DEV Community: Matthew Haydon

Can AI Really Write Production-Ready Code? Here's What We Learned

Matthew Haydon — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 16:40:41 +0000

There is a lot of excitement right now about AI writing code. GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, everyone in the tech world is talking about how these tools are changing the way software gets built. And if you are a business owner who has invested in building digital products or is considering it, you have probably heard the big claim. That is AI can write code now, so maybe you do not need as many developers.

Hence, let us be real with you. We tested this extensively through web application development services. Here is what actually happens.

AI is a Genuinely Useful Tool But It is Not a Developer

Think of AI code generation the way you think of autocomplete on your phone. It finishes your sentence, and sometimes it gets it exactly right. But sometimes it confidently suggests something completely off. The same thing happens with code.

Basically, AI tools are excellent at:

Writing boilerplate code (the repetitive stuff developers write every single project)
Explaining what a block of code does
Suggesting how to fix a specific bug when you describe it clearly
Generating small, isolated functions

Where things fall apart is when the project gets complicated. Real-world products are not small functions. They are interconnected systems with databases, user authentication, payment flows, third-party APIs, and a dozen edge cases that only come up after someone actually uses the product.

AI does not understand your business. It does not know that your checkout flow has a special rule for wholesale customers. The tool even has no idea that you are legally required to store certain data in a specific region.

And it cannot feel the weight of a feature that if it breaks or costs your company thousands of dollars an hour.

Understanding the Production-Ready Problem

Here is the specific issue. There is a huge gap between code that runs and code that is production-ready.

Production-ready code has to be:

Secure — protected against SQL injections, XSS attacks, improper data exposure
Scalable — able to handle traffic spikes without falling over
Maintainable — readable and organized so another developer can pick it up in six months
Tested — covered by automated tests that catch regressions before users do
Compliant — following industry standards like GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS depending on your industry

We have run AI-generated code through actual audits. The results were consistent and logic often works. Yet, the security is usually not up to standard. The error handling is minimal. And the architecture tends to be short-sighted.

This is not a criticism of AI. It is just an accurate picture of what the technology does and does not do in 2026.

What Real Teams Are Actually Doing?

The teams delivering strong results right now are not replacing developers with AI. They are using AI to make good developers faster.

A senior developer who once wrote authentication from scratch now uses AI to generate the first draft and then reviews it, hardens it, and plugs it into the broader system. What used to take two days takes four hours. That is a real and meaningful efficiency gain.

But you still need the senior developer. You still need someone who knows where the traps are.

This is especially true if you are working with companies that offer web application development services. The good ones are integrating AI into their workflow as an accelerant, not a replacement for expertise. When you are evaluating a development partner, it is worth asking them directly. How do you use AI tools, and what does your code review process look like?

A Closer Look at the Risk for Business Owners

Here is where we want to talk to you specifically, because this affects real business decisions.

Some agencies and freelancers have started using AI to cut corners without telling clients. They use it to generate large amounts of code quickly, ship the project, and move on. The problem surfaces later on. A security vulnerability or a bug that only appears under certain conditions. Or else, a codebase that no other developer wants to touch because it is a mess.

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey found that while the majority of developers are using or planning to use AI tools, there is significant skepticism about trusting AI-generated code in production without human review. The professionals are cautious for good reason.

If you are building something that handles customer data, processes payments, or sits at the core of how your business operates, you need human eyes on that code. Not because AI is bad, but because the stakes are high and AI makes confident mistakes.

So What Should You Actually Look For?

Whether you are starting a new project or auditing an existing one, here are some practical questions worth asking:

**For new projects: **Does your development team use AI tools, and how do they review and validate the code that comes out? A good team will have a clear answer. They will describe a process, not just say yes or no.

For existing products: When was the last security audit done on your codebase? If your current application was built quickly with minimal documentation, it is worth having an independent developer take a look before you scale.

When hiring: Understanding how a team handles code quality is more important than how fast they deliver. Fast delivery of poor code is one of the most expensive things that can happen to a growing business.

Teams offering professional web application development services should have documented processes for testing, code review, security, and deployment. If those processes do not exist or cannot be explained clearly, that is a warning sign.

The Honest Answer to the Question

Can AI write production-ready code? Sometimes, for simple things, with expert supervision. Consistently, for complex real-world products, without experienced developers guiding the process? No. Not yet.

