The term “vibe coding” was first coined by Andrej Karpathy, describing a new paradigm where developers:
“fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists.”
Rather than focusing on technical precision, vibe coding emphasizes surrendering to the flow, letting AI handle the complexities while humans guide the creative direction.
Vibe editing naturally evolves from what Cursor and other interfaces are pioneering with vibe coding. It takes the same giving in to the vibes into editing, creating the design, creating the content, and the entire site. How can site editing within WordPress become a tool for vibe editing? There are two parts to the vibe for editing: the creating and the letting it happen.
This raises fundamental questions about the very nature of digital creation. By prioritizing emotional and experiential input over technical details like code, writing conventions, or design principles, are we truly amplifying creative expression or inadvertently diminishing it? The answer, perhaps, lies in how we choose to perceive and utilize these tools. Just as word processors didn’t render writers obsolete and Photoshop didn’t replace photographers (though many, myself included, initially resisted the digital transition), AI-powered “vibe tools” have the potential to become invaluable additions to the creative arsenal. They are not intended to supplant human ingenuity but rather to serve as powerful amplifiers, augmenting our innate creative capacities. Ultimately, they are precisely that: tools.
The creative flow—that first vibe—is easily grasped. It’s the aspect of vibe coding that resonates most readily. The tools empower you; you ride the wave of AI assistance, effortlessly transforming your prototype into a tangible reality. This same dynamic applies to editing. Even with the currently limited tools, we can glimpse this potential. It’s exciting to imagine the possibilities, exhilarating to envision our creative visions seamlessly materializing in a state of flow, rather than through arduous, pixel-by-pixel struggles.
The true challenge of vibe editing lies in transcending the limitations of current tools. You can’t yet catch a full vibe in the site editor but you can get a taste of it. The ultimate goal is a state of seamless immersion, where the act of editing fades into the background, becoming an intuitive extension of your creative thought process. In this ideal scenario, suggestions arise organically, grounded in data and aligned with your evolving vision. The layout adapts dynamically to your decisions, learning your preferences and anticipating your needs as you create. The potential here is vast, the opportunities practically boundless.
We’re evolving toward a deeper, more nuanced understanding of digital interaction, elevating the entire creative process to a truly human level. By communicating with our tools through the language of emotion and experience—whether crafting copy, curating images, coding functionality, or designing layouts—we unlock the potential for profoundly meaningful and impactful digital experiences. The tools don’t get in the way in vibe editing, they are right in the place they need to be.
While this future isn’t fully realized, its arrival is imminent. Much like the transformative impact of touchscreens on our interaction expectations, this new era of fluid, AI-augmented creation is poised to become the norm. As this evolution progresses, tolerance for friction in creative tools and processes will diminish, propelling us toward ever more seamless and intuitive creative experiences. This ultimately benefits the entire creative landscape, empowering us with more powerful and expressive tools for realizing our visions.