What is Vibe Coding? How Creators Can Build Software Without Writing Code

If you've ever had a brilliant idea for an app but lacked the technical skills to build it, 2025 might be your year. There's a new approach to software development that's emerging – one that lets creators with minimal technical knowledge build functional apps, websites, and tools in hours instead of months. Enter: vibe coding!

The days of needing to learn complex programming languages just to create simple software are rapidly fading. With the right AI tools, you can now build a functional app by simply describing what you want – even if you don't know the difference between Python and JavaScript.

I've been experimenting with these tools for months now, and I'm genuinely excited about what they mean for creators like us. Let me walk you through what vibe coding is, how it works, and why it might be the perfect solution for creators looking to build tools for their audience.

What is Vibe Coding?

"Vibe coding" was coined by Andrej Karpathy, an AI engineer who previously worked at Tesla and OpenAI. In early 2025, he described it in a tweet that resonated with many developers:

"There's a new kind of coding I call 'vibe coding', where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists. It's possible because the LLMs (e.g. Cursor Composer w Sonnet) are getting too good. Also I just talk to Composer with SuperWhisper so I barely even touch the keyboard. I ask for the dumbest things like 'decrease the padding on the sidebar by half' because I'm too lazy to find it. I 'Accept All' always, I don't read the diffs anymore. When I get error messages I just copy paste them in with no comment, usually that fixes it. The code grows beyond my usual comprehension, I'd have to really read through it for a while. Sometimes the LLMs can't fix a bug so I just work around it or ask for random changes until it goes away. It's not too bad for throwaway weekend projects, but still quite amusing. I'm building a project or webapp, but it's not really coding - I just see stuff, say stuff, run stuff, and copy paste stuff, and it mostly works."

In plain English, vibe coding is using AI to build software by simply describing what you want. Rather than writing code yourself, you tell an AI what you're trying to build, and it generates the code for you. When problems arise, you describe the issue, and the AI fixes it.

It's not a formal development methodology – it's more of a cultural shift enabled by recent advances in AI. The term is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it describes a real phenomenon: non-programmers can now build functional software by working with AI rather than writing code directly.

How Vibe Coding Differs From Traditional Development

To understand why vibe coding matters, let's quickly compare it to traditional software development approaches:

Traditional Coding

• Skills Required: Programming languages, frameworks, debugging
• Development Process: Write code line by line, debug, test
• Time Investment: Weeks/months to learn, days/weeks to build
• Flexibility: Unlimited (can build anything)
• Relationship to Code: Direct manipulation of all code

Low-Code Platforms

• Skills Required: Basic understanding of programming concepts
• Development Process: Drag-and-drop components, configure settings
• Time Investment: Hours/days to learn, days to build
• Flexibility: Limited to platform capabilities
• Relationship to Code: Abstracted, rarely see the code

Vibe Coding

• Skills Required: Natural language communication skills
• Development Process: Describe what you want, iterate through conversation
• Time Investment: Minutes to learn, hours to build
• Flexibility: Extensive but with limitations on complexity
• Relationship to Code: The code exists but you may never read it

Vibe coding essentially represents the next step in the evolution of software development where we describe intent rather than write code.

Why Vibe Coding Matters for Creators

For creators, this is potentially game-changing. We're already stretched thin creating content, managing communities, and running our businesses. Learning to code has always been a massive undertaking that's difficult to justify – even though we often have great ideas for tools that could help our audiences.

Vibe coding reduces that barrier dramatically. You don't need to spend months learning a programming language or hire expensive developers to create a simple prototype. You can just describe what you want, iterate with the AI, and build something functional in a matter of days or even hours.

This means:

1. You can create custom tools for your audience – solving their specific problems in ways that generic software can't.
2. You can test ideas quickly – without investing months of time or thousands in development costs.
3. You can add new revenue streams – by selling access to tools you've created.
4. You can build internal tools – to make your own workflow more efficient.

How Vibe Coding Works in Practice

Let me walk through the basic process of building something with vibe coding:

1. Choose a tool – Select an AI coding platform (I'll cover the options later).
2. Describe your idea – Explain what you want to build in detail.
3. Review the result – Look at what the AI created and test it.
4. Refine through conversation – Tell the AI what to change or fix.
5. Deploy and share – Publish your creation for others to use.

