How to Prompt Minimax M2.1 for Landing Pages

Minimax M2.1 is one of the most cost-effective coding models available in Firebuzz. It costs roughly 1/20th of Claude 4.5 Opus while scoring 91.5% on VIBE-Web—a benchmark that tests whether AI-generated applications actually run.

But raw capability isn't enough. M2.1 requires structured prompts to perform well. This guide covers the techniques that work.

The Core Technique: Plan First, Build Second

The biggest mistake with M2.1 is asking for a complete landing page in one shot. This often produces broken layouts—elements with zero height, collapsed containers, or missing sections.

Split the work into two phases:

Phase 1: Generate a Plan

Start by asking M2.1 to outline the structure before writing code:

You are a frontend architect. Plan a landing page with these sections:
- Hero with headline, subheadline, and two CTAs
- Features grid (4 items with icons)
- Testimonials (3 cards)
- Pricing (3 tiers, highlight middle)
- FAQ accordion
- Footer

Output a component list with file names. Do not write code yet.

This prevents the model from getting lost in implementation details before the structure is clear.

Phase 2: Build with Explicit Constraints

Once you approve the plan, prompt for implementation with specific design constraints:

Build the Hero section.

Design constraints:
- Background: #020617 (dark blue)
- Heading: Inter Bold, 48px
- Subheading: Inter Regular, 18px, #94a3b8
- Primary CTA: emerald gradient, hover scale effect
- Layout: text left, image right on desktop; stacked on mobile

Explicit constraints prevent "AI slop"—generic purple gradients, rounded corners everywhere, and bland typography that makes all AI-generated pages look the same.

Example of a bad prompt:

Make the hero section look modern and professional.

Why it fails: "Modern" and "professional" mean nothing specific. M2.1 will default to generic styling.

Example of a good prompt:

Make the hero section use a dark (#0f172a) background with a large serif heading 
(Playfair Display, 64px) and accent color #10b981 for the CTA. Add a subtle 
gradient overlay from transparent to black at 20% opacity.

Leverage Firebuzz Features

M2.1 works best when you give it context. Firebuzz provides several features that reduce prompting overhead and improve accuracy.

Brand Identity

Configure your Brand Identity in Firebuzz Settings (Settings → Brand → Identity). This includes:

• Brand persona — Tone and voice (e.g., "Professional but approachable")
• Target audience — Who you're speaking to
• Value proposition — What makes your product unique

Once configured, prompt:

Write the hero copy using our brand persona and target audience.

M2.1 pulls your defined tone and audience data automatically. No need to repeat brand details in every prompt.

Tip: If your brand data isn't being used, check that you've filled in the persona section in Settings. Empty fields mean no context for the AI.

Design Mode

M2.1 can't see the UI it generates. When something looks wrong, don't describe it—select it.

How to use Design Mode:

1. Type /design in the chat (or click the Design Mode toggle)
2. The preview enters selection mode with a dotted border
3. Click the element you want to change
4. The element is highlighted and attached to your message
5. Type your fix: Make this button larger and add a shadow
6. Send

Design Mode eliminates "which element?" confusion. Instead of saying "the button in the hero section on the right side," you point directly at it.

Common Design Mode prompts:

Problem	Prompt
Spacing issues	Fix the padding to 24px on all sides
Wrong colors	Change this background to #1e293b
Typography	Make this heading 36px and bold
Layout	Center this section and limit width to 1200px
Visibility	Make this text white for better contrast

Slash Commands

Firebuzz supports these slash commands for quick actions:

Command	What it does
/design	Toggle Design Mode
/images	Open your image gallery
/upload	Upload new files
/documents	Attach documents from your knowledge base
/components	Add UI components as context
/model	Switch to a different AI model
/summarize	Compress long conversations to save context
/clear	Start a fresh conversation

Tip: Use /components to attach an existing component when you want M2.1 to use its style as a reference:

/components → Select "Card" → "Use this card style for the pricing tier boxes"

Attaching Reference Materials

You can attach files to give M2.1 more context:

• Images — Drag and drop or use /upload. Up to 5 images, 50 MB each.
• Documents — Use /documents to attach PDFs, CSVs, or text files from your knowledge base.
• Components — Use /components to attach existing UI components.

Use case example:

/upload → [brand-guidelines.pdf] → 
"Follow section 3 of this document for the color palette and typography in the hero section"

M2.1 will reference the attached document when generating the code.

Benchmark Context

Why use M2.1 over other models?

Metric	Minimax M2.1	Claude 4.5 Opus
VIBE-Web	91.5%	—
Output cost	$1.20/1M tokens	$25/1M tokens
Context window	200k+ tokens	200k tokens
Cost ratio	~1/20th	Baseline

M2.1 handles large codebases without losing context, making it suitable for multi-file landing page projects where you're editing several components in one session.

When to Switch Models

M2.1 isn't always the best choice. Use /model to switch when:

• Complex layouts failing → Try Claude Sonnet 4.5 for better spatial reasoning
• Need speed → Gemini 3 Flash is the fastest option
• Detailed code logic → GPT-5.1 Codex Max handles complex TypeScript well

You can switch models mid-conversation. The new model picks up the existing context.

Common Pitfalls and Fixes

Compressed layouts

CSS outputs with zero width or height. The page looks collapsed or invisible.

Fix: Add explicit dimension constraints to your prompt:

Ensure the hero section has min-height: 600px and the container is max-width: 1280px

Hook confusion

M2.1 sometimes treats React Query's useQuery return value as raw data instead of an object with a .data property.

Fix: Check hook usage manually or note in your prompt:

Remember that useQuery returns { data, isLoading, error }, not the data directly

Edit failures on large files

The model struggles with search-and-replace operations on files over 300 lines.

Fix: Use Design Mode to target specific elements instead of describing them. Or break the file into smaller components first.

Ignoring brand context

M2.1 doesn't use brand data if the fields are empty.

Fix: Verify your Brand Identity settings have content. At minimum, fill in the brand persona.

---

Summary

1. Plan first — Ask for structure before code. Prevent layout collapse.
2. Use explicit constraints — Specify colors, fonts, and spacing. Avoid vague terms like "modern."
3. Leverage Brand Identity — Set up your brand persona once, reference it in prompts.
4. Use Design Mode — Point at elements instead of describing them.
5. Attach context — Use /documents, /images, and /components to give M2.1 reference materials.
6. Switch models when stuck — Claude Sonnet 4.5 handles complex spatial reasoning better.

M2.1 at 1/20th the cost means you can iterate 20x more. Structure your prompts, and it delivers.