# Avoid ChatGPT's habits when you build a web page

These rules come from what 4,059 people on Reddit pointed out in work made with ChatGPT. They cover the habits reported in the 60 days up to 2026-10-05, and each one says what to write instead. The list changes when a habit appears or fades. Fetch the current version from https://data.machinemorning.com/giveaway/rules/chatgpt-web_ui.md.

- One layout, new paint. When asked for several designs, vary the structure itself such as grid and section order, and derive the layout from the product instead of a sidebar dashboard or a centred hero by default. Cut extra caption text and tiny explanatory labels. A hero section stays fine when the page needs one.
- Gradients, glow and purple. Give buttons and backgrounds flat fills from a palette picked for the brand, and keep any gradient to a single spot. Do not default to indigo or purple-blue accents or to glowing card borders on a dark navy page. A purple brand colour or one gradient stays fine when the brand calls for it.
- Same fonts on every page. Choose a type pairing for this brand and brief instead of the default set, and keep one family per role with consistent weights. Do not set an italic accent word in the headline or use monospace for labels and numbers unless the brand calls for it. Inter and other popular sans faces stay fine when chosen for the brief.
- Card and pill spam. Use one small corner radius scale across the page and save fully rounded pills for real tags or toggles. Show a status badge only where the status changes what the user does, and do not give every block its own title with a description. Rounded cards stay fine on their own, since commenters call them common SaaS style.
- Glassy dark dashboard. Give panels solid fills with plain borders and keep blur or glow for a real layer such as a modal. Keep shadows off logos and flat elements and do not default to a dark theme with glowing borders. One glass panel stays fine, since commenters call the style overused and not bad.
- Cards inside cards. Separate sections with spacing and headings, and box content in a card only when it is one item in a collection, never a card inside another card. Leave pill badges off items that need no status and drop subtitles that explain obvious functions. Cards for a grid of similar items stay fine.
- Stock Tailwind kit. Set a brand palette and spacing scale as design tokens before building, and restyle library components such as shadcn to match them instead of shipping defaults. Use icons only where they help a label and check that small parts like select arrows sit aligned with enough padding. Tailwind and shadcn stay fine as a base when styled for the brand.
- Dark glowing default UI. Start from a light theme unless the brief asks for dark, and pick an accent from the brand instead of purple-blue gradients and glows. Skip the eyebrow label above each heading and the hover lift on every card. A dark theme stays fine when the brief asks for one.