What is vibe coding?
You have probably seen the phrase and wondered what it means. Vibe coding is a way of making websites and software by telling an AI tool what you want in ordinary words. The tool writes the code, which is the set of instructions a computer follows. It has changed how quickly a website can be built, including this one. It also has limits that are worth knowing about before you rely on it.
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The short answer
Vibe coding means building software by describing what you want in plain English and letting an AI tool write the code. You steer by testing the result and asking for changes, without typing the code yourself. Andrej Karpathy coined the term in February 2025. It is a fast, low-cost way to get a website, prototype or small in-house tool working. The code still needs checking by someone who can read it, and it needs solid hosting. WaTo Consulting in Adelaide builds, checks and hosts vibe coded sites.
What to know about it
You describe, the AI writes
You type what you want, such as a booking page with a calendar. The AI writes the code. You look at the result and ask for changes until it is right.
The tools people use
Common ones are Claude Code, Cursor, Lovable, Bolt, Replit and v0. Some are made for people who have never written code. Others are made for developers.
What it is good at
Getting a working website, a prototype (a first rough version) or a small in-house tool quickly and cheaply. Changes that used to take days can take hours.
Where it goes wrong
The AI can leave security gaps, skip backups or write passwords straight into the code. Something can work in a demo and fall over once real customers use it.
Someone has to read the code
The AI will not always tell you what it missed. A person who can read code needs to check it before customers use it, and it needs somewhere solid to be hosted.
What it means for your website
A normal business site can now be written in plain code quickly. The result has no plugins (add-on software) and no database to keep patching. Our guide compares an AI-coded website with WordPress.
Who this guide is for
- Business owners who have seen the phrase and want to know what it means.
- Anyone thinking about building their own website or a small tool with an AI product.
- Owners of a WordPress site who are tired of updates and wonder if there is another way.
- People who have already built something with AI and are not sure if it is safe to put online.
What to do next
- Decide what you want it for. A public website, a rough version to test an idea and a tool your staff use each need a different level of care. Write down who will use it and what it must do.
- Try a tool on something small. Pick one of the tools above and build a single page or a simple calculator. An hour of trying it will tell you more than any article.
- Keep real data out until it is checked. Do not put customer details, payments or passwords into something that nobody has reviewed. Use made-up details while you are testing.
- Have someone read the code. Before it goes in front of customers, ask a person who can read code to look for security gaps, missing backups and anything that will not cope with real use.
- Choose where it will live. A site needs proper hosting, a domain name and backups. Sort this out before launch day so you are not relying on a trial account.
How WaTo can help
- We vibe code it for you. We build AI-assisted websites in plain code, and we can rebuild a typical WordPress site as a code site in about a week.
- You vibe code it and we check it. Bring us what you have made and we will review it and build out what it needs for real customers.
- You vibe code it and we host it. Our vibe coding hosting keeps your site on Australian servers with backups.
- There is a middle road. With a VoxelSite website we build the site and you plug in your own AI to ask for changes.
- We use AI coding tools every day, with a person reviewing and testing before launch. This website, wato.au, is built that way. We have been Adelaide owned and operated since 2001.
Related questions
Who came up with the term vibe coding?
Andrej Karpathy, a computer scientist who helped start OpenAI, used it in a post on X in February 2025. He was describing a relaxed way of working where you accept what the AI writes and hardly look at the code. Since then people have used the phrase more loosely for most kinds of building with AI.
Do I need to know how to code?
Not to get started. Several of the tools are made for people who have never written code. You do need to be clear about what you want and patient enough to test it properly. Once it matters to your business, it helps to have someone who can read the code look it over.
What does the AI tend to miss?
AI tools write code that works on screen, but they can miss things a visitor never sees, such as who is allowed to open which page or where passwords are kept. A review by a person before launch finds most of these.
Does this mean developers are no longer needed?
No. The AI does much of the typing, and that saves a lot of time. Someone still has to decide what should be built, check that it is safe and fix it when the AI gets stuck. More of a developer's day now goes to reviewing and testing.
Can my existing WordPress site be rebuilt this way?
In most cases, yes. A typical business site with pages, photos and a contact form can be rewritten in plain code in about a week. Sites with online shops, member logins or bookings take longer, and some are better left on WordPress. We will tell you which applies to yours.
Is vibe coding only for websites?
No. People also use it for small tools inside a business, such as a quoting calculator or a form that fills in a spreadsheet. If you are looking at AI more widely, see our page on AI for business.
How WaTo can help with this
- One-week WordPress rebuild
- Vibe code to production
- Vibe coding & AI hosting
- AI website design
- VoxelSite websites
Want to talk it through?
If you are thinking about a vibe coded website, or you have already built something and want to know what it needs, get in touch or book a call on (08) 7123 0805. We can go through which of these paths suits your business.
Mon to Fri, 8:30am to 5pm
