5 common mistakes to avoid during vibe coding so your AI-assisted projects come out clean, functional, and frustration-free:
1. Starting Without a Clear Goal
Mistake: Jumping into AI prompts without knowing exactly what you want to build.
Why It Hurts: Leads to messy, unfocused code that takes longer to fix.
Better Approach: Write a short “project brief” first , even just 2–3 sentences describing your app’s purpose, main features, and look.
2. Asking for Too Much at Once
Mistake: Requesting an entire complex app in one prompt.
Why It Hurts: The AI might generate bloated or broken code that’s hard to debug.
Better Approach: Build in small, functional chunks, first the layout, then features, then styling.
3. Not Testing as You Go
Mistake: Waiting until the end to test your app.
Why It Hurts: Small errors stack up and are harder to fix later.
Better Approach: After each AI-generated chunk, run it immediately and check if it works before adding more.
4. Ignoring the “Why” Behind the Code
Mistake: Copy-pasting AI code without asking for explanations.
Why It Hurts: You stay dependent on AI and can’t tweak the code yourself later.
Better Approach: Ask the AI:
“Explain this code line-by-line as if I’m 12 years old.”
5. Skipping Documentation & Version Control
Mistake: Not saving versions of your work or notes about changes.
Why It Hurts: When something breaks, you have no clean backup.
Better Approach: Save each major version (e.g., “v1_basic_layout.html”, “v2_added_form.html”) and keep a running log of what changed.