The key difference between vibe coding and traditional development is the iterative conversational process. Rather than writing code directly, you're having a dialogue with the AI about what you want to create.

A Step-by-Step Example: Building a Podcast Script Timer

Let me show you exactly how this works by walking through a simple example. Let's say we want to build a tool that helps podcasters calculate how long their script will take to record.

Step 1: Initial Prompt

First, I'd open a tool like Replit Agent and describe what I want:

Create a simple web app that helps podcasters calculate how long their script will take to record. It should have a text area where users can paste their script, and it should count the words and estimate the recording time based on average speaking rates.

Step 2: Review the First Version

The AI generates code for a basic web app. Here's what it might look like:

The app works, but it's quite basic and only uses one speaking rate.

Step 3: Request Improvements

Now I can ask for specific improvements:

This is a good start! Can you make these changes:
1. Add options to account for ad reads with 1 minute increments
2. Make the design more appealing with a clean layout and some color
3. Add a character count as well as word count

And I'd get something like this:

Step 4: Review and Test Again

Great, we got the new features added! Although it didn't really take my request for a more appealing design to heart... what if I get MORE specific? Let's say:

That's better, but I want it to look nicer.

1. Use a serif font for the title
2. Make the stat counters really bright colours
3. Add a little more padding to the top and bottom of the title

Bingo! I mean, it's not to my taste but you get the idea. Ask and ye shall receive, so long as you can articulate yourself clearly and be specific.

Step 5: Final Refinements and Deployment

I might make one final request:

Great improvements! Let's add one more feature: the ability to save the results as a PDF. Also, can you add a simple header with the title "Podcast Script Timer" and a footer with a copyright notice?

After these changes, I can deploy the app with one click in Replit.

The entire process from idea to functional app took less than 10 minutes, and I didn't write a single line of code myself.

Check it out yourself! Try the Script Timer

This example demonstrates the essence of vibe coding: you describe what you want in increasingly specific terms, and the AI does the technical implementation. Each iteration happens quickly, allowing you to shape the tool exactly to your needs.

Real-World Examples

This isn't just theoretical – people are already building useful and sometimes impressive tools using this approach.

Marketing Tool Built by a Non-Developer

Martin, a marketer with zero coding skills, used Replit's AI Agent to create a marketing tool called "Content Genie" in just 30 minutes. The app helps brainstorm and generate content ideas – something he previously thought he'd need a developer for.

Content Genie is an app that takes a YouTube URL and converts it to a LinkedIn post draft. Paste a TED Talk link, and voilà, you’ve got a ready-to-edit LinkedIn post.

In his blog, Martin described being skeptical at first but amazed by how the AI handled everything: "I ran an experiment: building and deploying an app without typing a single line of code. I felt like a software engineer, minus the all-nighters."

The result wasn't perfect, but it was a fully functional web app that he could share immediately. Martin's advice: "If you've got an idea collecting dust because you're not 'technical,' stop waiting. Try it out. You'll be surprised at what you can build."

Try it out for yourself!

Product Hunt Hit with Zero Coding Skills

After being laid off, Rasit (who had no coding knowledge) decided to build a collection of 100 simple web tools on one website using Cursor AI. He simply described each mini-app to the AI, which generated all the code for him.

Whenever he got stuck, he'd prompt the AI for fixes or improvements. The result was JustBuildThings.com – a one-stop site for useful web utilities. Without any marketing budget, his project hit #3 Product of the Day on Product Hunt.

"I was laid off from my job. I don't know how to code. I decided to just build things with Cursor," Rasit shared on Reddit. His success shows how a single non-technical creator can build and launch a complex project that would normally require a whole team.

There's LOADS of cool little tools on his site. None of them complex, but the sort of thing that you and your audience might want to work in a particular way. And something you could make yourself, quite easily, just like Rasit!

Check it out for yourself!

Pieter Levels' Flight Simulator

Pieter Levels (known for PhotoAI NomadList and other products) recently built a multiplayer flight simulator game in just one day using AI. He simply described what he wanted, iterated a few times, and published it. Within 24 hours, thousands of people were playing it simultaneously.

Here's where he started:

The game isn't going to win any awards – it's glitchy, with limited features – but the fact that someone could build a functional multiplayer game in a day writing very little code themselves is remarkable. Check it out for yourself!

