We’ve seen this moment before.
When PHP took off, web development changed almost overnight. Suddenly, it felt like anyone could build a website. A bit of copy and paste, a few tutorials, cheap hosting and you were live. The barrier to entry dropped dramatically. Speed and innovation increased. The internet exploded.
A lot of things worked. Very little was actually well built. Security was often an afterthought. Maintainability came second. As long as it ran, it was good enough. We are seeing this exact pattern again today, just on a larger scale. What PHP used to be is what vibe coding is today.
The difference lies in the level of abstraction. Back then, code was written, often without really understanding it. Today, code is generated, again without truly understanding it. You describe a problem, get a solution and iterate your way forward. The result feels finished very quickly.
And that is exactly what makes it dangerous. Just like before.
The dynamics are the same. The barrier to entry drops. Suddenly, many people can build things. Prototypes are created in minutes instead of days. Business units develop their own solutions. Productivity increases noticeably.
But understanding doesn’t grow at the same pace. Just like before.
As with the PHP boom, an illusion of competence emerges. Just because something works doesn’t mean it is well built. Or secure. Or scalable. Or maintainable in the long run. The barrier to creating something is low. The barrier to truly mastering it remains high.
The real difference compared to back then is the impact. A poorly built PHP script was often a local problem. Today, applications are deeply embedded in business processes, handle sensitive data and are used directly in production.
The parallel is obvious. PHP opened up web development. Vibe coding is opening up software development as a whole. But honestly, just like in the early days of PHP, I expect to see a lot of poorly built, immature but actively used software with security vulnerabilities.
History repeats itself: what PHP used to be is what vibe coding is today.
