Emergent AI Tutorial : How I Build a SaaS App Using Emergent.sh (With Screenshots) 2026

Managing multiple links across platforms becomes difficult once volume increases. When links are shared through social media, email campaigns, and blog content, it’s easy to lose visibility into which links perform well and where traffic actually comes from.

Most link tracking tools offer limited insight on free plans and require early upgrades before providing meaningful data. This makes it hard to evaluate link structure, traffic sources, or performance patterns without committing to a paid platform.

The lack of basic visibility ,such as which links receive clicks and which channels drive traffic , creates a gap between distribution and decision-making. 

This gap is what led me to design and build a simple link tracking app focused on clarity rather than complexity.

What This App Is Designed to Do

Essential Features of a Link Tracking Application

So I built Shotzo.

It does one thing clearly: shortens your links and tracks every single click.

Here’s the flow:

• Paste your original affiliate link
• Add a custom slug if you want (optional)
• Generate the shortened link
• Copy it and share it anywhere
• Every click gets tracked automatically

When you log into the dashboard, you see what matters immediately:

• Total links you’ve created
• Total clicks across all links
• Your current plan

Click into any link and you get the details: click count, traffic sources, performance over time. Everything in one place.

I kept the interface minimal on purpose. Clean fonts, simple colors, no clutter. This wasn’t about cramming in features ,it was about making the core function work really well.

The app has Google sign-in (because nobody wants to create another password), and a pricing page that explains the plans clearly. 

There is a free plan, but with reasonable limits. The idea was to make it usable immediately, then let people upgrade if they need more.

It’s built for individual marketers and small agencies. Not enterprise teams with complex needs , just people who want to know if their links are working.

How I Planned the App Build

How to Plan a Web App as a Non-Developer

I didn’t start by opening Emergent and typing “build me a link tracker.”

Use coupon code ” ELEVORAS ” and get 5 % off

That’s where most people mess up.

Instead, I started with ChatGPT. But not for building , for research.

I created a research prompt and let ChatGPT dig into what people were actually searching for, what existing tools were missing, and where the gaps were.

The research prompt 

You are now my *Expert Micro SaaS Researcher, Market Analyst, Trend Forecaster, and Product Strategist*.

Your ONLY role is:

> *Research the entire web right now and produce the most complete and deeply analyzed list of micro SaaS project ideas across many niches, ensuring every idea is feasible to build using the Vibe platform — without ever asking me any questions.*

---

## *RULES YOU MUST FOLLOW*

### ✔️ DO NOT ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS

* Never ask for clarification.
* Never request extra details.
* Never wait for confirmation.
* If you are unsure, *make your best expert assumption* and proceed.

### ✔️ ALWAYS USE YOUR OWN ASSUMPTIONS

Assume default values for everything:

* Assume I am a solo builder.
* Assume I am using the Vibe platform.
* Assume MVP should be simple and fast.
* Assume small starting budget.
* Assume 1–3 month build timeline.
* Assume I want profitable niches.

### ✔️ ALWAYS USE WEB RESEARCH

You must:

* Research the entire web.
* Use freshest data.
* Validate trends.
* Identify competitors.
* Estimate volumes & pricing.
* Cross-check information across multiple online sources.

---

## *WHAT YOU MUST DELIVER*

Your output must include:

---

# *1️⃣ HIGH-LEVEL SUMMARY*

* How many niches you analyzed
* How many total ideas
* A quick summary of the MOST promising ideas
* Based on:

  * Trend
  * Demand
  * Competition
  * Revenue potential
  * Vibe platform feasibility

---

# *2️⃣ TOP PICKS FOR FAST BUILDING ON VIBE*

List 5–10 ideas that:

* Can be built fast
* Require minimal backend customization
* Work smoothly with Vibe capabilities
* Have clear target audiences
* Have monetization paths
* Are validated by web trends

Each idea must include a 3–5 sentence explanation for *why it is a top pick*.

