AI can write code. That does not mean it should write yours.
Artificial intelligence tools have become remarkably capable in recent years. They can write code, generate content, and produce web pages at speed. It is tempting — especially for small business owners watching their budgets — to wonder whether AI could build their website for free, or close to it.
The short answer is: technically yes. The practical answer is: almost certainly not well enough, and possibly at a hidden cost far greater than hiring a professional in the first place.
This article explains why, plainly and without technical jargon.
The most dangerous thing about AI-generated code is not that it is wrong — it is that it looks right. AI produces output that appears polished and professional on the surface. Errors are buried underneath, invisible until something breaks.
A human developer who makes a mistake knows something feels off. AI does not know. It will confidently produce code with broken logic, accessibility failures, or security vulnerabilities and present it as complete and correct. If you do not have the technical knowledge to check it, you will not know either — until your website stops working, gets hacked, or fails a compliance check.
When a professional web designer or developer makes a mistake, they fix it. That is part of the service. There is a relationship, a responsibility, and in many cases a legal obligation.
When AI makes a mistake, there is nobody to call. You can report the error and ask for a correction, but there is no guarantee the correction will be right either. And if the mistake has cost you business, customers, or compliance with the law, there is no recourse whatsoever.
AI companies are explicit about this in their terms of service. The output is provided as-is, with no warranty and no liability. You carry all the risk.
Businesses that use AI to build websites often discover too late that the time spent correcting AI errors far exceeds the time it would have taken a professional to do the job properly in the first place.
A professional quotes for a job, does it, and delivers. AI requires you — or someone you hire afterwards — to review every output, test every function, and correct every error. If you lack the technical knowledge to do that yourself, you will end up paying a developer to fix AI-generated work, which is often harder and more expensive than building from scratch.
AI can save time on simple, isolated tasks. It is not a replacement for the end-to-end process of designing, building, testing, and launching a professional website.
Website accessibility — ensuring your site works for users with visual, hearing, or motor impairments — is increasingly recognised as both good practice and a legal consideration for UK businesses. Getting it right matters.
AI-generated websites frequently fall short on accessibility. Colour contrast ratios may be insufficient for visually impaired users. Page structure may not work correctly with screen readers. Forms may lack proper labels. These issues are rarely obvious to non-technical users reviewing an AI-built site.
A professional web designer is aware of accessibility requirements and works to meet them as part of the build process. AI produces output without reliably auditing it against accessibility standards, leaving the responsibility — and the work of identifying problems — entirely with you.
AI has no memory between sessions. Ask it to build ten pages for your website and each one may look and behave differently, use different class names, different colour values, and different layout approaches. The result is a website that feels disjointed, is difficult to maintain, and requires significant rework to bring into a consistent state.
A professional builds to a consistent standard from the start — the same stylesheet, the same structure, the same approach across every page. This is not just about aesthetics. It makes the site faster to load, easier to update, and simpler to hand over to another developer if needed.
A good web designer asks questions. They learn about your customers, your competitors, your goals, and your brand before writing a single line of code. The result is a website built around your specific needs.
AI works from whatever you type into a prompt. It has no understanding of your market, no awareness of what your competitors are doing, and no ability to suggest what would genuinely work best for your business. It produces what you ask for, not necessarily what you need.
AI-generated code can introduce security vulnerabilities that are not obvious to non-technical users. Forms that do not sanitise input, database queries that are open to injection attacks, or authentication systems that are not properly implemented can leave your website — and your customers' data — exposed.
A professional developer is aware of security best practices and builds them in from the start. AI may or may not include appropriate security measures, with no reliable way for a non-technical user to verify either way.
This is not an argument that AI has no place in web development. Used by a skilled professional who can verify, correct, and integrate its output, AI can speed up certain parts of the development process.
The key word is verify. A professional using AI as a tool is very different from AI replacing a professional. The first can be efficient and cost-effective. The second transfers all the risk — and all the work of catching errors — to you.
For business owners without technical backgrounds, AI-generated websites represent a false economy. The time cost of managing AI output, the risk of undetected errors, and the absence of any accountability make it a poor substitute for professional work — however impressive the initial output may appear.
If someone offers to build your website using AI tools at a significantly reduced price, ask them one question: who is responsible if something goes wrong? If the answer is not clear, neither is the value of what they are offering.
AI is a tool. In the right hands it can be useful. As a replacement for professional web design and development, it introduces risks that are invisible until they become expensive — in time, money, and potentially legal exposure.
Your website represents your business to every potential customer who finds you online. It is not the place to cut corners with technology that cannot be held accountable for its output.
