Vibe Coding 101: Practical Tips and Guidelines

Vibe coding allows users to bring an app or website to life without having to write an ounce of code. On a vibe coding tool, you’ll explain how you want your project to look and function in plain language to an AI agent, which will write the code to make it happen in real-time.

Vibe coding breaks down the barriers to website development, letting users communicate through messages and voice notes, and even share images and videos of the user experience.

While I’ve built my share of websites using no-code platforms and AI website builders, I, like most readers, am entirely new to the vibe coding space – the term was only coined in February 2025, after all!

What Vibe Coding Mistakes Did I Make As a Beginner?

My first attempt at vibe coding failed because of my inefficient prompting. I started with Base44, and asked it to:

“Build an employee hub where my staff can view their shifts, clock in and out of work, and complete onboarding documents and training.”

This prompt sent Base44 into a spiral of request loops for 16 minutes, which culminated in an error message. To my surprise, asking the AI chatbot to fix the error used up the last of my daily credits, leaving me with no actual preview.

What did I learn from my first vibe coding experience?

While I was initially deflated, I learnt two things from my trial of Base44:

1. Always know how many message prompt credits you have, and what each request will cost.
2. Large requests should be broken down into manageable steps.

I then took my learnings to Lovable and had much more success, creating a basic gamified ecommerce quiz for my candy delivery business on the free plan.

Annie Angus Writer

While my first test didn’t work out, I was surprised by how quickly I was able to learn from my mistakes and improve with every prompt.

The vibe coding guidelines I share below are built on the mistakes I made along the way, and should help you start off on the right foot.

To help you get started, I’ve compiled six vibe coding tips for a smooth journey:

#1. Choose The Right Vibe Coding Tool

Choosing the best AI tools for your business is difficult when there are an endless array available. To choose the right vibe coding platform for your needs, consider the following:

• Your experience level: Each vibe coding tool comes with its own features, interface, and coding models, which means that some are easier to use than others. For instance, while beginners can use Replit, they often find its range of tools more overwhelming than simpler interfaces like Lovable.
• Pricing system: Vibe coding tools either have a credit or usage-based system. If you expect your usage to fluctuate throughout the month, look for a tool that grants flexibility with credit rollovers and additional daily credits, such as Lovable.
• Integrations: Choose a tool that integrates with your existing workflows. For instance, Base44 integrates with major content management and work operating systems.

Here is an overview of the most popular vibe coding tools for beginners:

*A usage-based billing system prices each interaction based on the amount of work the AI agent needs to complete, rather than charging a flat rate per request type.

#2. Create a Knowledge Document

There are two benefits of creating a document of “knowledge” – a detailed description of what you want to build and how you want it to look and function:

• It will give you a clearer vision for your project
• You can share the document with your vibe coding tool to teach it about your project

I used Gemini Pro 2.5 to help me build a knowledge document for my eco-friendly toothbrush website, with this prompt:

“I want to vibe code a single-page website for an environmentally-friendly toothbrush. Help me refine my vision and create a knowledge doc that I can share with my vibe coding platform.”

After refining the knowledge document with follow up prompts, the file can then be shared with your vibe coding platform. Lovable, as an example, used the document to create a website page close to my end goal – using only 1.5 credits!

#3. Test After Every Stage

Every time you add a new page, feature, element, or function, it’s crucial that you interact with the project preview to see how it performs. This habit will help you spot errors in your code much easier, which helps because:

• You’ll know the exact moment an issue occurs, which means you can identify exactly what caused it.
• It will be easier to fix. Think of a bug as a knot in your code – if you spot it early you can simply untie it, but code on top of it, and it will compound into a messy tangle.

After adding a ‘discounts’ section to the ecommerce pricing calculator I was creating, I navigated to the new section and created a sample Black Friday discount to test it out before prompting any further.

When testing new changes to your project:

• Follow the entire user journey by checking that the surrounding pages and features haven’t been impacted.
• Repeat in both mobile and desktop previews to ensure the change looks right and performs correctly across all touchpoints.

#4. Use Detailed Prompts for Better Results (But Don’t Go Overboard)

The best AI prompts strike the balance between specificity and simplicity. The more detail you provide, such as hex codes and pixel sizing, the less refinement you’ll need to make later.

Here’s an example of how many message credits you could save with effective prompting of color scheme changes:

➡️ Learn the art of prompting and other tips for AI content creation with our guide.

However, asking too much in one prompt can overwhelm the AI agent and cause misunderstanding or errors in completion, as I found out when asking Base44 to create an entire feature for my pricing calculator:

Instead, split each task up into three to five requests, and go hyper-specific about your preferences in each prompt.

#5. Make Use of Visual Editing

One of my biggest money-saving vibe coding tips is to use your tool’s visual editor wherever possible. This allows you to manually adjust the size, color, and position of text and images, without the need for a single prompt.

Visual editing mode usually works like a drag-and-drop website builder editor, and gives you the opportunity to play around with the look of your project without the risk of using up message credits.

#6. Follow Security Best Practices

AI can make mistakes that leave you open to security vulnerabilities. Many vibe coding platforms have built-in security measures to stop this from happening. For example, Base44 runs on managed hosting, encrypted data, and built-in authentication.

While there are a lot of vibe coding guidelines to remember for security, the most important are:

• Never store sensitive data (like API keys and authentication tokens) on your browser. Store them securely in the back end using a tool like Replit Secrets.
• To prevent attacks, treat all user inputs as potentially malicious. Ask your vibe coding tool to validate (check the format is correct) and sanitize (remove any harmful elements) any data shared by users.
• Ask your server to verify other users’ (such as members of your team) permissions before showing any pages with sensitive data or allowing them to make changes. This ensures users of all levels have access to the appropriate controls.

Running security-focused message prompts will help to keep your code in line with these security best practices. These can be as simple as:

“Help me secure my file uploads for my application”

“Help me keep sensitive data out of the browser. Am I doing this correctly?”

If you’re not sure where to start, I’ve found three great vibe coding examples from businesses to give you some inspiration:

#1. Social Proof Generator

Brand Proof Studios, made with Base44, is a marketing tool that uses AI to turn customer quotes into social proof graphics. The tool saves time and money by automating copywriting and graphic design. Plus, it can generate a range of content from one quote, such as PDF downloads and social media graphics.

#2. Memberships App

Club House Pererenan, a social club in Bali, has developed its own memberships app using Lovable. Club members can scan a digital QR code on arrival, and they can track their visits and progress, and access their benefits and book tables.

While the app is only downloadable for club members, the developer has shared the core features and images on Lovable’s Discord channel.

#3. Hospitality Business Website

Taistfulii, a short-term rental business, has vibe coded an entire bookings website with Base44. This is one of the more complex vibe coded websites I’ve seen, equipped with a booking widget, contact form, blog page, and a newsletter signup pop-up.

However, on the Base44 Discord community forum, Taistfulii’s creator noted that the team was unsuccessful at vibe coding an AI chatbot agent for the site.

Vibe coding is a game changer for many businesses – whether you want to boost your sales with AI, create time-saving internal tools, or cut the costs of hiring tech professionals. Still, AI agents aren’t magic, and there’s a learning curve involved. And if you’re using up your free plan credits on  preventable mistakes, it can take a long time to master.

Use these six vibe coding tips to help you find the right platform, improve your prompts, and learn to spot issues in functionality and security. Testing the platforms’ free trials is one of the best ways to learn for free. Base44 is a great place for beginners to start thanks to its user-friendly interface.

Try Base44 for Free

Get started building your app or website on Base44’s free plan, which gives you five daily message credits and full access to core integrations.

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