---

# *3️⃣ FULL DETAILED IDEA LIBRARY*

Organize ideas *by niche*.

For EACH niche, include:

* One niche summary (why it is promising)
* 3–10 micro SaaS ideas
* Each idea must include ALL of the following:

---

## *17-POINT EVALUATION FOR EVERY IDEA*

### *1. Idea Name*

Short and brandable.

### *2. One-Line Description*

Clear and non-vague.

### *3. Target User / Niche*

Exact audience persona.

### *4. Problem Statement (Real Words)*

Explain the pain in practical language.

### *5. Proposed Solution (MVP Feature List)*

3–7 bullet points.
Must be implementable on Vibe.

### *6. Vibe Fit Summary (IMPORTANT)*

Explain how it can be built using:

* APIs
* Integrations
* Webhooks
* UI blocks
* Database tables
* Automation workflows

### *7. Market Demand Analysis*

Is the niche:

* Growing?
* Stable?
* Declining?
  Include trend direction based on web data.

### *8. Search Volume Estimates*

List 3–5 related keywords with approximate monthly global search volume.

### *9. Competition Overview*

List 3–7 competitor tools + short notes for each.

### *10. Gap & Differentiation Strategy*

Explain how a new micro SaaS can stand out.

### *11. Business Model & Pricing*

Propose pricing tiers.

### *12. Difficulty Level (1–10)*

Based on:

* API complexity
* Workflow logic
* UI requirements

Explain why.

### *13. Technical Complexity Notes*

Non-technical explanation of the trickiest parts.

### *14. Monetization Potential*

Low / Medium / High — explain why.

### *15. Risk & Red Flags*

Be brutally honest.

### *16. Go-To-Market Strategy*

3–5 specific launch methods.

### *17. Personal Recommendation Score (0–100)*

Your expert rating based on all factors.

---

# *4️⃣ SUMMARY COMPARISON TABLE*

At the end, produce a clean table with:

| Idea | Niche | Difficulty | Trend | Demand | Competition | Monetization | Vibe Fit | Priority |
| ---- | ----- | ---------- | ----- | ------ | ----------- | ------------ | -------- | -------- |

---

# *5️⃣ FINAL PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION*

Choose *3–5* ideas you personally believe I (the user) should start building FIRST based on:

* Fast execution on Vibe
* High profitability
* Low competition
* Clear target audience
* Fast time-to-first-customer

Explain each in 3–6 sentences.

---

# *IMPORTANT EXECUTION RULES*

### ✔️ Do NOT ask me ANY questions.

Proceed with your best assumptions.

### ✔️ Do NOT wait for clarification.

Decide automatically.

### ✔️ Do NOT say “it depends.”

Always choose one and explain it.

### ✔️ Provide everything in one single, complete, large answer.

Do not break into multiple parts.

---

# *BEGIN NOW*

Start by researching the entire web and produce the complete analysis following the above structure.

This saved me hours. Instead of manually checking Google Trends, reading competitor reviews, and piecing together market data, the AI handled it. By the time it finished, I had clarity on what needed to exist and who needed it.

I have also built Room to Move App check it out – Build an AI App in Minutes with Emergent — The “Room to Move” Walkthrough 2026

Then came planning. ChatGPT walked me through 16 questions. Not random , each one built on the last.

Prompt 

You are a senior product manager, full-stack architect, backend engineer, QA tester, and security-focused reviewer. 

Your task is NOT to write code yet. Your task is to: 
1) Fully understand my app idea 
2) Design the complete frontend + backend architecture
3) Validate flows, pages, buttons, and logic
4) Define security requirements 
5) Generate a PROFESSIONAL, READY-TO-PASTE PROMPT for a vibe-coding tool 

You MUST follow the phases below in order. 

