Field Notes · 004 · Websites
What's a style guide, and why does Claude need one?
Short answer
A style guide is a short document with your colors, fonts, voice and rules. Claude follows it every time it touches your website, so everything stays consistent without you repeating yourself.
Think of it as the playbook for your brand. A person or an AI can pick it up and make something that looks and sounds like you.
What goes in it
- Colors. Exact color codes, and which one is for buttons, backgrounds and text.
- Fonts. One for headlines and one for reading is usually enough.
- Voice. How you talk, the words you use and the words you'd never say.
- Photos. Real ones only, whether they're color or black and white, and how they're cropped.
- Rules. Write down the stuff you've had to correct before, once.
Why it matters with AI
Without a style guide, every request starts from scratch and you get something a little different each time. With one, Claude remembers who you are, and your website stays yours as it grows.
Mine for this website started from what I wear most days: a hat, a black shirt, tan pants and a camera. That's where the colors came from.