How AI Is Affecting Website Development

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is developing at an incredible speed, reshaping nearly every industry, and website development is no exception. From graphic design services to SEO tools and content writing, AI is starting to play a major role in how businesses operate online.

You may have heard of tools like ChatGPT (for generating text), DALL-E or Midjourney (for AI image creation), and Suno (for AI-generated music). These tools are just the beginning; AI is already making it easier to create, design, and maintain digital content. But how does it all actually work?

How Does AI Work?

Firstly, it's important to understand the difference between current AI and AGI. Today’s AI, like ChatGPT or image generators, is known as narrow AI, meaning it’s trained to perform specific tasks, like writing, designing, or analysing data. It doesn’t truly “understand” anything; it simply predicts patterns based on its dataset. On the other hand, AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) refers to an AI that could think, reason, and learn like a human across any task, and we’re not there yet.

AI models are trained on massive amounts of data. For example, a tool like ChatGPT is trained on text from books, websites, and articles, allowing it to understand context and generate human-like responses. Other types of AI generators, like image generators, work similarly but are trained on other data, such as images and their descriptions.

How AI Can Help Us

One of AI’s biggest strengths is basic automation. It can handle repetitive or time-consuming tasks that would normally eat into your working day. This means more efficiency, lower costs, and faster results.

For small business owners, AI tools can:

• Generate product descriptions and metadata
• Provide customer service for routine enquiries.
• Create new marketing ideas

However, it's important for a human to check all AI suggestions before carrying anything out. This is because AI is not perfect and can frequently make mistakes.

Where We Should Be Careful of AI

As powerful as AI is, it's not perfect, and in some cases, it can be misleading. One of the biggest issues is hallucination, where AI makes up information that sounds plausible but isn’t accurate. This is a real problem if you're relying on AI for completing important tasks like generating code.

Other risks include:

• Creating unoriginal or generic designs that can hurt your brand
• Misinformation or copyright issues
• Missed SEO opportunities due to keyword stuffing or poor formatting

AI doesn’t understand why something is important; it just mimics what it’s seen before. That’s why bespoke web design created by an experienced web developer still beats a DIY AI-built site every time.

The Future of AI and Website Development

Right now, there are AI tools that can help write blocks of code from simple prompts, like GitHub Copilot. There are also tools that are completely integrated into platforms like Wix (Wix ADI), claiming to build your entire website in seconds. These sound exciting, but the reality is less impressive.

We’ve tested these tools — and they often produce:

• Unoptimised websites with bloated or buggy code
• Inconsistent designs that don’t match your branding
• Poor SEO structure that won’t rank well in search engines

If you're a small business,a badly made DIY website could do far more harm than good. It may not be mobile-friendly, it might load slowly, and you’ll likely lose visitors before you’ve had a chance to make a good impression. Unfortunately, you still need the relevant skills and experience to correctly interpret and implement AI advice. It's just like how you can't trust Google to make a medical diagnosis!

That being said, the future is bright. AI is improving rapidly, and one day it might be possible to build a beautiful, optimised site in a few clicks. But we’re not there yet, and your business deserves better than “good enough”.

Conclusion: Trust Humans First (For Now)

AI is a powerful tool, and like any tool, it’s all about how you use it. At Catch That Click, we have real-world design experience to give you a website that works hard for your business.

Whether you need bespoke website design, local graphic design services, or smart SEO improvements, we’ve got the knowledge and tools to help you grow online responsibly and efficiently.

Ready to upgrade your website? Get in touch with Catch That Click, your friendly, local web design team based in Suffolk.