By Dan Linn, Founder & CEO, Hello World
There’s never been a better time to get an idea off the ground!
Thanks to no-code tools, AI pair programmers, and increasingly intuitive design systems, it’s entirely possible to build a fully-functioning something in a weekend.
But let’s be honest: that something often lives in what I like to call the vibe zone. It looks real. It clicks around. It feels close. But it’s not quite a product—yet.
And that’s okay. Vibe coding can be a powerful step toward validating a concept. But if you want to move from prototype to production, you need more than vibes.
What Is “Vibe Coding”?
Vibe coding is when you string together just enough logic, styling, and placeholder data to give the impression of a working app—without any of the structure that makes it reliable, secure, or scalable.
It’s often:
- Built fast, for demo or proof-of-concept purposes
- Missing authentication, validation, and persistence
- Designed with happy paths only (i.e., no real error handling)
- Built by a solo developer/designer/team using intuition over architecture
In short, it’s great for momentum but not so great for maintainability.
So… What’s Missing?
Here’s what we usually need to add when a client brings us a vibe-coded build:
Authentication & User Management
Who’s using your app, and how do they log in? Can they reset a password? Can you track who did what? You’ll need more than a hardcoded admin token.
Authorization
What can users do once they’re logged in? Roles, permissions, access control—all that boring but essential stuff that keeps your data safe and your app legally compliant.
Data Modeling
A vibe-coded app might rely on JSON files or local storage. Real products need real data relationships, structured schemas, and persistence layers.
Security Evaluation
Did you accidentally expose your API keys in the front-end? Is your file upload form validating anything at all? Have you rate-limited anything? This is where vibe turns into liability.
MVP Definition
Even after the cleanup, we still need to ask: What’s the smallest real version of this product that delivers value? If you haven’t read it yet, we wrote a full breakdown here:
Where Vibe Coding Shines
None of this is a critique. We love when people show up with a working demo—it means you’ve clarified the user journey, validated demand, and probably learned what the app shouldn’t be.
You’ve skipped weeks of talking and wireframing. That’s huge.
Now we help you transition from momentum to maturity.
Next Steps
If you’ve vibe-coded your way into something promising, the best thing you can do is pause and take stock:
- What’s real?
- What’s duct tape?
- What do you need to launch this for real users?
At Hello World, we work with clients to bridge that exact gap—turning good ideas into durable, secure, maintainable applications without tossing out what’s already working.
Because if you’ve already built the vibe, you’re halfway there.
Let’s help you build the rest.