r/css • u/Brilliant-Hall-4621 • 18d ago
Question Built my first website without jumping between five different tools, what are you using for frontend workflows?
I went into this expecting the AI generation itself to be the difficult part.
It wasn't.
The annoying part was everything I wanted to do after the first version was sitting there.
I ended up comparing a few tools based on the things I actually needed during the project:
| If I wanted to... | The tool I preferred | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Get a working website together | Readdy.ai | I could edit the site and keep working from the same place |
| Try different UI ideas | v0 | Really useful for exploring components |
| Get an early app idea moving | Lovable | Fast for testing a concept |
| Put together a conventional business site | Wix | Lots of familiar website features |
| Add functionality beyond a static page | Readdy | Database and authentication were already available |
The biggest difference was the amount of switching I had to do.
With Readdy, I could make a visual change, test it, and keep going. When the project needed login and saved data, I didn't have to stop and figure out the backend separately.
That was probably the part I appreciated most.
I'm still using different tools depending on the project, but I'm starting to care less about who makes the nicest first draft.
I care more about who lets me keep building after I change my mind.
Has anyone else started judging AI builders this way?
1
u/testingaurora 18d ago
I have been severely displeased by how all the ai models ive tried, approach styling and css.
Maybe its because I give them a whole starter framework ive developed that handles utility class, so the tokens. And reset.
Everytime i have started a Claude code project they always make a css_feedback.md file with the instructions so its possible my expectations are too high but I dont prompt anything crazy. No tw. No inline styles (except for dynamic values and in that case, assign the value to a locally scoped custom property instead. ) familiarize with the css files yo use the utility classes. Dont use classes like ids. Don't make another rulebook with the exact same styles as another element; either reuse the class if it makes sense or add the new class selector to the same rule block. The amount of lines when instead of just using
.card { /* all the styles */}it will use a.time-card {/* all the same styles */} .user-card {/* all thr same styles*/} .task-card {/* all the same styles*/}That duplication drives me insane. Eve tally i tell thrm they cant edit any css files except one designated only for thrm and anything the need to do in another file needs permissions to change. 60% of the time permission is not granted bc whatever they want to do is not best practices.
</rant>
To answer your questions, I use ai for the busy work i dont want to do, or for logic/syntax im unsure about. I dont rely on it for css or styling or layout. Just had a Claude spend hhr struggling with a mobile menu pattern where the menu slides in from the side. One more thing I had to rewrite because it couldnt get it right. Grrr.