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A client used AI to fix their own website and took the whole thing down. Their developer rode in and saved the day.
Well done. The developer fixed a problem they helped cause.
As developers we need to stop glorifying the save. That site was in peril because of choices made long before anyone typed a prompt.
Bad code happens. AI writes it. People write it. I've written plenty of it. What shouldn't happen is one bad change taking a whole site down. That's what the boring stuff is for.
- Nobody should change the live site's code directly. Not the client. Not me.
- Changes should be checked on a test copy of the site first.
- Every change should be logged, so you know who did what and when.
- Rollbacks should undo bad edits in seconds, not hours.
None of this is new. None of it is about AI either. It should be the same whenever a client asks for full access, regardless of platform.
If you're the developer, push back when a client asks for the keys to the whole site. Explain the danger and get it on the record. They pay the bills, so you might lose the argument. That's just the way it goes. But hand the keys over without a word and you're doing yourself and our profession no favours.
If you're the client, hire a developer who'll challenge you when you're about to do something daft.
Boring, safe, reliable. And still operational.
There's a time and a place to be cavalier. Your live website isn't it.