A few weeks ago another webdesigner had to implement one of my vanilla html homepage designs into an existing Wordpress site. She then mailed me that she had trouble implementing my design in Wordpress because according to her "I was using a different kind of programming". Then it struck me: she had worked with Wordpress for 20 years, and in all that time was never confronted with anything outside of what Wordpress 'generates'. She didn't know about the fundamentals of the web, or know basic HTML and CSS.

You could argue that it is empowering: Wordpress abstracted away all of the intricacies of the web for her. Allowing her to publish without knowing about the underlying tech. And in many ways that's true. But it also made me realize: if 80% of the web is powered by a platform that abstacts away all of the technical parts, who's driving?

The exact same thing is happening on a bigger scale with vibe-coding: Reddit is full of people who received code from ChatGPT or Claude, and now don't know how to host it, send a form or add a database.

Don't get me wrong: I use AI-assisted coding all time, and it speeds up my development process by a lot. But that's because I also understand how the technology behind it all works.

This blog is meant for anyone who is curious about the tech behind webpages and apps, and also favors simplicity over over-engineering. I'm also open to help you out with small issues, or help you turn your vibe-coded design into an actually functioning and secure app.