In the previous blog, I’ve shown you the roadmap to become a Shopify developer. However, I’m quite not sure if it’s still a relevant topic because a couple weeks ago, something wild just happened in the world of web development (that I just realized today) and they call it “Vibe Coding”.
What is “Vibe Coding”?
Vibe coding, according to many people, is a “new way” of programming (Introduced by Andrej Karpathy) where the person describes a problem/instruction to large language model (LLM). Then, the LLM will read the instructions and start working as the programmer.
This allowed many people with no CS background create programs in just a few prompts of instructions.
So… like what we do with ChatGPT then?
Not really. With “Vibe Coding”, the LLM will literally solve the errors on its own until the instruction that were provided by the “vibe coder” is fully satisfied.
So… like what we do with ChatGPT then?
Okay fine, you’re right. However, my experience with “Vibe coding” was truly impressive. It allowed me to create a Shopify app in just a couple of minutes. I highly recommend watching my experience below:
Vibe Coding for Shopify Developers
“Vibe coding” definitely opened so many doors not just for Shopify developers but also for merchants who does not know how to code. A huge advantage of this is time-saving. If you’re a Shopify merchant who needs a minor feature, Vibe coding is something that can help because it’ll do the heavy-lifting for you. For example, you want to create a new component for your Shopify theme, you can literally ask LLM to read through your Shopify theme and create you a new section based on your layouts, assets, etc.
Another thing that “Vibe coding” can help you with is learning Shopify development or even programming because whenever it writes codes, it also provides information about what it wrote. For instance, I’ve used Cursor to help me work on my pet project and look at its response:
Sure it’s not detailed but you can always ask it to explain. Just imagine you’re working with someone and you want him to explain what he worked on.
The Downsides of Vibe Coding
Okay, listen, Vibe coding seems like magic at first. You know, AI spits out code, your app works, life’s beautiful. But there’s a problem: letting AI handle everything is like trusting a Tesla to drive you through the highway. It may take detours you didn’t agree to, miss key stops, and you could end up somewhere you never intended. Like heaven.
In my experience with Cursor or vibe coding, I encountered many frustrations like:
- It installs packages that are not really working.
- When I work with my Shopify apps, it uses Shopify Polaris components that are no longer available
- And most important of all, it pretends that the code is working when it isn’t
This is a HUGE problem especially if you do not know how to code or read codes.
If you just keep accepting its answers, you will end up building a web application that is full of problems.
Conclusion
I’ve been seeing quite a lot of people hating on it for reasons that I personally can’t understand. Personally, I have no problems with AI or Vibe coding. I really believe it’s going to be helpful when you know how to use it.
At the end of the day, tools are only as good as the hands that wield them.
Sure, there are risks if you rely on AI blindly, but there is an incredible potential when you approach it as what it should be: An assistant rather than a replacement.