The technology is improving fast. A year from now the answer might be different. But right now, in the projects we have looked at, AI is a powerful tool that amplifies what skilled developers can do. It does not replace the judgment, the experience, or the accountability that comes with a real engineering team.

For businesses building digital products that matter, that distinction is important. According to research from McKinsey, AI coding tools can increase developer productivity by 20 to 45 percent depending on the task. That is significant. But it also confirms that developers are still very much in the equation.

What Good Web Development Looks Like Right Now?

If you are looking at vendors or thinking about how to structure your next project, the best outcomes we have seen come from teams that treat AI as a junior assistant with brilliant autocomplete but no real-world judgment.

Those teams are faster than they were two years ago. Their senior people are not spending time on repetitive tasks. But the quality bar, the architectural decisions, and the security standards are still set by humans.

That combination is what genuinely good web application development services look like today. Speed from AI. Quality from experience. Accountability from professionals who have their name on the work.

The Bottom Line

AI writing code is real. It is useful and is changing how software gets built. But if someone tells you that AI eliminates the need for skilled developers, especially on products that need to be secure, scalable, and maintained over time, that is not accurate. Use AI tools. Expect the teams you work with to use them. But also expect them to have smart humans reviewing everything that goes out the door. That is the version of web application development services that actually delivers results for your business.

What Hackers Know About Your WordPress Site That You Don't

Matthew Haydon — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:27:19 +0000

Most WordPress site owners think they are safe. They set a password, install a plugin, and move on. But hackers do not care about your password as much as you think.

They already know things about your site that you probably have never checked. The version of WordPress you run. The plugins you forgot to update. The admin URL you never changed. These are the real entry points.

This blog will walk you through exactly what hackers look for, how they find it, and what you can do to stop them. Some of this will surprise you. All of it is worth knowing before it is too late.

They Know Your WordPress Version Before You Do

Many who hire WordPress developers broadcast their sites with version number by default. It sits in the page source code. It shows up in RSS feeds. Some themes even display it in the footer.

Hackers use this to match your version against a list of known vulnerabilities. If you are running an outdated version, they already know which exploit to use.

The fix is simple. Hide your version number through your functions.php file. Better yet, always keep WordPress updated.

Your Login Page Is Sitting Wide Open

The default WordPress login URL is /wp-admin or /wp-login.php. Every hacker knows this. Automated bots hit these URLs thousands of times a day trying username and password combinations.

This is called a brute force attack. It works because most sites never change the login URL and never limit login attempts.

When you hire WordPress developers ask them to move your login page to a custom URL. Add a lockout rule after a few failed attempts. These two changes alone will cut down bot traffic significantly.

Plugins Are the Biggest Target on Your Site

Themes and plugins account for over 90% of WordPress hacks. Hackers actively scan for sites running outdated or vulnerable plugins.

They use tools that check plugin version numbers exposed in your site's source code. Once they find a match, they run the exploit.

A plugin you installed two years ago and forgot about can be the door they walk through today.

When you hire WordPress developers, professionals will audit your plugins every month. Remove anything you no longer use. Update everything that has a pending update.

The Admin Username Admin Is Still Out There

When WordPress first launched, the default admin username was literally admin. Millions of sites still use it.

Hackers know this. Combined with a brute force attack on your login page, this makes their job twice as easy.

Check your admin account username right now. If it is admin, change it. Pick something that is not connected to your name, your site name, or your business.

How to Hire WordPress Developers Who Actually Understand Security?

Most people hire WordPress developers to build features or fix bugs. Security is rarely part of the conversation.

That is a mistake.

When you hire WordPress developers, ask them directly about their security approach.

Do they harden the wp-config.php file?
Do they disable XML-RPC if it is not needed?
Do they set correct file permissions?
Do they know how to implement a Content Security Policy?

If the developer you are talking to looks confused by these questions, keep looking. A professional WordPress developer will treat security as part of the build, not as something you add later.

XML-RPC Is Probably Enabled on Your Site Right Now

XML-RPC is an old feature that lets external apps communicate with your WordPress site. Most sites do not need it anymore. But it is enabled by default.

Hackers love XML-RPC. It lets them run multiple login attempts in a single request, bypassing normal lockout rules. It is also used to launch DDoS attacks through WordPress sites without the site owner knowing.

