Can ChatGPT Really Code an Entire Website from Scratch? Here’s What I Learnt

As a web designer who regularly works with WordPress, HTML, CSS and a range of visual builders, I’ve been hearing a lot of hype about ChatGPT and its coding capabilities.

Naturally, I was curious! Can ChatGPT actually code an entire website from scratch? I decided to find out for myself.

Here’s what I learnt.

It’s not magic but it’s really smart

First things first, ChatGPT won’t deploy a website for you. It doesn’t host anything, upload files or manage domain settings. But where it shines is in generating clean, ready-to-use code quickly.

I asked it to scaffold a basic HTML and CSS website, and within seconds, it created a working homepage, navigation, styling and even placeholder text. It wasn’t flashy, but it worked and it followed best practices.

When I moved into more complex territory, like WordPress theme development, ChatGPT surprised me even more! It wrote style.css, functions.php and even suggested how to set up template files, like index.php, page.php and single.php.

Here’s a breakdown of how I used ChatGPT to scaffold a full WordPress theme.

It needs direction but follows instructions well

I quickly learnt that the quality of your prompt makes or breaks the outcome. Vague prompts, like “build a website” didn’t give me much. But when I was specific by asking “create a mobile-friendly HTML landing page with a contact form and hero section”, ChatGPT delivered exactly what I needed.

This is especially helpful when working on client websites. You can speed up my process by asking ChatGPT to generate reusable snippets, layout templates or even dynamic PHP loops for custom post types.

It’s great at boilerplate and structure

Where ChatGPT saves the most time is in generating:

• Theme scaffolding
  
  
• Plugin boilerplates
  
  
• Structured HTML and CSS grids
  
  
• Responsive layout frameworks
  
  
• Code for menus, widgets and footers

Instead of copying from Stack Overflow or Googling how to register a sidebar in WordPress (again), you now just ask ChatGPT and it gives you a working snippet instantly.

What ChatGPT can’t do (yet)

Here’s where ChatGPT hits its limits.

• It doesn’t test code in a live environment
  
  
• It won’t catch context-specific bugs
  
  
• It can’t access your database, FTP or WordPress dashboard
  
  
• It doesn’t replace the eye of a designer or UX specialist
  
  
• It still needs a human to review, edit and implement

So no, it’s not a one-click website builder. But it is an incredibly helpful assistant in the build process.

Final thoughts

ChatGPT won’t replace me as a designer and developer but it can be a key part of my toolkit to accelerate repetitive tasks, brainstorm content, write clean code faster and even debug small issues.

Related read: Will AI Steal My Job?

If you’re someone who builds websites, ChatGPT can absolutely help you build a website from scratch. Just be prepared to guide it with clear prompts and finish the work with your own judgement.

Want to use ChatGPT to speed up your next build? Read my guide on using ChatGPT to build a WordPress website.