Getting started

The route at a glance

Six stages lie between the first look and the published website. Each of them is covered in detail below; this table says up front what happens where.

The stages build on one another, but nothing is set in stone: you can go back at any time, change your entries and publish again. Nothing you enter in the assistant is final — it provides the starting point, everything after that happens in the editor.

Trying it without an account

There is a hands-on demo: the complete editor, filled with the content of a published example website. It costs nothing, asks for nothing and leaves nothing behind.

1. 1

   On the sign-in page, at the very bottom under “Just looking?”, click “View without signing in (demo)”.

   The editor opens immediately, without an account and without any input.

2. 2

   Click blocks, move them, change copy.

   Everything behaves like the real editor — except that nothing is saved.

3. 3

   Use “Back to website” at the top right to return to the public site.

   From the account menu at the bottom left, “Create account / sign in” takes you straight to registration.

The demo does not show a rebuilt example but the real state of a published website including its colours — so you see what the tool actually produces. The same demo opens from the “Open the live editor” link on the XICflow demo page.

Create an account

The first time you open the editor, the sign-in screen appears: the form on the right, a short product summary on the left.

1. 1

   Under “New to XICflow?” click “Create account”.

   The form switches from signing in to registration.

2. 2

   Fill in the three fields “Name”, “Email” and “Password”.

   Below the password field it says “At least 10 characters.” — anything shorter is not accepted.

3. 3

   Click “Create account”.

   While the account is being created the button reads “Creating account…”.

If an entry is not valid or the email address is already taken, the message appears directly below the field in question, or as “Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist bereits registriert.” Once the account exists you are signed in right away; there is no extra login step. “Already have an account? Sign in” takes you back to the sign-in form at any time.

Creating the account also creates your workspace. It starts on the Free plan, and its quotas shape the first steps, so here they are up front.

The monthly quotas start over with every calendar month. Anything beyond them can be paid for with AI credits; the full comparison of all plans is in the chapter on account, plans and security.

Signing in

There are three ways into an existing account, plus the look around without signing in.

1. 1

   Enter your email and password, then “Sign in”.

   The classic route that works on every device.

2. 2

   Or choose “Sign in with passkey”.

   The button only appears if your device and browser support it — for example via fingerprint or face recognition.

3. 3

   Or use “Sign in with Google”.

   This leads to the Google sign-in and then back into the editor.

If signing in fails, the message appears below the form — “Sign-in failed” for a password, “Passkey sign-in failed” for a passkey. “Back to website” at the top right returns you to the public XICflow site at any time.

Signing in with a second factor

If you have set up an authenticator app for your account, a second step follows after “Sign in”. The screen asks you to “Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app.”

1. 1

   Read the code from the app and type it into the field.

   The same field also accepts one of your backup codes if the app is not at hand.

2. 2

   Click “Confirm”.

   Only then is the session open.

3. 3

   Use “Back” to return to the sign-in form.

   Useful if you want to correct your credentials.

The setup assistant

If your account does not contain a website yet, XICflow takes you straight into the setup assistant (marked “Setup” at the top). A three-part progress bar shows where you are. The first step is titled “Welcome — tell us about your brand” and carries the line: “From these details the AI generates a matching base website.”

1. 1

   Fill in “Company name”.

   The name you trade under. Without it, “Next” stays inactive.

2. 2

   Enter the address of your current site under “Existing website (optional)”.

   Leave the field empty if there is no website yet.

3. 3

   Continue with “Next”.

   You can always go back later using “Back”.

Importing a brand from an existing website

Once an address is filled in, you can click “Load brand”. XICflow fetches the page, reads its title, description, site name, theme colour and a sample of the text, and derives a proposal from that. During the analysis the button reads “Analyzing...”, afterwards the message “Brand applied: name, industry and colors prefilled.” appears.

A note on sequence: “Load brand” already consumes one AI text action from your monthly quota, as does the build later on. Without signing in the analysis is blocked; the field then reads “Brand analysis requires an account.”

Context for the AI

The second step is called “Context for the AI” and carries the note: “Optional — whatever you leave out, the AI derives from context and research.”

1. 1

   State your “Industry”.

   For example trades, a law firm or a restaurant. This entry also decides whether the structured data for search engines describes a local business.

2. 2

   Describe your “Target audience”.

