Traditional CMS vs Vibe Coding: Who’s Winning (and Who’s at Risk)?
Vibe coding tools like Lovable are forcing every major CMS to answer a hard question:
“If someone can build a full site just by chatting with an AI, what is my editor for?”
Traditional CMSs were built around visual editors, templates, and plugins. Vibe coding flips that: you describe the vibe and the AI writes the code, designs the layout, and hooks into APIs for you.
In this article, we’ll look at how four big ecosystems are reacting:
Squarespace
Webflow
Shopify
WordPress (plus Elementor, Divi & co.)
…and why some are better positioned than others.
Quick refresher: what is “vibe coding”?
“Vibe coding” is a term popularized by Lovable: instead of manually writing code or dragging elements around, you describe what you want in natural language and the AI builds a real, editable app or website for you. (Lovable)
It’s not just an AI template generator. The current wave of tools can:
Generate actual code (front-end and back-end)
Connect to real databases and APIs
Integrate with platforms like Shopify or WordPress
Let developers take over and extend the generated result
That’s why vibe coding directly overlaps with what CMSs and visual page builders have been doing for years.
Squarespace: in the most difficult spot
Squarespace is, ironically, a victim of its own biggest strength: the ultra-simple drag-and-drop editor.
The product is designed so that non-technical users can build a polished site with minimal decisions. That’s perfect in a world where the hardest part is putting a page together. But in a world where AI can already generate a full site from a prompt, “nice drag-and-drop editor” stops being a differentiator.
Where Squarespace is strong:
Beautiful, curated templates out of the box
Consistent editing experience for non-technical users
All-in-one platform (hosting, domain, email, etc.)
Where Squarespace is exposed in the vibe coding era:
Limited backend control
Developers can’t really treat Squarespace as an app platform. There’s no first-class way to manage dynamic data models, custom APIs, or full user-specific experiences at scale. Everything lives inside the constraints of the Squarespace editor.Very shallow user accounts / membership layer
Squarespace has some basic member features, but not the kind of deep, extensible user system that makes sense for AI-generated apps or complex web experiences.Basic ecommerce compared to dedicated platforms
Fine for simple stores, but nowhere near Shopify’s developer ecosystem, APIs, or headless options.No native “vibe coding” story (yet)
There is no official AI-native, prompt-to-site builder that exposes real structure and backend capabilities to developers.
Because of this, Squarespace (and similar drag-and-drop page builders) currently look like the most at risk if vibe coding becomes the default way to start new projects.
Webflow: moving from visual builder to AI app platform
Webflow saw this coming and decided not to stay “just a visual site builder.” Their new App Gen feature is a clear move into the vibe-coding space.
What App Gen does
Webflow App Gen is an AI-powered code generation experience built directly into Webflow. You can describe the app you want and it generates production-grade web apps that: (Webflow)
Use your existing design system and components
Hook into your Webflow CMS collections
Deploy to Webflow Cloud as full-stack web experiences
This is classic vibe coding, but with a twist: it’s anchored to your existing brand, content, and structure rather than spitting out a random prototype.
Why Webflow is relatively well positioned
Already strong among designers and front-end oriented teams
Has a real CMS and now a full-stack hosting platform (Webflow Cloud)
App Gen can become the “vibe coding layer” on top of that stack
If they execute well, Webflow can tell a powerful story:
“Start with a prompt, ship a real app, stay on brand, and manage everything in one platform.”
That’s exactly how a traditional CMS transforms into a modern vibe coding platform.
Shopify: secretly the best positioned of them all
If you look at ecommerce only, Shopify is probably in the best spot in this whole shift.
Why? Because Shopify already made the hard technical decisions years ago:
Strong API and app ecosystem
Flexible theme system
First-class support for headless commerce and custom front-ends
Robust checkout and payments infrastructure
Now vibe coding tools can plug directly into that.
Lovable, for example, launched a Shopify integration that lets you describe the store you want and generates a fully functional Shopify storefront – product pages, navigation, checkout, the works. (Lovable)
In this world, Shopify becomes:
The commerce engine + admin + data layer
Vibe coding becomes the front-end and experimentation engine.
You can “vibe code”:
New landing pages
Seasonal campaigns
Microsites with custom flows
Entire new stores for new ideas
…and still rely on Shopify for inventory, taxes, payments, analytics, and apps.
This is exactly what a modern platform should look like in the vibe coding era: strong APIs and infrastructure, open to whatever AI-generated front-end you want to sit on top.
WordPress: the unexpected winner
WordPress is often seen as “old,” but in the vibe coding game, it’s surprisingly well positioned.
Here’s why:
Total backend control
Developers get full access to the database, PHP, REST APIs, and can run arbitrary logic. Any AI-generated front-end has a very capable backend to connect to.Huge ecosystem & hosting flexibility
WordPress runs on almost any hosting stack and can be extended with tens of thousands of plugins. That gives vibe-coding tools a ton of surface area to work with.Native vibe coding arriving fast
10Web’s Vibe for WordPress is marketed as an AI-native frontend builder that works directly with the WordPress backend. You describe the site you want and it generates a fully editable WordPress site, without locking you into a proprietary system. (10Web)On top of that, WordPress.com itself has launched an AI site builder that can generate complete sites (content + layout + images) based on a chat-style flow. (The Verge)
So WordPress now has:
Open backend
Mature plugin ecosystem
Multiple native and third-party AI / vibe coding layers
That’s a powerful combination. It lets WordPress act as the operating system for AI-generated sites rather than being replaced by them.
The drag-and-drop page builders: in the danger zone
Then we have the classic visual builders:
Elementor
Divi
Replo
GemPages
Other “clone a section, drag some widgets” tools
These products made sense when:
Most users wanted pixel-perfect control
AI couldn’t yet produce decent layouts
The bottleneck was “I don’t know how to code”
Now, vibe coding tools can generate:
Clean layouts
Responsive sections
Functional components
Integrated flows (forms, carts, dashboards)
…from a single prompt.
If all a page builder offers is manual dragging and dropping of blocks, it’s hard to justify its existence once:
AI can generate 80–90% of what you need, and
Developers prefer working directly with code or open platforms.
These tools can still win if they:
Become AI-native (prompt-to-layout inside the builder)
Integrate deeply with CMSs and backends (not just “pretty pages”)
Offer real extensibility for developers
But if they stay where they are today, they risk becoming the main losers of the vibe coding transition.
So… how are traditional CMSs actually adapting?
If we zoom out:
Squarespace
Still heavily dependent on a simple editor, with limited backend and no strong vibe coding story yet. Currently the most exposed.Webflow
Actively embracing vibe coding with App Gen + Webflow Cloud. Trying to become a full stack, AI-powered app platform rather than just a visual builder. (Webflow)Shopify
Letting tools like Lovable generate stores on top of its battle-tested commerce backend. Perfectly positioned as the “ecommerce engine” for AI-built experiences. (Lovable)WordPress
Quietly turning into the default OS for AI-generated sites with tools like 10Web’s Vibe for WordPress and WordPress.com’s AI builder. (10Web)
The pattern is clear:
The CMSs that treat AI and vibe coding as a new frontend on top of a strong backend are winning.
Those that only protect their drag-and-drop editor are falling behind.
What this means for businesses and developers
If you’re a business owner choosing a stack, ask:
Can I start ideas quickly with AI, and
Can my developers later extend, optimize, and scale those ideas?
If you’re a developer or agency, ask:
Does this platform give me real backend/API control?
Are there vibe coding tools that integrate cleanly with it?
Or am I stuck inside a closed visual editor forever?
Platforms that answer “yes” to both are the ones that will still matter in 3–5 years.