ChatGPT Confession #004 –
Fixing a Website Mobile Menu Issue at 3am

This is part of my ChatGPT Confessions series, where I test what ChatGPT can actually do in real-life situations.
View all ChatGPT Confessions

It was 3 am, and I was lying awake thinking about a mobile layout issue on a client website.

Not a major problem. Nothing broken. But the header on mobile just didn’t look right. The logo, the burger menu, and the search icon were all crammed into one small space, and it felt cluttered. I had looked at it earlier in the day and thought I’d come back to it later. Clearly, my brain had other plans.

I didn’t know exactly how to fix it. I’m not a developer, and I don’t sit there writing JavaScript. I build websites, I problem-solve, and I make things work, but sometimes the “how” isn’t immediately obvious.

After going in circles in my head for far too long, I picked up my phone and opened ChatGPT.

The Problem I Was Trying to Solve

On mobile, the header felt crowded. The search icon was sitting too close to the logo and the burger menu, and visually it just didn’t feel clean. It wasn’t a technical failure. It was a usability and layout issue.

I didn’t want to redesign the entire header. I just wanted to remove or hide the search function on mobile so the layout would breathe again.

Simple in theory. Less obvious in execution.

What I Asked ChatGPT

I explained the situation exactly as it was, including the fact that I wasn’t looking to change the desktop version, only mobile.

“How can I hide the search icon on mobile only in WordPress without affecting desktop?”

No fancy prompt. Just a real question based on a real problem.

What ChatGPT Did Well

It didn’t overcomplicate things. It gave me a clear direction and suggested using CSS to hide the element on smaller screens. It even showed an example using a media query, which made it easier to understand what needed to be targeted.

More importantly, it gave me confidence that I was approaching it the right way. I wasn’t randomly clicking around or guessing. I had a clear path to test.

This reminded me of what I experienced in Confession #002. The value isn’t always in the answer itself. It’s in how quickly things become clearer.

What I Realised

I didn’t need to know everything. I just needed to know what to try next.

That’s a big shift when you run your own business. You’re constantly dealing with things outside your exact expertise, and it’s easy to get stuck trying to figure everything out perfectly before taking action.

Having something guide your next step makes a huge difference.

Why I Asked ChatGPT

At 3 am, there’s no one to message. No developer to ask. No one to sanity check your thinking.

It was faster to ask the question and get a structured response than to keep replaying the problem in my head.

What This Means for Small Business Owners

If you’re running your own business, you’re constantly dealing with small problems that interrupt your flow. They’re not big enough to outsource immediately, but they’re not always straightforward either.

Things like layout issues, functionality tweaks, or small technical annoyances can sit in the background and drain your attention.

Using ChatGPT for website problems like this doesn’t replace proper development work. But it helps you move forward faster instead of staying stuck.

If your website is the centre of your business, these details matter. They affect how your business looks, how users experience it, and how confident you feel sharing it.

If your website feels cluttered, confusing, or not quite right, you can explore how I help here.

AI Takeaway

ChatGPT is incredibly useful when you don’t know the exact solution but need a clear next step.

It won’t replace expertise, but it can bridge the gap between “I have no idea” and “I know what to try.”

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck on small problems like this, there are far more ways AI can help than most people realise. I’ve put together a practical guide showing how small business owners are using AI to save time and think more clearly. You can explore it here.