and paste your brief into chat.
- Ask for a single index.html with inline CSS — one file keeps iteration fast.
- Open the file in your browser and read it like a visitor, not a builder.
- Tell the agent what to change in design terms — spacing, hierarchy, contrast — one or two changes per message.
- Run the /responsive-preview command to audit mobile, tablet, and desktop widths.
- Fix what the audit flags, then stop — a prototype's job is to be judged, not polished.
Check it like a designer.
The free browser Responsive Preview tool shows the page at three widths side by side with synced scrolling — faster than resizing a window. Watch for horizontal overflow on mobile, line lengths past about 80 characters, and tap targets under 44 pixels.
From prototype to live page.
If the prototype validates, either publish the HTML on any free static host, or skip code maintenance and rebuild it on a Carrd template with a custom domain for $19 a year. Before either route, run the Launch Checklist Prompt audit.
What this costs.
The prototype itself: nothing, on Cursor's free Hobby tier. If you prototype regularly, Pro at $20 a month removes the agent limits — you can use this Cursor referral link for 50 percent off your first month.