Vibe Coding: Building on Feel

Vibe coding is the term for the growing trend of building software and digital products quickly, often without the heavy structure of traditional development. Instead of detailed planning, documentation, and multi-stage approval, it is about diving in, experimenting, and producing something functional in a short space of time. It is development led by intuition, momentum, and natural language and designed to get ideas out of your head and into the real world.

At its most basic, vibe coding is building software or digital prototypes quickly. With the rise of AI and low-code tools, you can now describe what you want and have much of it generated for you in minutes. The aim is not to create a flawless, production-ready system but to produce something tangible you can test, share, and refine.

Lowering the barriers

For decades, software development has been a specialist activity. You needed to know programming languages, frameworks, and complex development tools before you could contribute. That expertise is still vital, but it has created barriers for people with ideas but no coding background. Vibe coding lowers those barriers. With accessible platforms and AI-powered tools, people can now assemble working systems and interfaces without years of training. This opens the door to more voices, more experimentation, and ultimately more innovation

Challenging the culture of gatekeeping

Technology has often been guarded by a sense of exclusivity. Low-code tools are dismissed as novelties, and people without technical skills can sometimes be kept at the edge of conversations. Vibe coding challenges that mindset. It recognises that prototypes and experiments are valuable, even if they are not built with production-grade code. The approach does not erase the need for professional development, but it allows more people to take part in shaping the future of software.

Why I embrace it

On the surface, it may seem unusual for me to advocate vibe coding. I run a development company where we specialise in structured, robust systems. The reason is simple: vibe coding helps clarify ideas. Creating a quick prototype cuts through the fog. It gives teams something to look at, test, and refine before committing to the full process. If a client comes to me with a rough approximation of what they need, it only helps in refining the final product.

From ideas to prototypes

Imagine you want to test a new customer portal. Instead of endless discussions and diagrams, you spin up a working version in a weekend. It may not be scalable or secure enough for long-term use, but it gets people talking about the right things. Once the value is proven, you can invest in building it properly. The speed of prototyping saves time, money, and energy.

Framer is a great example. You can put together a professional-looking website quickly, often in a single day. It is not necessarily the right tool for a large, complex platform, but as a way to test an idea or share a concept, it is remarkably effective.

Airtable’s embrace of vibe coding

Airtable has taken this concept even further. Their recent introduction of AI-generated interface elements is a perfect example of vibe coding in practice. Instead of painstakingly building dashboards or visualisations, users can now describe what they want and see it created for them. Need a heatmap, a network diagram, or a tailored reporting view? Airtable’s new features make it possible in minutes.

This is vibe coding applied at an enterprise level. It is about serious organisations giving their teams the ability to explore and experiment rapidly. Airtable’s move shows that vibe coding is not a fringe idea but a recognised part of how modern software will be built.

Risks and drawbacks

Of course, vibe coding is not a complete solution. Prototypes created in a hurry can be fragile, and they often lack the rigour needed for real-world deployment. There is a danger in mistaking a quick build for a finished product. Without careful oversight, businesses risk running on unstable foundations. Security, scalability, and maintainability still matter, and vibe coding doesn't always address those challenges.

Where it is heading?

As AI continues to advance, vibe coding will become faster, more powerful, and more common. We are already seeing tools that can create apps, interfaces, and workflows from plain language descriptions. The boundary between idea and execution is narrowing.

For developers, this does not mean obsolescence. It means a shift in focus. Instead of spending time on basic scaffolding, they will focus on scale, reliability, and strategy. For everyone else, it means greater freedom to take part in the creative process.

Vibe coding isn't about cutting corners or pretending that professional development is unnecessary. It's about accelerating the path from idea to reality. It empowers more people to get involved, helps clarify concepts, and provides a bridge between inspiration and execution.

As someone who makes a living from building systems, I see vibe coding not as a threat but as a complement. If the hardest part of a project is often defining what you want, vibe coding is the tool that helps you figure that out.