Our Journey with Alitu (definitely not vibe-coded)

At The Podcast Host, we saw firsthand how powerful building tools for your audience can be. Years ago, we identified a common problem our readers had: editing podcasts was too technical and time-consuming. We ended up building Alitu, a podcast maker tool that automates editing and publishing.

Back then, we had to hire developers and invest significant time and money to build our first version. Today, we could likely create the messy 90s terminal looking initial prototype in a fraction of the time using vibe coding tools.

Alitu eventually became our main business, generating more revenue than our content ever did. This transformation from content creator to software company is now accessible to almost any creator with a good understanding of their audience's needs. THAT is what excites me most about vibe coding.

Top Tools for Vibe Coding

There are several platforms that enable vibe coding, each with different strengths. Here's a comparison of the tools I've found most useful:

Replit Agent

Best for: Creators who want the most flexibility and don't mind a slight learning curve.

Key Strength: Complete project control with full-stack capability (frontend, backend, database)

What to Love: Replit handles deployment automatically – when your app is ready, you can share it instantly with a URL. This makes testing and sharing your creation painless.

Pricing: $20/month for the Replit Core plan

Replit Agent acts like an AI software engineer that can generate front-end and back-end code, set up databases, and even fix bugs autonomously. It's incredibly versatile, supporting many programming languages and frameworks.

The interface is essentially an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) with an AI sidebar, which some beginners might find intimidating. However, it's powerful because it gives you complete access to the code if you ever want to dive deeper.

One major advantage is that Replit handles deployment automatically – when your app is ready, you can share it instantly with a URL. This makes testing and sharing your creation painless.

Features:

• Full-stack capability (frontend, backend, database)
• Support for numerous programming languages
• Integrated debugging and deployment
• Complete code access for customization

Lovable

Best for: True beginners who want the simplest possible experience.

Key Strength: Real-time preview and intuitive interface

What to Love: The platform is designed to be completely no-code – you simply describe what you want, and Lovable builds it while you watch. There's no need to understand the code being generated.

Pricing: Free tier available; paid plans start at $20/month

Lovable features a two-pane interface with an AI prompt chat on the left and a live preview on the right. Its motto is "Idea to app in seconds," and it genuinely delivers on that promise.

The platform is designed to be completely no-code – you simply describe what you want, and Lovable builds it while you watch. There's no need to understand the code being generated; you can just focus on describing your vision.

Features:

• Real-time preview of changes
• Natural language prompting
• Clean, intuitive interface
• Code export if needed for advanced customization

Bolt.new

Best for: Quick prototyping with minimal setup.

Key Strength: Zero setup time and browser-based development

What to Love: Just go to the website and start building. The environment is a live coding workspace in your browser, which generates an app from your prompt and lets you see it working immediately.

Pricing: Free with daily AI usage limits

Bolt.new makes starting a project as simple as describing it in a sentence. It's very accessible with no setup required – you just go to the website and start building.

The environment is a live coding workspace in your browser, which generates an app from your prompt and lets you see it working immediately. Like Replit, it handles deployment with a single click.

Features:

• Instant start (no account setup required)
• Browser-based development environment
• Netlify integration for deployment
• Clean, minimal interface

Rosebud AI

Best for: Creative projects that go beyond typical web apps.

Key Strength: Games and interactive experience creation with built-in AI image generation

What to Love: It fosters a "remix culture" where you can start with someone else's project and modify it – essentially treating an existing app as a template.

Pricing: Free tier with weekly limits; paid plans from $10/month

Rosebud AI enables not just web apps, but also games and interactive experiences without code. It includes AI-generated images and 3D models at no extra cost, which is a huge plus if your project needs graphics.

The platform fosters a "remix culture" where you can start with someone else's project and modify it – essentially treating an existing app as a template.

Features:

• Game and interactive experience creation
• Built-in AI image and asset generation
• Community project remixing
• Support for 2D and 3D content

Databutton

Best for: More structured, business-focused app development.

Key Strength: Project planning and task breakdown approach

What to Love: You provide an app brief, and the AI agent breaks development into tasks and executes them. This guided approach is helpful for business owners.

Pricing: Plans start around $20/month with usage-based components

Now let's look at each tool in more detail:

Databutton brands itself as "the AI developer for non-techies" and takes a more project management approach. You provide an app brief, and the AI agent breaks development into tasks and executes them.

This guided approach is helpful for business owners because the AI handles technical decisions while you focus on the product vision.

