I had a slightly crazy idea.
What if we stopped fighting the fact that AI is extremely good at creating HTML and instead made it easier for normal humans to edit it safely inside WordPress?
So I built a tiny plugin called Vibe Code that makes raw HTML much easier to live with inside WordPress.
Take it for a spin here (WordPress Playground Site)
You can paste HTML into the Custom HTML block, but instead of handing clients a scary wall of code, they get a safe editing mode where they can change the words and leave the HTML structure alone.
Hear me out.
Ask Claude or ChatGPT to build a landing page, pricing section, event website, restaurant homepage, or product hero and, more often than not, the HTML is surprisingly usable. Not perfect, obviously, but often much better than many people expect.
The structure is usually decent, the styling is often perfectly acceptable, and responsive behaviour tends to be good enough. More importantly, it is fast. Really fast.
Not Every Website
To be clear, I would not build every website this way.
I would not use AI-generated HTML for large ecommerce stores, complex membership websites, massive editorial publications, or highly dynamic applications. Those things need structure, systems, and proper architecture.
But for some use cases, I think it works rather well. Landing pages, brochure websites, event sites, startup MVPs, marketing campaigns, and quick client projects all feel like reasonable candidates, particularly when speed matters and the layout is relatively fixed.
In those situations, AI-generated HTML feels like a perfectly sensible starting point.
The problem is not generating the HTML. The problem is what happens after.
The Part That Breaks
Imagine the workflow.
You ask AI to create a page. Maybe you tidy the code a bit. Maybe you tweak the styling so it feels more on-brand. You paste it into WordPress.
Done.
Except now the client wants to change the headline.
And suddenly your options are all slightly awkward.
Option 1: Give them the HTML block
Technically possible, emotionally terrifying.
Handing a client a raw HTML editor and saying, “Just update the headline”, feels a bit like handing somebody the wiring diagram to your house and asking them to replace the kitchen light. Best case, it works. Worst case, you are restoring a backup.
Option 2: Rebuild everything in a page builder
This always felt slightly backwards to me.
The HTML already works. The design already looks right. Yet somehow you end up rebuilding the whole thing inside a visual builder just so someone can change three sentences. Occasionally the builder decides to get creative with your markup too.
Option 3: Become a human copy-editing service
Most freelancers and agencies know this workflow well.
You get the email:
“Can you just tweak the button text?”
Then another:
“Tiny update to the headline.”
Then:
“Sorry, one quick change…”
Six months later you are still editing the same page.
That felt broken.
The Slightly Crazy Idea
So I built something.
Not a page builder. Not a new block. Not an AI website generator.
Instead, I modified WordPress’s Custom HTML block so clients can safely edit only the copy.
Not the layout. Not the styling. Not the structure.
Just the words.
Click a heading and type.
Need to update button text? Click and edit.
Done.
No code view. No broken layout. No mysteriously deleted sections because someone accidentally removed a closing tag.
The design stays protected while the copy stays editable. And suddenly HTML becomes much more practical.
Why This Feels Interesting
I think we are entering a slightly strange moment in web building.
AI consistently produces decent HTML, yet most website tools assume you are one of two people: either a developer who wants code, or a non-technical user who wants a drag-and-drop builder.
But there is a gap in the middle.
People who are perfectly happy generating or pasting HTML, but want a safer editing experience afterwards.
That feels especially relevant for freelancers, agencies, and smaller client websites. Build the page once, protect the design, and let clients safely change the words.
No support tickets.
No panic.
No awkward email saying:
“I think I broke the homepage.”
I didn’t plan to build this
The funny thing is this started somewhere completely different.
Originally, I thought the interesting thing was AI page generation. But the more I played with it, the clearer something became.
The valuable bit was not the generation.
It was the editing.
“AI generates a page” is a fun demo.
“Clients can safely edit the copy without breaking the design” solves an actual problem.
And maybe that is the more interesting opportunity.
Not replacing WordPress. Not replacing blocks. Just quietly making AI-generated HTML much more usable for real-world websites.
Next steps
If you would like me to tidy this up and release Vibe Code as a free plugin let me know by dropping a comment below.
UPDATE: I’ve now released Vibe Code (renamed Jamie’s Visual HTML Editor)
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