Hey everyone! 👋
I'm Ajay, and this is my very first post on Dev.to.
I've been building websites for more than **six years **now, and I still enjoy it as much as I did when I started.
For me, web development has never been just about writing code or making things look pretty. It's the whole journey that I enjoy.
It starts with talking to the client and understanding what they're actually trying to achieve. What problem are they solving? Who are they building the website for? What do their users expect when they land on the site?
Once I have those answers, I usually move into Figma and start designing the layout. After the design is finalized, it's development time. Depending on the project, I normally build with WordPress (Elementor), Framer, or Webflow.
And honestly...
My favorite part is always the last step.
Clicking the Publish button.
Removing maintenance mode.
Opening the live website for the first time.
Even after hundreds of projects, that feeling never gets old.
But over the last few months, something unexpected happened.
I started spending a ridiculous amount of time exploring AI website builders.
Not just trying them for five minutes and watching YouTube demos—I wanted to understand what these tools could actually do in real projects.
So I tested them.
I pushed them to their limits.
I intentionally tried to break them.
I wanted to know where they were genuinely useful and where they were just marketing hype.
If I had to describe my experience in one sentence, I'd say this:
AI didn't replace my workflow—it upgraded it.
It's honestly crazy how much time these tools can save when you know how to use them properly.
I've spent countless hours testing almost every AI website builder I could find. From Google AI Studio to Emergent, Base44, Antigravity, Lovable, and many others.
Some completely exceeded my expectations.
Some were disappointing.
And some made me rethink how websites will be built over the next few years.
The biggest surprise?
Today, someone with zero coding knowledge can build a genuinely impressive website with smooth animations, modern layouts, and responsive design—all without writing a single line of code.
If someone had told me that six years ago, I probably wouldn't have believed them.
Of course, knowing HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and design principles is still a huge advantage. AI doesn't replace experience.
But it removes so much of the repetitive work that used to consume hours of my day.
That's what impressed me the most.
So this is what I want to share here and on Dev.to as well.
I'll be documenting everything I learn while working with AI website builders.
The things that save me hours.
The mistakes that waste credits.
The prompts that produce better results.
The workflows that actually work in real projects—not just in demos.
Think of this as me sharing my journey as I continue exploring this new way of building websites.
Right now, the two tools I'm enjoying the most are Base44 and Emergent. I've been using both extensively, and I'll be writing about everything I learn as I continue testing them.
If you're interested in vibe coding, AI website builders, or simply building websites faster without sacrificing quality, I think you'll enjoy what's coming next.
Thanks for reading my first post.
See you in the next one. 🚀
Top comments (3)
Hey Ajay! 👋 Welcome to Dev.to and we are excited to see your first post here!
Your journey mirrors something we're seeing across the dev community: tools are evolving to handle the repetitive parts, freeing you up for the creative and strategic work that actually matters. The fact that you're methodically testing these AI builders rather than just skimming tutorials says a lot about your approach.
One thing worth exploring as you continue building: if you find yourself needing a backend for any of these projects, whether it's managing content, handling user data, or setting up APIs, Strapi can be a solid companion to whatever frontend tool you're using. It's headless, so it plays nicely with any builder you choose, and it saves a ton of time on the backend side the same way these AI tools do on the frontend.
Looking forward to your next posts! The "things that save me hours" angle is exactly what people want to read. Keep shipping. 🚀
vibecoding is honestly kind of wild, makes the initial boilerplate phase so much faster lol
vibecoding is actually wild, feels like we're finally moving away from fighting the syntax all day lol