Fix an error without panicking

Something on your site broke, and the AI tool that built it keeps guessing. This guide shows you how to describe the problem so the AI finds the real cause, fixes only that, and tells you in plain words what it changed.

Before you start

• The AI tool you used to build the site (ChatGPT, Claude, Lovable, Bolt, Cursor, or similar).
• Five minutes to make the error happen once more on purpose.
• A saved copy of your project, if you have one. If you don’t, step 5 covers it.

Want to do it yourself?

Difficulty

6 out of 10

Estimated completion time

30–90 minutes; complex faults can take longer

Skills you’ll need: Copy error details, explain how to reproduce the problem, and test a suggested fix. Some faults need a developer.

I’ll do it myselfI’d rather get help

How this helps your brand

A broken form or page can interrupt a customer at the moment they want to contact you. A focused diagnosis and a repeated customer-action check help restore that route without introducing unrelated changes.

1. 1

   Step 1: Write down exactly what went wrong

   The AI can only fix what it can see. “The form is broken” sends it guessing. “I filled in the contact form, pressed Send, and the page went white” gives it somewhere to start.

   Make the problem happen again and write down three things:

   • What you did, click by click.
   • What you expected to happen.
   • What happened instead, including any error message, copied word for word.

   Tip: Take a screenshot of the error. Most AI tools let you paste images straight into the chat.

   Illustrated exampleTurn “the form is broken” into useful evidence

   Example problem reportContact page · sending a message

   What I did

   1. 1Opened Contact
   2. 2Filled every field
   3. 3Pressed Send

   What I expected

   A confirmation that my message was sent.

   What happened instead

   The page went white. No confirmation appeared.

   !

   Exact error copied from the consoleTypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'trim')

   These observations give the AI a place to investigate. They do not yet prove the cause.

2. 2

   Step 2: Take out anything private

   Error messages sometimes include passwords, API keys, or customer email addresses. Before you paste anything, read it through and replace those with [removed].

   If a message mentions a “key”, “token”, or “secret”, treat the long string next to it as private.

3. 3

   Step 3: Ask for the cause before the fix

   If you ask the AI to “fix it”, it often changes several things at once. The error may disappear while the real problem stays hidden, or something else breaks.

   Ask it to explain the likely cause in plain words first. If the explanation doesn’t match what you saw, say so. That one exchange saves most of the back-and-forth.

4. 4

   Step 4: Let it make one small fix

   Once the cause makes sense, ask for the smallest change that fixes it, and ask the AI to list every file it touched. One problem, one fix, then test.

   If the AI wants to rewrite a whole page or “clean things up” while it’s there, tell it to stop and fix only the error.

5. 5

   Step 5: Test it, then save a working copy

   Repeat the exact steps from step 1. Then try something close to it, like sending the form with one field left empty, to check nothing nearby broke.

   When it works, save a copy before you ask for anything else. In Lovable or Bolt, that means a named version or checkpoint. With code, it means a commit to GitHub. If it breaks again later, you can always come back to this point.

   Illustrated exampleCheck the fix, then mark a safe return point

   1. 1
      Repeat the original steps

      Contact → fill every field → Send

      Pass: a sent confirmation appears
   2. 2
      Try a nearby case

      Leave the email field empty → Send

      Pass: “Enter your email” appears; the page stays open

   Both checks pass

   Save a working copyContact form fixed

   Name a checkpoint in your builder, or make a code commit.

   If a check fails, report that result and retest the next small fix before saving it as working.

Something is broken on my website and I need your help fixing it carefully.

What I did: [the steps, click by click]
What I expected: [what should have happened]
What happened instead: [the exact error message or what you saw]

Before you change anything, explain in plain English what you think is causing this. Then make the smallest change that fixes it, without touching anything unrelated. When you’re done, list every file you changed and tell me exactly how to check that it works.