Check if XML-RPC is enabled on your site. If you are not using Jetpack or any app that depends on it, disable it completely.

Your Database Prefix Is Probably wp_

Every WordPress installation uses a database prefix to name its tables. The default prefix is wp_. SQL injection attacks often target this prefix directly.

Changing your database prefix to something random makes automated SQL injection scripts fail immediately. It does not stop a determined attacker, but it stops the vast majority of automated attacks that run on autopilot.

File Permissions Are Quietly Exposing You

File permissions control who can read, write, or execute files on your server. WordPress has a recommended setting. Most servers do not follow it out of the box.

If your folders are set to 777, anyone on the server can write to them. This is one of the most common ways malware gets injected into WordPress sites.

Your folders should be set to 755. Your files should be set to 644. Your wp-config.php should be set to 440 or 400. These settings will stop a lot of damage before it starts.

What You Should Do This Week?

You do not need to fix everything at once. Start with these:

Update WordPress, themes, and all plugins today
Change your admin username if it is still admin
Move your login URL and add a login attempt limit
Disable XML-RPC if you are not using it
Check your file permissions on the server
Remove plugins you have not used in the last six months

Security is not a one-time task. It is something you revisit regularly. Hackers keep finding new ways in. Your job is to make sure the old doors are always locked.

Final Thoughts

Hackers do not pick WordPress sites personally. They run automated tools that scan thousands of sites at once and look for the easiest targets. The best part is that most attacks target the basics, and fixing the basics is not complicated.

Stay updated and stay aware. And if you are building or managing a site, make sure security is part of the conversation from day one when choosing to hire WordPress developers.

Is Your Web Application Agent-Ready? The New Architecture Standard for 2026

Matthew Haydon — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 14:57:58 +0000

An "Agent-Ready" web application is software built with an API-first architecture designed specifically for Large Action Models to navigate, query, and execute tasks autonomously. Unlike traditional web apps built for human screens and mouse clicks, agent-ready applications expose semantic endpoints, enforce rigid "action governance" for security, and operate without graphical user interfaces.

The Illusion of Chatbot

Right now, thousands of companies are slapping AI chatbots onto the side of their ten-year-old monolithic web applications and calling themselves "AI-Native."

In 2026, the technology landscape has shifted from Large Language Models that simply "talk," to Large Action Models that actively "do." Users no longer want to click through seven screens to generate a report or process a refund. They want to delegate that intent to an AI agent, and they expect the agent to execute the transaction instantly.

But here is the hard truth: Your current web application is actively blocking this. Traditional software was built for humans. It relies on graphical user interfaces, visual menus, and session cookies. AI agents do not have eyes; they cannot "click" a button. If your software requires a human to navigate a screen, it is already obsolete.

The Anatomy of an Agent-Ready Web Application

To survive the shift to Agentic AI, CTOs and technical founders must completely rethink their architecture. If you are investing in custom web application development, your engineering team must build for the machine first, and the human second.

Here are the three pillars of an Agent-Ready application:

1. Semantic API-First Design

Agents do not read HTML; they read endpoints. An agent-ready application is built entirely on headless, semantic APIs. Every single action a human can take on the frontend must have a corresponding, highly documented, and clearly labeled API endpoint that a machine can trigger autonomously.

2. Action Governance and Hard Boundaries

When a human makes a mistake, they hit "Undo." When an autonomous agent makes a mistake, it can wipe a production database in milliseconds. Agent-ready web development requires strict "Action Governance."

This means creating isolated sandbox environments for AI to test actions, and implementing strict "Human-in-the-Loop" validation triggers for high-stakes actions like financial transfers or data deletion.

3. State and Context Management

Traditional apps lose their memory the moment a session expires. Agent-ready apps maintain deep, vector-based context. When an agent interacts with your application, the system must immediately recognize the agent's permissions, past actions, and the overarching intent of the workflow.

Stop Patching & Start Engineering.

You cannot "plugin" your way to an AI-native architecture.

If your core infrastructure is a tangled web of legacy code and bloated WordPress themes, no amount of AI wrapping will save it. Complexity is the silent killer of scale, and autonomous agents will break a fragile system instantly.