   Who you are addressing, for example private customers in the region.

3. 3

   Name your “Website goals”.

   What the site should achieve, such as winning enquiries or booking appointments.

4. 4

   Move on to the last step with “Next”.

   “Back” returns you to step 1.

The more precise these three answers are, the closer the result sits to your business. You may also leave every field empty — the AI then derives suitable sections from the company name and industry.

A briefing that carries

Your entries are turned into a short brief. It is the only text the AI knows about your business — which is why three extra sentences pay off.

The briefing consists of your five entries plus a fixed instruction. You see it in full in the third step, before anything is generated. Field by field the rule is: a concrete answer beats a general one, and leaving something out is better than getting it wrong — whatever is missing, the AI derives.

What belongs in it

• What you do, in the words of your customers — not as an industry label but as a service.
• Who you do it for and where: private customers or businesses, town and surrounding area.
• What should happen on the website: call, fill in a form, book an appointment, read up.
• What sets you apart — emergency service, a named contact, particular methods or materials.
• The address of your current website, if you have one: name, industry and colours come from there.

What you can leave out

• Finished page copy — that is written during the build and can be overwritten in the editor afterwards.
• Wishes about colours, fonts or the logo. Those belong under “Brand”, not in the briefing.
• Anything you are not sure about. A wrong detail runs through all the generated copy.
• Legal texts. Imprint and privacy policy are handled separately anyway.

Generate the base

The third step is called “Generate the base” and carries the line: “The AI builds your home page plus sensible subpages from this — including meta data.” Below it, the complete briefing is shown for you to read.

1. 1

   Check the summary.

   Individual entries can still be corrected via “Back”.

2. 2

   Click “Generate now”.

   While it runs, the button shows “Generating...” with a spinning ring.

3. 3

   Wait until you are moved into the editor.

   Depending on the scope this takes a few minutes. Afterwards the new website is already selected there.

Clicking triggers three things in sequence: the website is created, the proposed brand colours are applied, and then the actual build starts. The build does not run in your browser but as a job on the server; the assistant merely asks for the current state every two and a half seconds.

What you get

At the end of the run a complete website exists as a draft — not a scaffold you still have to fill. This overview says what it consists of.

Languages

The language of your new website follows how the interface was set when you created the account; without a choice of your own, your browser language decides. If that is not English, an English version is added directly afterwards: page titles, addresses and the copy of every block are translated, and English is registered as the website’s second language. If that step does not succeed, the state already built stays untouched.

You add further languages later under “Brand”; how to maintain content per language is described in the chapter on brand and design.

Legal pages

An imprint and a privacy policy are mandatory for a business website. XICflow therefore checks before every publish whether both pages exist and creates whichever is missing — regardless of whether the AI already covered them during the build. Existing pages are never overwritten. Further legal texts such as terms or withdrawal notices belong to your editorial work and are not enforced.

After generation

Once the AI has finished, XICflow switches to the editor with your new website already selected. You see the home page plus the subpages that suit your industry, complete with copy, images and structure.

The site switcher at the top left names your website, its state (“Draft”, “Live” or “Archived”) and its address below. As long as nothing has been published, it reads “Draft”.

Your first changes

Almost every generated website needs three things first: a few passages in your own words, a better-fitting picture and the odd extra block. All three are within easy reach.

1. 1

   Click the block in the preview.

   It gets an outline, and the “Properties” tab with its fields opens on the right.

2. 2

   For copy, double-click into the text and type straight away.

   This works on the opener, headings, intros, body copy and the text inside cards. For anything else the focus jumps into the matching field on the right instead.

3. 3

   Confirm with the Enter key.

   Shift and Enter insert a line break, Escape discards the change.

4. 4

   Check the save state at the top.

   It reads “saved”. If “Not saved” appears, the “Retry” button next to it helps.

Changing copy

A double-click on a heading, an intro, body copy or the text inside a card makes that spot directly writable — you type where the text will later sit. A small bar appears above the caret offering “Bold”, “Italic”, “Accent” and “Link”. “Accent” highlights a word in your brand colours; in the source it is a word between two equals signs. Blocks without such text fields jump to the matching field in the right-hand column instead.

Swapping an image

Select the block holding the image. In the right-hand column below it sits the “Image source” with four tabs. For an image the AI should create, describe it under “Describe image” and choose a “Purpose” — the purpose determines format and composition. Your brand colours are taken into account automatically.