════════════════════════════ 

PHASE 1: IDEA, DESIGN & BRAND CLARITY
 ════════════════════════════
 Ask me the following questions ONE BY ONE and wait for my answers: 
1. App name (working name is fine) 
2. Short description of the app idea 
3. Primary problem the app solves 
4. Target users (students, creators, businesses, developers, etc.) 
5. Platform (Web / Mobile / Both) 
6. Core use cases (what users will mainly do) 
7. Required core features (minimum 3) 
8. Optional / future features 
9. Similar or inspiration apps (if any) 
10. Monetization plan (free, freemium, subscription, ads, one-time) 
11. Design preferences: - Color palette (dark / light / custom) - UI style (minimal / modern / professional / playful / futuristic) - Heavy animations or micro-interactions? (Yes / No) 
12. Branding preferences (font style, tone, personality) 
13. Skill level (beginner / intermediate / advanced) 
14. Timeline (learning project / MVP / production) 
15. Constraints (budget, tools to avoid, no-code preference) 
16. Any personal expectations or non-negotiables ════════════════════════════ PHASE 2: FULL APP STRUCTURE (NO CODE) ════════════════════════════ 

After collecting all answers, do the following in detail: 
A) App Overview - Clear app summary - Core value proposition - User roles (if any) 
B) Page & Dashboard Structure For EACH page/dashboard, clearly explain: - Page name - Purpose - Components on the page - Buttons, forms, and actions - What happens when each button is clicked - Loading, empty, and error states Include: - Public pages - Auth pages (login, signup, forgot password) - User dashboard - Admin dashboard (if applicable) - Settings & profile pages 
C) User Flow Validation - Step-by-step user journey - Edge cases (invalid input, no data, errors) - What happens if user is not logged in - Success and failure flows ════════════════════════════ 

PHASE 3: BACKEND & DATA ARCHITECTURE
 ════════════════════════════ 
Design the backend clearly (NO CODE): - Backend responsibilities - API endpoints (high-level) - Database models/tables/collections - Relationships between data - Authentication & authorization logic - Role-based access (if needed) - Background jobs, automations, or schedulers - Third-party API integrations (AI, payments, etc.) 
Explain how frontend and backend communicate. ════════════════════════════ 

PHASE 4: SECURITY, RELIABILITY & QA CHECKS
 ════════════════════════════ 
Explain and REQUIRE the following: - Environment variables usage - No hard-coded secrets - Authentication protection for routes - Authorization checks for sensitive actions - Input validation & sanitization - Rate limiting & abuse prevention - Error handling & logging - Secure API practices - Basic performance considerations Perform a logical double-check: - All pages reachable - All buttons mapped to actions - No broken flows - No missing backend logic ════════════════════════════ 

PHASE 5: GENERATE VIBE-CODING TOOL PROMPT
 ════════════════════════════ 
Now generate a SINGLE, CLEAN, PROFESSIONAL PROMPT that I can paste into a VIBE CODING TOOL. The generated prompt MUST include: - App name & purpose - Target users - Complete page & dashboard list - Detailed feature list - Frontend + backend responsibilities - Data models overview - User flows - Design & animation preferences - Security requirements - Instruction to ASK before coding: - Frontend framework - Backend framework - Database - Auth method - Deployment platform - Environment variables - Instruction to verify all pages, buttons, and flows - Instruction to follow best practices - Instruction to avoid assumptions IMPORTANT OUTPUT RULES: - Output ONLY the final vibe-coder prompt - Wrap it in a code block - Do NOT include explanations outside the prompt - Do NOT generate application code

The final question tied everything together: What do you expect from this app?

I answered honestly. I explained how reliable it needed to be, how I wanted it to scale, and why this actually mattered beyond just “another tool.”

That’s when ChatGPT gave me something valuable: a complete, structured prompt. Not code , a specification. It outlined pages, dashboard components, backend logic and how data should flow. Everything.

This became my input for Emergent.

The lesson here: clarity at the planning stage determines everything. A vague prompt produces a vague app. A detailed, thoughtful prompt produces something real.

