Unpacking the Vibe: Why Architecture Still Matters in Coding

Last week, I had one of those conversations that stick with you. I met a subscriber of mine, and we ended up chatting for more than an hour. He isn’t a developer — he’s a growth manager. But what surprised me was how deeply he engages with my blogs and newsletters. And then came the twist: he had recently built a SaaS product. 🤯

Not with a dev team. Not after months of coding. Just him, ChatGPT, and a handful of prompts.

The Rise of the Vibe Coder 🪄

He walked me through his process, and honestly, it was impressive. He stitched together a working product without writing a single line of code himself. That’s when I realized I was sitting across from my first real “vibe coder.”

And it made me pause.

So, what exactly is vibe coding? 🤔

At its simplest, vibe coding is about building software by prompting AI tools — without worrying much about structure, syntax, or long-term scalability. You throw in your intent, iterate a few times, and watch a prototype take shape.

For quick demos, MVPs, or weekend experiments, it works. It lowers the barrier to entry and empowers non-developers who want to test ideas without waiting for a team or a budget. 🤑

But here’s the catch: vibe coding only takes you so far! 🚧

Why Architecture Still Matters 🔍

Here’s where my perspective gets a little more serious. The real strength of a software engineer isn’t typing out lines of code; it’s designing the architecture.

Think of building a house. Before the first brick is laid, an architect sketches the blueprint. Where’s the entrance? How do the rooms connect? How much space do you allocate to each part? Without that plan, the house collapses when you add a second floor.🏠

Software works the same way. Good engineers map out data flow, define service boundaries, and think about scale long before pressing “run.” Architecture is what makes an app resilient when traffic spikes, when features pile on, or when real-world users push it beyond its comfort zone. 💪

This is where vibe coding cracks. AI can spit out working code, sure. But it doesn’t know your business constraints, your scaling plans, or the trade-offs between performance and maintainability.

Can AI Handle Architecture? 🤖

You might be thinking: “Fine, I’ll just ask ChatGPT to act like a software architect.” But here’s the problem — if you aren’t an engineer, how do you validate the blueprint it gives back? How do you critique its assumptions? If you can’t challenge the architecture, you can’t trust it to hold up in production. ⏳

That’s why vibe coding isn’t a standalone practice. At best, it complements engineering. If you have a techie to review, validate, and stress-test what AI produces, vibe coding can speed things up. But on its own, it leaves too many blind spots. 📉

So, Does Vibe Coding “Exist”? 🤷‍♂️

Not really. Either you understand software engineering, or you need engineers. There’s no in-between. Vibe coding might give you a head start, but it can’t replace the critical judgment that comes from actual engineering.

That’s exactly what I told him that day. What started as a casual chat turned into a deep discussion about where software is heading and where human judgment still matters most.

And honestly? I’m grateful for the conversation. It sparked this blog.

Takeaway: Bridging the Gap 🏗️

Vibe coding has its place — it’s great for testing ideas and lowering the entry point into software building. But when moving beyond prototypes into real products, architecture is the missing piece. Without it, things eventually break. 💥

The future, I suspect, isn’t vibe coders versus engineers. It’s vibe coders alongside engineers — with architecture as the bridge between what’s easy to start and what’s strong enough to last.