Features:

• Project planning and task breakdown
• Integrated database capabilities
• Business-focused templates
• Custom domain support on higher plans

Pricing: Plans start at around $20/month with usage-based components.

How to Get Started with Vibe Coding

If you're intrigued and want to try building something, here's my advice for getting started:

1. Choose a Simple First Project

Don't try to build the next Spotify or Airbnb as your first project. Start with something small that solves a specific problem for your audience.

Good first projects might include:

• A calculator or conversion tool relevant to your niche
• A simple quiz or assessment
• A customizable template generator
• A basic database or tracking tool

2. Craft Effective Prompts

The quality of what you get depends heavily on how well you describe what you want. Here's how to write prompts that get results:

Basic Prompt Structure:

I want to create a [type of app] that [main purpose].

Key features:
1. [Feature 1] that does [specific functionality]
2. [Feature 2] that allows users to [specific action]
3. [Feature 3] with [specific characteristics]

Design-wise, it should [design description] with [color scheme/style notes].

The target users are [brief audience description].

Example of a Bad Prompt:

"Build me a podcast website."

Example of a Good Prompt:

"Build me a website for a podcast about gardening. It should have pages for episodes, about the host, contact information, and a subscription form. The color scheme should use greens and browns, and the design should feel organic and natural. The target audience is urban gardeners between 30-45 years old who are looking for practical gardening advice."

Advanced Prompting Techniques:

• Reference existing products: "Similar to Calendly, but focused on podcast interview scheduling"
• Specify technologies: "Use React for the frontend and Firebase for data storage"
• Include user scenarios: "A visitor should be able to browse episodes, then click one to listen and see show notes"
• Mention design inspiration: "Design should feel modern and minimal, similar to Apple's website"

3. Iterate in Small Steps

Rather than trying to get everything perfect in one go, build your project in small increments. Start with the core functionality, test it, then add features one by one.

For example:

1. Build the basic structure
2. Add styling and improve the user interface
3. Add user accounts or data persistence
4. Integrate with other tools or services

4. Master the Art of Refinement

When you review what the AI has created, you'll almost always want changes. Here's how to effectively refine the result:

• Be specific about what to change: "The button color should be #3366FF instead of red"
• Explain why something isn't working: "The form doesn't submit when I click the button"
• Request explanations: "Can you explain how the data storage works?"
• Use visual language: "Make the header more prominent and the sidebar narrower"
• Maintain context: "Keep the existing color scheme but adjust the layout to be responsive"

5. Test Thoroughly

As you iterate, make sure to test your creation thoroughly:

• Try all buttons and links
• Test with different inputs (including edge cases)
• Check how it looks on mobile and desktop
• Ask others to try it and give feedback

6. Don't Be Afraid to Start Over

Sometimes it's faster to start fresh than to fix a problematic implementation. If your project starts going in circles, consider describing your idea again from scratch.

7. Learn From the Process

Even though you're not writing code yourself, pay attention to what works and what doesn't. Each project will make you better at:

• Describing your needs clearly
• Understanding what AI tools can and can't do
• Planning more ambitious projects
• Identifying when to bring in human developers

Limitations of Vibe Coding and How to Overcome Them

(or: how I learned to stop worrying and love the madness)

While vibe coding is powerful, it's not quite magic. Here are the limitations you need to know about, and some practical strategies to address overcome them:

Technical Complexity

Limitation: The more complex your requirements, the more likely you'll hit limitations. AI coding tools excel at standard patterns and common features, but highly specialized or novel functionality might be challenging.

How to overcome it:

• Break complex projects into smaller, manageable components
• Use the AI to build the foundation, then hire a developer for specialized features
• Try different prompting approaches - sometimes describing the same feature in different ways can yield better results
• Use reference examples: "Make it work like [known product]" can help the AI understand complex functionality

Code Quality and Performance

Limitation: AI-generated code works, but it's not always optimized for performance. For applications with many users or complex operations, the default implementation might be inefficient.

How to overcome it:

• Request optimizations specifically: "Now optimize this for better performance"
• Test with realistic data volumes before launching publicly
• Use the AI to explain its code choices and suggest improvements
• For critical applications, have a developer review the generated code

Debugging Challenges

Limitation: When something doesn't work, it can be harder to fix if you don't understand the code the AI has generated.