To compete in 2026, you need to tear down the rotten columns and build a solid foundation. You will need an engineering team that understands the difference between a trendy interface and scalable backend architecture.

FAQs

1. What is an Agent-Ready Web Application?

An agent-ready web application is a software platform engineered to be navigated and operated autonomously by AI agents. It prioritizes robust API endpoints, strict machine-readable data structures, and secure action governance over traditional graphical user interfaces.

2. Why do traditional web apps fail with AI Agents?

Traditional web apps fail with AI agents because they are GUI-dependent. They require visual navigation, mouse clicks, and human input to execute workflows. AI agents require semantic APIs and structured data to interact with software effectively.

3. How do I prepare my web application for Agentic AI?

To prepare a web app for Agentic AI, you must decouple your frontend from your backend (headless architecture), expose all core business logic through documented APIs, implement granular security permissions specifically for machine-to-machine interactions, and remove reliance on GUI-based workflows.

4. Does my business need to rebuild its application for AI?

If your current application is a monolithic legacy system with heavy technical debt and no comprehensive API layer, you will likely need to refactor or rebuild. Applying AI to a broken architecture will only accelerate system failures. Partnering with a dedicated web application development agency is recommended for a secure transition.

Why Bare Metal Server Hosting is the Unsung Hero of AI Revolution?

Matthew Haydon — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 15:15:19 +0000

Everyone is talking about the brains of the AI revolution. We obsess over the latest model releases that compares DeepSeek V3.2 against GPT-5 or debating which chatbot writes better code. But while we are busy looking at the software, a quiet crisis is happening in the engine room.

For the last decade, the default answer for any tech problem was just put it in the cloud. But as AI models grow from simple chatbots into real-time agents, that default answer is starting to break.

It turns out, the public cloud isn't always the best place for heavy-duty artificial intelligence. The smart money is moving back to the basics. And that is bare metal server hosting.

It’s not flashy, and it doesn't have a cool marketing name. But it is fast becoming the secret weapon for companies that need raw power without the cloud tax.

Here is why the infrastructure of the future looks a lot like the dedicated servers of the past.

1. You Are Paying a Latency Tax You Didn't Know About

When you rent a standard cloud server, you aren't just running your code. You are running your code on top of a hypervisor, which is a software layer that manages the hardware.

Every time your AI wants to ask the GPU a question, it has to go through this middleman first. In the old days of hosting simple websites, nobody cared about this tiny delay. But for AI it’s a performance killer.

Industry data shows that this virtualization layer eats up about 5% to 10% of your total processing power as per Runpod. That might sound small, but when you are training a model for weeks that 10% adds up to days of wasted time and thousands of dollars in electricity.

With bare metal server hosting, you fire the middleman. Your software speaks directly to the hardware. You get 100% of the NVIDIA H100 or A100 chips you paid for.

2. The Noisy Neighbor Problem is Real

Imagine you are trying to solve a complex math problem, but the guy in the apartment next to you is blasting heavy metal music. It’s hard to focus, right?

That is exactly what happens in a public cloud environment. Even if you buy a dedicated instance, you are often sharing the same physical network cables, storage controllers, and power supplies with other companies.

If a neighbor on your server rack suddenly gets a massive spike in traffic, your performance can dip.

For a standard app, a 200ms delay is annoying. For an autonomous driving system or a fraud detection AI, a 200ms delay is a failure.

Bare metal hosting server solves this by giving you physical isolation. You are the only tenant on the box. No neighbors, no noise, just consistent speed, 24/7. This consistency is critical for the new wave of Agentic AI that needs to make decisions in real-time.

Cloud Repatriation: Why 83% of CIOs Are Looking Back?

For years, the trend was to move everything to the cloud. Now, we are seeing a U-turn.

A recent survey by Barclays revealed that 83% of enterprise CIOs plan to move at least some workloads back to private infrastructure or bare metal in 2025. Why the sudden change of heart?

It comes down to cost predictability.

Public cloud billing is notoriously complex. You pay for compute, but you also pay for egress fees. For AI companies that need to shuffle terabytes of training data, these fees can be astronomical.

Bare metal server hosting usually works on a flat monthly rate. You know exactly what your bill will be on the 1st of the month, regardless of how hard you run the CPU.

For steady, 24/7 workloads like AI inference, switching to bare metal can cut your total cost of ownership by 30% to 50% compared to the public cloud.

