Automattic Site Spec Discovery
Before building a WordPress site, gather the user's basic preferences through a short interactive discovery phase. This produces a Site Spec that guides all subsequent design and development decisions.
Precondition: an active site
This skill works on the active site — the one announced at the top of the user's message. If there is no active site, stop and let the user know.
How to Run
AskUserQuestion constraints: Each call supports 1-4 questions, each with 2-4 options. An "Other" free-form option is automatically provided by the system — do NOT add one yourself. Keep option labels short (1-5 words). Only use AskUserQuestion for questions that have meaningful predefined options. For open-ended questions, just ask in your text output — the user will type their answer in the prompt.
Use AskUserQuestion for:
- One-page site or multi-page site? (e.g., single scrollable page with sections vs. separate pages for each area)
The business/brand name is the active site's name unless the prompt gives a different one. Do not ask for it. The one exception: when the site name is clearly a placeholder (e.g. "test", "Site 1") and the prompt gives no brand, ask for the brand name in your text output and stop and wait for the reply — do NOT call any tools in that turn.
After Gathering Answers
Use the layout preference to guide all subsequent design decisions.
State the plan as a short Site Spec summary before building, alongside the design direction. The summary MUST include a Concept line — the signature layout concept drawn by pick_design from your shortlist (see the visual-design skill), as Concept: <name> — <one-line adaptation> — followed by a Layout map (one line per section of the page saying what the concept does to it, as described in the visual-design skill), a Direction line — the artistic direction drawn by the same call, as Direction: <name> — <one-line adaptation> — and a Functionality & plugins line: review the requested features, load the plugin-recommendations skill, and list the specific plugins the site needs — e.g. WooCommerce for selling products, Jetpack Forms for a contact form, Jetpack Newsletter for email signups, Sensei LMS for courses, Crowdsignal for polls/surveys — or "None — core blocks only" when nothing beyond static content is required. Install the listed plugins while building (Workflow Step 4); do not silently hand-build static markup for a feature a plugin should provide.
When to Skip the Questions
Skipping means skipping the interactive questions only — still produce the Site Spec summary (including the Functionality & plugins line) before building. Do NOT ask questions if:
- The user already provided the layout preference in the initial prompt.
- The user says "just build something" or "surprise me". Pick a bold creative direction yourself and proceed.
- The user explicitly asks to skip the setup or says they don't want questions.