AI can replace your web agency, until it can't

Will recent development in AI make websites cheaper? Does that mean you can ditch your web agency? Can you build one yourself? What about larger websites, systems and web applications? AI has been a game changer to this (and other) industries.

Firstly, it is worth differentiating between agencies that use AI as a tool to help them do a job, and those who get them to do it all for them. There is a huge difference, and in this article you’ll see why.

Small brochure websites

Small websites can now be knocked up using AI within hours using a few lines of prompts and they can be as good, if not better than many budget web agencies. They are not perfect, they may miss some vital points but, if you do not care that much, and just want a placeholder site then they may be a good option. In fact, some budget web agencies do this and deliver small websites surprisingly fast. For full transparency, we have done this for a few of our less important internal satellite sites that we do not care about.

Medium brochure websites

For companies that don’t need a perfect website, but one that is ‘good enough’ then AIs are getting there quickly, very quickly. A small web agency can do better (or should be able to), but are they worth the additional costs? This is getting harder to justify and is drying up this end of the market. If my web agency relied on this market, I would be worried, very worried.

Differentiating yourself

This is where web agencies come back in to the picture. With more medium-sized websites being AI-generated people are likely to have more content, better designs, and a more persuasive narrative all at the same cost. This is raising the bar, and it means that a company needs to do more to stand out. Being mediocre isn’t good enough, and then this is where web agencies and developers come back in to the picture. The issue is that although they can use AI as a tool, they now have a much harder task and similar amount of work.

Class divide

My hypothesis is that this may produce a class-divide in websites. Specifically, there will be a lot of similar AI-generated budget websites, and then the next-level sites built by specialist agencies that cost much more money and are much further ahead in quality. The gap in between will be a hard-sell for agencies, so most websites will fall in to one of the two camps. I believe that the overall quality of websites will be higher, so to get noticed business will need to shout even louder.

Larger or more complex websites

When a web agency builds a larger website, they need to consider a lot more. There are so many variables that AI cannot do it from a simple prompt, it needs not only human involvement, but expert human involvement. We are finding that we can use AI as a tool to help us work quicker, whether that is creating small parts of code, or helping with research, but the overall strategy needs our input. In fact, that now we are considering AI search, answer engine optimisation (AEO) and whatever other buzzwords you want to insert, as well as placing a much higher emphasis on the user experience (UX), our workload is the same if not higher. We are using AI to assist with the simple tasks, and creating more complex ones for ourselves. The end-result for clients is they are getting a lot more for their money; but they need that because the entry-level websites beneath them are getting better.

(Lack of) expandability

AIs tend to follow the brief, humans (should be able to) think to the future. We are getting a few enquiries recently where people have used AI to develop a website and just want us to “SEO it” afterwards. It doesn’t work like that. UX (user experience), SEO, as well as AEO and GEO (AI search optimisation) should not be added as an afterthought, they should be the foundation on which the site is built. The hard work goes not just in the build itself, but everything else around it. We find that the majority of AI-generated websites are not that expandable. They fulfil their original task, sometimes very well, but come unstuck if they need additional functionality. This isn’t entirely true, but consider them more as a disposable product and you’ll not be disappointed. So, what do you need to do to make them future-proof? Well, as with larger or more complex websites, this is where experienced web developers have their uses. Phew, web agencies saved, for now at least.

Staffing pipeline

If you’re paying attention to this article, you’ll notice that web agencies are now concentrating on the more complex work, and using AI for the basics, and that this is likely to cause a huge issue in the industry. If AI can do the junior-level jobs easily, why would an agency hire junior developers? If there are no junior developers, where do the mid-level and senior developers originate from? Where do the junior developers get jobs? Entry level positions now require many years of experience. This will be an issue in the near future.

Web development is more complex

This is what may save our bacon. Web development does not yet follow the same trends as brochure web design. It is a superb tool for web agencies to use to make development faster, but does not replace web agencies. Let me explain…

I have just built this...

AI can generate prototype web applications very quickly, but in most that we have seen they have no substance. They may demonstrate a concept, but are not at the MVP (minimum viable product) level and, just like with brochure sites, are not expandable. With web development the forethought and preparation is imperative, and this comes with experience. So, does this mean that AI can’t be used successfully to develop web applications? No, of course not, it just needs to be controlled by an experienced web developer and not a simple prompt. We have been given several examples of code to ‘finish off’, and every time it hasn’t been feasible. It’s hard to explain to customers that, despite them putting loads of effort in to their project, it is little use as a foundation, and they may as well have used PowerPoint. Simple applications may be OK, but the AI is only as good as the user writing the prompts.

So, what web development is AI good for?