Adding a block

The blocks sit on the left in collapsible groups: “Basics” (already open when the editor loads), “Text & structure”, “Grids & cards”, “Conversion & CTA”, “Media & showcase”, “Content (CMS)” and “Blog & context”. Clicking a block appends it to the bottom of the page; from there you move it into position under “Structure”. Which blocks exist and what each can do is covered in the blocks reference.

Publishing for the first time

Everything so far is a draft. Only publishing turns your content into the finished website and puts it online.

1. 1

   Click “Publish” at the top right.

   The button is only clickable while a website is selected.

2. 2

   Wait until “Publishing…” turns into “Published”.

   Clicking a second time meanwhile does not start a second run.

3. 3

   Click the address next to “Published”.

   It opens the finished website in a new window. “Live version” above the preview does the same.

The address takes the form short-name.xicflow.com and is reachable over an encrypted connection. The short name is derived from your company name: umlauts are transcribed, special characters dropped and spaces turned into hyphens. You connect your own domain afterwards under “Domains” — the xicflow.com address stays available alongside it.

Other ways to start

The assistant is the most convenient way in, but not the only one. If you prefer to assemble things yourself, start from a template or an empty page.

Templates are ready-made sets of blocks. You open them via “Insert templates” on the left; the blocks are appended to whatever is already on the page. There are five categories to choose from.

While a page is still empty, the preview does not show a blank sheet but the note “No blocks yet” with the line “Add a block on the left.” and the two buttons “Insert templates” and “Create with AI” — the two quickest routes to a first piece of content.

Creating another website

From the site switcher at the top left, “New site” leads to the “Create new site” form. It asks for a “Name”, optionally a “Domain” and an “Existing website” from which “Load brand” can pick up name, tone and colours. “Create site” brings it into being. If your plan does not allow another website, a note about the maximum number appears instead.

Where to go next

This chapter ends where your website stands. Everything beyond it has a chapter of its own — here is which.

A sensible order for the first few days: go through the copy in the editor first, then tune colours, fonts and logo to your business under “Brand”, then connect your own domain. Requests, team and blog follow once the website stands.

When something does not work

The messages from the assistant and the editor each point at exactly one cause. Here is what sits behind them.

“Brand analysis failed.”

The catch-all message when nothing could be evaluated for that address. Often the page is not publicly reachable or asks for a password. A prefix like “https://” is not required — it is added when missing. Simply type in the name and industry yourself; the result is just as good.

“Generation failed.”

Click “Generate now” again. A second attempt does not create a second website; it continues building the one already started. If credits were charged for the first attempt, they are refunded when it fails.

“Quota exhausted — please upgrade your plan.”

The AI text quota of your plan is used up for the current month. The Free plan holds 20 text actions, and one complete build consumes one of them. The chapter on account, plans and security explains how quotas work.

The generated website contains hardly any images

Images draw on a separate, deliberately small quota — three per month on the Free plan. Once it is used up, the AI keeps building without further generated images instead of stopping. You add your own pictures afterwards via “Upload” or the “Media library”.

“Invalid code” during the two-factor prompt

The code changes every 30 seconds — wait for the next one and enter it promptly. If your phone clock has drifted, switch it to automatic time synchronisation. As a last resort, use one of your backup codes; the same field accepts them.

After signing in you land in the editor instead of the assistant

The assistant only starts while no website exists yet. Create further websites in the editor via the site switcher at the top left: “New site”, then “Create site”.

The page list stays empty and “Publish” is greyed out

In that case no website is selected. The site switcher at the top left then reads “No site” and the AI column “No site selected”. Pick a website at the top or create one.

A “D” sits next to the site switcher

The marker “Preview — not connected to the backend” appears in demo mode and when the connection is missing. The panel then also reads “Preview mode — sites are kept locally until the backend is connected.” Sign in or reload the editor.

“Preview unavailable”

Your changes are saved, only the display is missing at that moment. Reload the editor with “Reload”.

“Page could not be loaded”

The saved state could not be fetched. Do not change anything yet; reload the editor first — while this note is showing, nothing is saved, so an empty state cannot overwrite your page.

Messages word for word

These messages come from the checks running in the background and appear unchanged in the assistant or in the form.

Frequently asked questions