The exciting thing about AI is that it can help you do things you ordinarily might not have tried. Coding is a great example of that: it’s not typically something you’d pick up if you have zero experience with it. And that’s good to keep in mind if you do, as it should dictate how you go about “vibe coding.”
What is vibe coding?
Software development assisted by artificial intelligence.
There are varying levels of vibe coding and ways of implementing your creations. The less coding experience or knowledge you have, the more I suggest using a third-party app that exists to do just that. This part of the Intro to Vibe Coding series may help explain why.
Now, I am not a developer. I’m in the “enough to be dangerous” crowd. My background is not in technology, but my dad is an early tech adopter and wrote code for IBM in the ’80s/’90s. I can read and understand the major code languages, but I couldn’t build you a site from scratch.
This series is mostly for the “enough to be dangerous” folks, but it might be helpful for other ends of the spectrum. Part I (this one) tackles what to consider and why, and what to do before you even start vibe coding.
Considerations
Start with the idea, not the technology
Vibe coding isn’t going to give you the idea. That’s on you. It can help you refine, but at the end of the day, whatever you build isn’t going to exist without human brainpower. I mean, it can, but what’s the point of mediocrity or plagiarism? (Seriously, AI has no inherent originality.)
Consider your tech-savviness
It’s imperative you consider your tech skills and be realistic about them. There’s a lot that can go wrong, from breaking your site to inviting security risks, so consider how you’d handle any issues or breaks when you’re coding. This is important to keep in mind for:
- Folks who have zero coding experience: it’s important to pick the right tech tool to assist you and be that layer of security.
- Folks who are tech savvy but not code-savvy: you may be bold enough to try, but make sure you’ve got the right structures in place.
Select the right tech partners
If you’re a coding novice, don’t go right into your site technology. Start smaller, either with a new project or a third-party piece of technology like Lovable that can help you implement your idea. It’s helpful to have technology that:
- Allows you to roll back changes without coding knowledge
- Has a security layer (doesn’t let you add just any old code, in other words)
I’m not here to police anyone’s usage of AI, but I highly recommend using your first iterations as a way to learn your own process. You don’t know what you don’t know, of course, but it’s helpful to experiment with the tech before releasing something into the wilds. Trust me, you’re not going to want to launch something you can’t fix or manage.
For those more comfortable with technology and into DIYing websites and/or apps, make sure you’ve got a good host. They’ll be the ones to help you if something breaks, as it ultimately will. Make sure they have good customer service.
Before You Do Anything
If you’re working on an existing site or instance…
BACK IT UP. Back it up, and then confirm you backed it up. (In other words, make sure you know where it’s saved.)
Take inventory of what exists. Yes, AI can be handy for this, but direct exports are going to be more accurate. Pages, posts, plugins, any custom functionality. Download everything and create a list. And speaking of lists…
Create a repository. You’ll want one place to house your documents and one to put your files and notes. This can be the same place – highly recommend a desktop folder at minimum – but I’m going to convince you to use a writeable system in tandem…which I’ll tackle in Part II!