How to overcome it:

• Copy error messages directly back to the AI - it can often fix its own issues
• Ask the AI to explain the problem and potential solutions
• Make small, targeted change requests rather than wholesale revisions
• Keep track of changes - if something breaks, you can identify what caused it

Maintenance and Updates

Limitation: As your tool evolves, maintaining AI-generated code can become challenging without understanding how it works.

How to overcome it:

• Document every iteration - keep a log of what you asked for and what changes were made
• Ask the AI to generate documentation explaining how the code works
• Consider the long-term strategy: for successful projects, you might eventually need to bring in a developer
• Use the AI to help understand its own code: "Explain how this feature works"

Security Considerations

Limitation: AI tools might not always implement security best practices perfectly. For applications handling sensitive data, there's risk involved.

How to overcome it:

• Explicitly request security features: "Implement secure authentication" or "Make sure user data is encrypted"
• Use established third-party services for critical components like payments and authentication
• Ask the AI to conduct a security review of its own code
• For apps with sensitive data, invest in a professional security audit

From Creator to Software Entrepreneur, Colin's Alitu Story

The most exciting aspect of vibe coding for creators is the potential to transform your business model. Rather than just selling content or courses, you can build and sell tools that solve problems for your audience.

How We Made the Transition

At The Podcast Host, we experienced this transformation firsthand with Alitu. Years ago, Colin (our founder) identified a common problem our audience faced: editing podcasts was too technical and time-consuming.

Back then, we didn't have vibe coding tools – we had to hire developers and invest significant time and money to build our first version. Today, we could likely create the initial prototype in a fraction of the time using vibe coding tools.

What started as a simple idea to help our audience quickly became our main business, generating more revenue than our content ever did. What's remarkable is how the software approach completely transformed our relationship with our audience:

1. Instead of just explaining how to edit a podcast, we solved the problem directly
2. Moving from affiliate deals and selling courses to a subscription model stabilized our income
3. We could help thousands of podcasters simultaneously
4. Our entire business identity evolved

Why Software Products Are Valuable for Creators

Software products often:

• Have higher perceived value than content: People will pay more for tools that save time or solve problems directly
• Generate recurring revenue through subscriptions: Creating predictable monthly income
• Scale more easily than service-based businesses: You can serve thousands of customers without proportionally increasing costs
• Create deeper relationships with your audience: Users interact with your product regularly, building loyalty
• Solve problems more directly than educational content: Instead of teaching someone how to do something, you just do it for them

How Vibe Coding Changes Things

In the before times, the barrier to creating software was enormous – technical skills, development costs, and time investment made it impractical for most creators.

With vibe coding, you can:

1. Test software ideas quickly: Build a prototype in days instead of months
2. Iterate based on feedback: Make changes easily as you learn what your audience wants
3. Minimize investment risk: Start with a minimal viable product before committing serious resources
4. Focus on the problem, not the technology: Use your expertise in your niche rather than worrying about code

If an idea resonates with your audience, you can refine it using vibe coding tools and potentially create a significant new revenue stream for your business – or even transform your entire business model, just as we did with Alitu.

Getting Your First Users

This is a whole topic in of itself. Once you've built something, how do you get people to use it? Here are some strategies:

1. Start with your existing audience, duh!– They already trust you and will provide valuable feedback.
2. Offer a free tier or trial – Reduce the risk for early users.
3. Focus on a specific problem – The more targeted your solution, the easier it is to find users who need it.
4. Collect testimonials quickly – Social proof helps overcome skepticism about AI-built tools.
5. Be transparent about limitations – Set appropriate expectations about what your tool can and can't do.

So, what are you going to vibe into existence?

Vibe coding represents a significant shift in who can build software. You no longer need a computer science degree or years of programming experience to create useful tools for your audience.

This democratization of software development opens up new possibilities for creators everywhere. Whether you want to solve problems for your audience, diversify your revenue streams, or just experiment with new types of creative expression, these tools make it possible.

Our journey with Alitu showed us how powerful building tools can be. What started as a simple idea to help our audience edit podcasts more easily became the core of our business. Today, you can take a similar journey with far less investment of time and resources.

So what tool will you build? What problem will you solve? The barriers have never been lower, and the opportunity has never been greater.

Have you tried any of these vibe coding tools? What would you build for your audience if coding wasn't a barrier? Let me know in the comments!