Client-built apps are advanced prototypes, not production code

A client recently presented us with a self-built app and asked us to make it production-ready.

We are going to see much more of this: client-built, vibe-coded applications. The reality was this was a good candidate: no e-commerce, no complex integrations. Just a configurable lead-gen.

We’re in a transition moment. Before, as the agency partner, we did all the build work. But increasingly, we’re going to be presented with vibe-coded partial solutions from clients.

We shouldn’t feel threatened by this, but we also shouldn’t treat them as production code. These are advanced prototypes.

These are advanced prototypes.

Rather than needing a full discovery, these clients are demonstrating what they want via an interactive prototype. The expertise of the agency partner still matters. The client will likely focus on the look-and-feel - but as an expert agency, we have many different lenses: security, performance, SEO, accessibility and more.

Clients who bring us well-considered prototypes are collapsing the discovery and definition phase, but not replacing the build phase.