Security That is Baked into the Hardware

We often think of security as passwords and firewalls, but the strongest security is physical.

In a virtualized cloud, hackers are constantly looking for container escape vulnerabilities. Which are bugs that let them jump from their virtual machine into yours. While these attacks are rare, they are a terrifying possibility for banks, healthcare providers, and government agencies.

With bare metal, that attack vector simply doesn't exist. Since you own the entire machine, there is no other tenant to jump from. You have total control over the BIOS, the firmware, and the OS. For industries with strict compliance rules like HIPAA or GDPR, this level of isolation isn't just a nice-to-have but a mandate.

Green Computing is Better on Metal

Sustainability is a massive topic in 2026. AI is power-hungry, and companies are under pressure to lower their carbon footprint.

Remember that middleman hypervisor software we talked about? It requires energy to run. By removing that software layer, bare metal servers use less electricity per calculation. You are getting more math done for every watt of power you burn.

Plus, because bare metal servers are so efficient, you often need fewer of them to do the same job. Replacing 10 under-performing VMs with 8 powerful bare metal servers reduces your overall energy consumption immediately.

Conclusion

On a final note, we are not saying the cloud is dead. For testing, prototyping, or handling wild spikes in traffic, the public cloud is still amazing. When performance, cost, and security matter more than convenience, bare metal server hosting is the clear winner.
It turns out, the best way to build the future of software is to get better control of the hardware!

Fractional vs. Full-Time: Why US Startups Are Rethinking How They Hire Website Developers

Matthew Haydon — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 15:04:11 +0000

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any startup. In 2026, preserving your runway matters more than headcount. The old way was simple. You raised a seed round and immediately hired a team of in-house engineers. That model is breaking. Full-time hires are heavy. They come with benefits, equity demands, and slow onboarding times.

Smart founders are shifting gears. They are moving to hire website developers on fractional hiring. This isn't just freelancing. It is about accessing senior talent for specific chunks of time. You get the expertise without the golden handcuffs. You pay for output and not for presence.

When to Hire Website Developers on a Fractional Basis?

You do not always need a permanent engineer. Sometimes you just need to ship a product. The fractional model works best when your needs fluctuate. A full-time developer costs money even when the backlog is empty. A fractional expert costs zero during downtime.

You might need a React expert for two months and a backend specialist for the next three. If you hire full-time, you are stuck with one person's skillset. When you hire website developers fractionally, you swap skills as your product evolves. It keeps your team agile. You stop paying for skills you do not use.

Getting the Equity Advantage

Most founders overlook this. Full-time senior developers demand significant equity. That dilutes your ownership before you even launch. Fractional developers charge a fee. They do not touch your cap table.

Think about the math. A senior US developer costs a high salary plus 1% to 2% equity. If you hire fractional website developers from a hub like India, it will cost a flat hourly rate. You keep your stock. You will thank yourself for this decision during your next funding round.

Enjoy Speedy Delivery with Specialization

Speed wins in the startup game. Hiring full-time takes months of interviews. Fractional teams start in days. This is critical for CMS-based projects. If you need to launch a marketing site quickly, you should hire WordPress developers. They can deploy a custom site in weeks. A generalist full-time engineer might spend months building the same thing from scratch.

You also avoid the ramp-up period. Fractional professionals are used to jumping into new codebases. They hit the ground running. They have seen fifty other startups. They know what breaks and how to fix it. A new full-time hire spends the first month just figuring out your Slack channels.

Understanding the Management Reality

Managing full-time staff is a job in itself. You deal with career growth and performance reviews. Fractional talent manages themselves. They treat you like a client and not a boss. They want to deliver value so you renew their contract. The dynamic is professional and result-oriented.

You set clear deliverables. They execute. If the fit is wrong, you end the contract. There is no severance package or legal headache.

Making the Actual Decision

Look at your roadmap. If you have core IP that needs five years of constant iteration, hire a CTO. For everything else, look at the fractional market. The flexibility is unmatched. You can scale the team up for a launch and scale it down for maintenance.

Conclusion

Startups fail when they burn cash too fast. Don't build a heavy team for a lightweight MVP. Hire website developers who offer flexibility. Keep your burn rate and equity low. Build what you need, when you need it. This is how you survive and grow in 2026.