Quite a lot actually. Debugging issues, writing smaller snippets of code, and scanning and editing large volumes of code. Imagine you have 100,000 lines of code, and need to upgrade it to work on a newer underlying system with slightly different syntax; well this is where AI comes into its own as it can go through it line by line and alert you to, or fix, the issues. If you want to scan the whole codebase for dubious commands added by a hack, yes, it will do this in an instant. If you need to adapt a function slightly, but it affects multiple areas, again it’s good. It really is a game changer. We (I say “we”, but it was one of my colleagues, not me) just performed a code upgrade that last year would have taken 2.5 weeks, in 4 hours…

So, it’s all good, yes?

Nooooooooo. Far from it. AI has learnt from code published online, which is not necessarily the last version, was written by humans, and contains errors. Developers don’t post code to Stack Overflow (a place where developers go to ask for help) because it works, they post it because it is faulty. All of the older versions or open-source code with vulnerabilities built in are online, and there have been plentiful instances of vulnerabilities being copied in to custom code via AI. Even if you naively assume that AI understands the entire brief, and builds the perfectly organised future-proof infrastructure, it does not mean that the code will be written to a high quality, secure and bug free. So, it still needs to be reviewed by a web developer ideally in parts as it is written. But humans make mistakes too? Yes, they do, but they also (mostly) write code in a logical order, and to save wear and tear on their fingers, keep it short. AI doesn’t, the code can be very long-winded, and very hard to check. This is why it needs a senior developer to review it, not a junior one. Sound familiar? Have you ever asked AI a question and it’s gone off on the wrong track? The copy that it writes seems convincing, but misses the point and is 10x longer than it needs to be, lots of waffle. Well, the same is true with code, and would you want that looking after your sensitive user data and credit card details?

AI really is a great tool

It really is a great tool, as I said above, it’s a game changer in the industry. But it is just that, AI is a tool, not a replacement for a developer.

So, do I get more for my money?

Yes, absolutely. This is the best bit from a customer’s perspective. AI is not going to replace a web developer for a business-critical system, you can’t write one prompt and get something you can rely on. But you can absolutely get your web agency to develop it faster and cheaper, or get a lot more functionality for your money. That project that was just out of reach financially may be affordable, and rather than be the minimum viable product proposed, can now be the solution that was actually wanted. Without a shadow of doubt, if you have been quoted for a web project before that was just out of reach, then now is the time to ask your web agency to revisit their offer!

How Webbed Feet can help?

We are not averse to AI, we can’t be, we need to embrace it. Talk to us if you want to know how it can work with you, and how we can work with it. We can review code written by AIs, and will give honest answers, we can be the senior web agency that fills the gaps in the puzzle. Be honest with us, or your own developers; don’t hide the fact that you are using AI away, don’t treat it like a dirty little secret, be transparent. An honest web agency should be able to tell you where you’ve gone wrong, where you’re biting off more than you can chew, but also where you can save time and money. AI is a tool, not a replacement. Still don’t believe me, could AI completely replace your job, or do you still add value? I’m assuming the latter, or you would be closing your doors.

Are web agencies in trouble?

If you’re a small agency with a low mid-level of experience and expertise, making small brochure sites, then yes, you’re in trouble, big trouble. AI can make smaller sites that are ‘good enough’ so quickly and easily, it’s crazy. For web agencies who specialise in larger websites, then need to rely on their expertise to make their websites perform above and beyond what they are used to, and need to embrace as a tool. Their role is going to change from a junior one, to that more of a senior developer and strategist. Agencies who specialise in development projects are safe, for now. They also need to embrace AI and pass the value to their clients to stay competitive. As we fall in the latter two groups, it is honestly both worrying and exciting. Whatever the future is likely to hold, we need to embrace AI, and change our whole offer and marketing strategy. The online world is changing fast, and being good enough just got a whole lot harder, we need to be exceptional. If you are a junior web developer, then you need to knuckle down quickly and step up your game before you get left behind. If you are thinking of starting in the industry, then I have absolutely no idea. Sorry!

The next steps

Like it or not, AI is here to stay. It’s time for web agencies to welcome it in to our world with open arms, and time for customers to find an agency that they can trust to advise them what is a DIY job and what needs an expert. Oh, one more thing, lots of businesses are thinking that AI is the answer and some kind of magic bean, and asking their inexperienced staff to use AI to create their whole digital presence. We have seen this many times already, and in many cases, it will go bad, very bad, very very bad. But, on the plus side, we’ll be there to pick up the pieces. As a business owner it is important to both use AI, and crucially realise its limitations and, if you’re unsure, pick up the phone. We are Webbed Feet, we’re here to help.