I want to talk about what happens when non-technical people start building with WordPress and AI.
For years, if you wanted to create a plugin, customise an editing experience, build a lightweight app, or connect WordPress to another tool, you usually needed to understand code, or hire someone who did.
That is starting to change.
In this session, I’ll share what I’ve learned from vibe coding in WordPress. I’ll show practical examples of what is now possible, and give people the foundational knowledge they need to work with AI in the best way.
A big part of this is translating technical WordPress concepts into language non-technical people can actually understand. That means explaining the difference between blocks, plugins, APIs, lightweight apps, local storage, and interactive front-end features in simple, practical terms, so people can ask better questions, choose the right approach, and get better results.
This is not a talk about replacing developers. It is about helping more people understand how WordPress works, so they can build, prototype, and experiment with more confidence.
I’ll also talk honestly about the risks. AI-generated code can look impressive very quickly, but it can also introduce performance problems, hidden dependencies, security issues, and unnecessary complexity. I increasingly think of AI as an enthusiastic junior developer: fast, creative, occasionally chaotic, and still in need of human judgement.
My aim is for people to leave with a practical mental model for building in WordPress with AI, even if they have never thought of themselves as technical.
Not so they can pretend to be developers.
So they can understand the shape of an idea, test it quickly, and know enough to build, improve, or ask better questions.
