Disclaimer: This case study uses Tamatour2025 (a completed event project from my professional work) for educational purposes only. The original stakeholders are aware. This is not a template for cloning active third-party sites without permission, but a technical workflow case study.
The One Thing Everyone Wants to Know
How much does it actually cost to convert a WordPress homepage to modern JavaScript framework using cheaper AI models?
Answer: $0.22 USD.
Here's exactly how I did it—and why the process matters more than the cost.
The Challenge
Take the World Tamagotchi Tour Malaysia 2025 homepage (WordPress) and convert it to Next.js 14 + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS in under 30 minutes using DeepSeek Chat (not the expensive reasoning model).
Scope: Homepage only. No sub-pages. No database integration. Pure structural conversion.
Visual target: 90%+ fidelity to original.
Constraint: <$1 in AI costs.
The Three Prompts That Did It
Prompt #1: The Foundation
Following #CONVERSION_INSTRUCTION_LITE.md, please convert this page
to Next.js 14 with Tailwind CSS:
Source: https://tamatour2025.jommain.my/
Target: app/page.tsx
Requirements:
- TypeScript
- Tailwind CSS for all styling
- 90%+ visual resemblance
- Server Component (default)
- Extract reusable components
Focus: Homepage only, we'll extend per link later
Result: ~90% match in ~8 minutes.
Prompt #2: Catch the Gaps
Check https://tamatour2025.jommain.my/
You forgot 1 banner below the photos. Link videos using original URLs.
Result: ~95% match in ~3 minutes.
Prompt #3: Polish Details
See original:
1. Top right insta/fb should be icons
2. Copyright: C in circle & R in circle BANDAI
Result: I cant say 100% match but it meets my expectation. 2 minutes.
The Numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Model | DeepSeek Chat |
| Input tokens | 3,600,000 |
| Output tokens | 36,200 |
| Total cost | $0.22 USD |
| Time to production | 25 minutes |
| Visual fidelity | 90%+ |
Visual Proof
Desktop
Original: https://tamatour2025.jommain.my/
Clone: https://tamatour2025b.jommain.my/
Why This Matters (The Real Story)
Most developers hear "$0.22" and think "wow, cheap." But the actual insight is different.
Three focused prompts beat one massive prompt.
Instead of:
- Asking the model to do everything at once (70% accuracy)
- Having to regenerate and iterate (10x the cost)
- Ending up with partially broken code (weeks of debugging)
You get:
- Clear, isolated objectives (90%+ accuracy first try)
- Catch-and-fix refinements (3 focused iterations)
- Production-ready code (deploy immediately)
This is prompt engineering as professional practice, not luck.
What Worked Perfectly
✅ Navigation
✅ Hero section
✅ Gallery grid (12 images)
✅ Video embeds
✅ Footer with social icons
✅ Mobile responsiveness
✅ TypeScript + Tailwind CSS (zero custom CSS)
What the model missed on first try (caught by Prompt #2 & #3):
- Gallery banner section
- Social media icons (were text, not icons)
- Copyright symbols formatting
These gaps are intentional design. The model didn't hallucinate—it just needed clarification on details outside the initial scope.
The Smart Trade-off: Why We Hotlinked Assets
Images and videos still point to the original WordPress domain.
Why? Because:
- Saves ~10 minutes (no download/upload cycle)
- Keeps deployment size small
- Proves the code conversion works (the hard part)
- Phase 2 can migrate assets (the easy part)
This is intelligent MVP thinking, not "incomplete work." Get code right first, optimize infrastructure second.
Three Lessons
1. Prompt specificity >> model cost
The key isn't the model—it's the prompt strategy. Three focused, isolated prompts achieve 90%+ accuracy on first iteration. This approach works regardless of which AI service you use.
2. Iterative refinement is professional
One-shot perfect is a myth. Three targeted refinements > one massive prompt.
3. Scope narrows accuracy
- "Convert entire WordPress site" = 70% accurate
- "Convert just homepage" = 90% accurate
Smaller scope = deeper focus = fewer errors.
What This Enables
The real value isn't the cost—it's the speed of iteration.
Previously:
- Experiment with a design idea? Weeks of work.
- Test a new framework conversion? Expensive.
- Prototype variations? Not feasible.
Now:
- Experiment with design? 30 minutes.
- Test framework conversions? Same day.
- Prototype variations? As many as you want.
The bottleneck shifts from cost to creativity. You're no longer limited by "can I afford to try this?" but rather "what do I want to try next?"
How to Replicate This
For any website you want to modernize:
- Clone NEKO-Template and create your project folder
- I use RooCode + connect DeepSeek API, you can your favorites
- Send Prompt #1 (conversion request) - review output
- Send Prompt #2 (catch gaps) - refine
- Send Prompt #3 (polish details) - finalize
- Deploy to any hosting service
Total cost: $0.10-$1.00 in AI
Total time: 20-30 minutes
What's Next
- Sub-page conversions (/info, /products, /promotions)
- CMS integration for dynamic content
- Asset migration (download images locally)
- Multi-language support
- Performance optimization
Each phase requires different prompt strategies. That's the follow-up.
The Meta-Question
If your AI development costs drop 99%, what becomes possible?
- Solo developers shipping faster than 5-person teams?
- Freelancers competing with agencies on speed AND cost?
- Experimentation becoming the default instead of exception?
That's the actual story here. Not the $0.22. The freedom that $0.22 buys you.
Links
Case Study Sites:
- Original: https://tamatour2025.jommain.my/
- Clone: https://tamatour2025b.jommain.my/
Previous NEKO-Template Article:
GitHub Repository:
- NEKO-Template: https://github.com/ksmgen/NEKO-Template
Resources:
- DeepSeek API: https://platform.deepseek.com
The real question isn't "can you do this?" It's "what will you build once the AI part becomes trivial?"
What would you clone?
Case study: Real metrics, real code, real results. This article demonstrates a documented workflow, not a one-time experiment. All stakeholders aware and supportive of this educational exploration.
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