Why Emergent Was the Right Fit

When AI Development Tools Work Best

I tested other platforms first , Lovable, Replit, Bolt. They all work. You describe something, they generate an app.

But here’s what I noticed: most tools just build exactly what you say.

That sounds perfect, right? Except when you’re not a developer, you don’t always know what you should be asking for. You describe the visible features fine, but you miss the backend logic, the edge cases, the structural decisions that only become obvious later.

The app gets built. Then you try to add something, and it breaks. Because the foundation wasn’t quite right.

Emergent was different.

Know more about emergent pricing check it out – Emergent AI Pricing 2026 : What You Actually Pay + 5% Off

When it started building, it didn’t just execute silently. It paused. It asked questions. Not random questions , questions that exposed decisions I hadn’t thought about.

For a link tracker, this mattered. The visible part is simple: shorten links, show clicks. But what about the redirect logic? What data should each click capture? How should analytics scale when you have hundreds of links?

I didn’t know to specify those things upfront. Emergent asked.

Other tools assume you already think like a product builder. Emergent assumes you’re learning as you go. That’s the fundamental difference.

It also gave me full access to the code through VS Code. I got a preview link and password, so I could see exactly what was being generated in real-time.

The result? A complete full-stack app. Clean interface, working Google authentication, functional link shortening and tracking. Not a demo , a deployable product.

That’s why Emergent fit this build. It filled the knowledge gaps I had without requiring me to become a developer first.

How the App Was Built

Link Tracking App Architecture Explained

I took the gold-standard prompt from ChatGPT and pasted it into Emergent’s chatbox.(which i also gave above , feel free to use it !)

Emergent analyzed it, asked a few clarifying questions (which I’d already prepared answers for), and started building.

Within minutes,the interface looked clean. I clicked “Sign in with Google” 

it worked. The dashboard is loaded with total links, total clicks, and plan status displayed clearly.

I tested the core function: pasted an affiliate link, added a custom slug, generated the shortened version. Copied it.

 I opened it in another browser tab.

It was redirected perfectly. Back in the dashboard, the click was logged.

Everything worked. Frontend, authentication, link generation, redirect logic, click tracking , all connected.

The dashboard showed exactly what I’d planned: metrics that mattered, organized clearly, no unnecessary complexity.

This wasn’t surface-level functionality. The backend was handling redirects correctly, capturing click data, storing it properly. When I tested multiple clicks from different devices, the analytics reflected accurate data.

The key realization: a structured prompt plus the right tool can produce a deployable app without traditional coding. The bottleneck isn’t technical skill , it’s having a clear vision and planning it properly.

Key Lessons From the Build

What First-Time App Builders Should Know

The build reinforced an important lesson: tools don’t compensate for unclear ideas. AI platforms can generate functional apps quickly, but without a focused problem and defined constraints, even well-built products fail to find relevance. Technically replicating large platforms is possible, but competing without differentiation rarely makes sense.

Before starting the build, I spent time clarifying the problem and scope through structured research. This involved working through a series of questions that forced me to define the audience, the data required and the decisions the app needed to support. By the time development began, the purpose of the app was clear.

The process highlighted a key distinction: implementation can be automated, but direction cannot. AI handled execution, while the responsibility for strategy like what to build, what to exclude  and why it remained human. Tools that support this kind of thinking, rather than only producing output, made iteration more manageable as the project evolved

This is the App Landing Page

Final Verdict

Shotzo is a working link tracker people would actually pay for. It handles shortening, tracking, and analytics with authentication and clean pricing tiers. The build took hours, not months with no coding bootcamp and  no hiring developers.

But the speed came from thorough planning. Research first, structured prompts, clear vision. AI tools remove technical barriers, but they don’t remove the need for clear thinking. 

That part is still on you. And honestly? That’s where the real work is.

If you have any doubts feel free to ask in the commends . we will help you as soon as possible !