How AI Helped Me Rebuild My Website (But Didn’t Do It All)
Two weeks, 120 hours, one author, and AI as co-pilot, not captain. My real experience using AI for web design.
Introduction
When people ask if I use AI for my social media and content marketing, I usually smile and say, “Of course. It’s like having a muse who doesn’t need coffee breaks.” But recently, I put AI to a new test: helping me upgrade my author website, steveshipley.com.
Now, I’ll be honest—I thought AI might save me from long hours of staring at WordPress menus and Divi page builder quirks. And yes, it helped. A lot. But here’s the truth: it still took me about two weeks and 120 hours of work to get it done. That’s the paradox of AI—it accelerates progress, but it doesn’t replace sweat equity.
Background
One of the hot topics right now is vibe programming. If you haven’t heard of it, think of it as ordering takeout from your computer: you tell the AI what you want, and—voilà—it serves up code—instead of food!
GitHub Copilot puts it like this:
Vibe Programming is an emerging approach to software development that leverages AI—especially large language models (LLMs)—to generate code from natural language prompts. Instead of sweating over syntax, you describe your vision—“Build me a dashboard with three charts”—and AI whips up the prototype.
There are two flavors:
Pure vibe: trust whatever the AI serves up.
Responsible vibe: test, debug, and refine before trusting it with anything serious.
The upside? Speed, accessibility, and a jolt of creativity. The downside? Buggy code, security gaps, and the risk of thinking you’re building a rocket when you’ve actually built a paper airplane.
So naturally, I wondered—could vibe programming have saved me time with my site rebuild? I asked Copilot directly. Its answer:
Vibe programming can be surprisingly effective for building a functional, visually appealing website quickly … but it’s not a silver bullet for high-quality production sites.
Sounds magical, right? But for me, I’d rather be staring at a recipe and making the food myself instead of ordering from a menu. That’s why I stuck with a traditional “learn, build, and curse occasionally” programming method over vibe.
So, no vibe—this time! But don’t get me wrong—AI still made a huge difference. I leaned heavily on two tools:
ChatGPT-4o (“Chattie” in my head), my content partner.
Copilot, my patient tech support buddy.
Chattie and I debated what a multi-book author website should look like. It pushed me to go beyond a simple landing page and add features that invite readers deeper into my world. Out came the Reader Rewards page, the Global Thriller Tour, book club guides, and even jigsaw puzzles of book covers. (Yes, puzzles—because why not?)
Then came the feedback from a reader that made all the late nights worthwhile:
“Congrats on the website relaunch. It feels like a big step forward. The Reader Club is unique, the Global Thriller Tour is clever, and the book club resources are a real asset. The puzzles are fun too. This site should help grow your audience.”
Music to my ears.
Meanwhile, Copilot held my hand through the tech minefield. Things like:
Migrating blog posts from WordPress and my email list from Mailchimp to Substack
Converting clunky old images to modern WEBP files.
Figuring out why Divi decided to ignore my carefully chosen font styles and colors, and why the Accordion module wasn’t working and what JQuery code to use to fix it.
I used to flip through user manuals (and age five years in the process). Now, I just ask an LLM. They scan forums, surface fixes, and explain things in plain English faster than I can say “Help me, Obi-Wan.”
In the end, AI didn’t rebuild my website for me. But it did three things brilliantly:
Helped me understand my audience and reframe my content.
Generated loads of polished text (FAQs, intros, blurbs).
Offered on-demand tech support, minus the hold music.
Not bad for a couple of virtual teammates.
Call to Action
So here’s my takeaway: I may not be ready to trust “vibe programming” with my entire author platform (yet). But AI still saved me time, frustration, and a few gray hairs.
If you’re tinkering with a website, app, or other tech project, consider giving AI a seat at the table. It won’t replace your effort, but it can amplify it. And who knows? Maybe you’ll be braver than me and try full-on vibe programming.
Would you trust AI to “vibe” build something important for you—or do you, like me, prefer to keep a hand on the wheel?
Upcoming Blogs and Other Resources
Coming up, I’ll share:
The larger variety of ways and examples of how I use AI in everyday life
AI for Authors: practical ways writers can use AI without losing their voice, such as in doing research, defining settings, and building out character descriptions and arcs
In the meantime, check out my newly revamped website. Explore the Reader Rewards, read my book synopses, and maybe even solve a jigsaw puzzle or two.
And if you’ve got thoughts on AI, vibe programming, or author websites, I’d love to hear them. Drop a comment or send me a note—I always enjoy the conversation.
Oh, and another thing!
I just started my new Substack publication, Steve Shipley Author:
Here is where you can learn more about my author journey, and to keep in touch. My website is great for information, but my author Substack publication is where we can connect and interact.
Curious to read my crime thrillers or nonfiction books (free with Kindle Unlimited)? Check them out here: https://go.steveshipley.com/SSA-books-all
Note: There may be affiliate links within this blog post to products and services that I recommend and use personally. This means that I receive a small percentage of sales commission with no extra cost to you and in some cases, you may receive a discount for using my links. I only recommend products and services that I believe are great for authors and other creatives. For more information, you may check out our Affiliate Marketing Policy, which can be found on my author services website.