🎙️ VMPro Podcast Episode #007: AI And The Future of WordPress + Page Builders!
Fabrizio Van Marciano
WordPress Educator
TRANSCRIPT
Hey guys, welcome back to another short episode of the VMPro Podcast—your go-to show for aspiring designers, developers, and small business owners. In today’s episode, we’re exploring the future of WordPress and page builders, especially as AI continues to introduce new ways to design and build websites. Some of it is exciting, some of it is not, but let’s dive straight in.
Welcome back, folks—great to have you here for another episode. I think this makes two in the space of a month, which is exactly what I set out to do: bring you more consistent content through the podcast.
Now, let’s get into the topic everyone’s seemingly talking about—AI, and what it means for WordPress and page builders moving forward.
So, recently Bricks 2.3 dropped with some incredible new features. One of which was something called HTML + CSS to Bricks, which allows you to generate code template using AI and then copying and pasting the output directly into Bricks, then Bricks will convert that HTML into sections, containers, elements, all structured nicely for you to tweaks and modify.
Am I excited about this new feature? Yes, and also no. Yes, I see how AI can be used to cut work time in half as well as help designers find new creative inspiration. But, I think it’s also going to make designers lazy and less able to be creative themselves. Not to mention, the small detail in which AI often leaves behind, that only a human touch can create. I could be wrong, because as this continues to evolve over time, it might get better, but for now that is my opinion.
Personally, I don’t see this being a feature that I’ll use very often—especially on client projects. Personal projects perhaps yes, I’ll definitely give it a try. If I’ve got a specific layout or design idea and AI can help bring that to life, or even just spark the initial direction that I can then refine manually, that’s a win. But I won’t be relying on it to produce fully finished layouts for me.
One question I’ve been getting a lot lately is when I’ll be adding AI-focused tutorials to Van Marciano Pro. It’s not something that’s high on my list right now, but with Bricks 2.3 now out, I’ll be looking to update the course later this year.
Now, I don’t want this to sound like I’m against using AI in web development—because I’m not. It’s already found its way into my workflow over time, whether I like it or not. There’s no real avoiding it at this point. But the way I use AI isn’t to build entire websites for me. It’s more about speeding things up—getting code suggestions, tightening up my process, and occasionally sense-checking what I’m working on. That’s where I’ve found tools like Claude Code especially useful. And speaking of that…
Alright, let’s zoom out for a second and look at the bigger picture. What does the future hold for WordPress and page builders, especially as more people start exploring alternative solutions?
I’ve been noticing a clear shift—both from some of my students and other creators in the space—towards tools like Astro paired with Claude Code. I’m really fascinated by this and we’ll dive into that a bit more later in the episode.
Here’s where I stand on it.
If WordPress wants to stay relevant long term, it needs to embrace AI in a much bigger way—simple as that. We’re already seeing early steps from page builders, like the example I mentioned with Bricks 2.3, and that’s a solid start.
Whether we like it or not, AI isn’t going anywhere. I don’t see people getting bored of it, and I don’t think there’s going to be some drop-off after the hype phase either. It’s here, and it’s only going to get more integrated into how we work.
So how can this happen? Well, it’s already started. WordPress 7 is evidence that it’s wondering further into AI territory. v7 will include a built-in AI client. I say ‘will include’ because it’s currently, at the time of recording this episode, an experimental work in WordPress. You can read all about it via this link.
But in a nutshell, it’s essentially the idea that WordPress will eventually include a native AI interface directly inside the admin/dashboard, instead of relying on third-party plugins. You can think of it as:
- A built-in assistant (similar to ChatGPT)
- Available inside the editor (Gutenberg)
- Able to interact with your site content, design, data, and so on!
So if WordPress is clearly moving towards AI, what does that mean for third-party plugins and page builders?
Well, like I mentioned earlier, tools like Bricks are already starting to bring AI much closer into the workflow with features HTML + CSS to Bricks. And honestly, I think this is just the beginning. It won’t be long before we see a wave of new ideas and deeper AI integrations coming from plugin developers across the ecosystem.
From my perspective, the future actually looks bright for both WordPress and the page builders built around it. I’m really excited about it, at the same time, I don’t want to be overly reliant on the technology.
So that’s my take on things and how I see the future shaping up. But now I want to shift gears and talk about a direction I’m seeing more and more web designers move towards.
I recently had a conversation with one of my students who’s stepped away from WordPress and is now building their site using Astro alongside Claude Code. That definitely caught my attention, so I decided to dig a little deeper and explore what that’s all about.
So if you don’t already know:
Astro and Claude Code are part of a very different way of building websites compared to WordPress + page builders.
Astro works as the foundation platform. A modern JavaScript web framework used to build fast, mostly static websites. So instead of building pages visually like you would in Bricks or Oxygen, Astro let’s you write code (HTML, CSS, JS, or components like React/Vue if needed) and then generate pages at build time (static output), and then ship very little JavaScript to the browser, resulting in super fast loading websites. Sound amazing, right?
OK, so what about Claude Code?
Claude Code acts as your assistance, helping you to write the code. Think of it as an AI coding partner, OK. You describe what you want, for example “Create a responsive hero section with a heading, text, and CTA”, and Claude Code will not only generate the code, but also help you to structure your components, suggest improvements, and debug any problems.
That said, to get the most out of this workflow, you should have a solid grasp of web design fundamentals, along with working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and ideally some JavaScript. I think that makes a big difference, because you can’t rely entirely on AI. There will always be things you’ll want to tweak or refine, and without at least a basic understanding of code, you’ll likely struggle.
OK, so that’s the nutshell version, but there’s obviously a lot more depth to it. I am excited and interested in exploring this approach further and, who knows, maybe down the line I’ll put together a full course on the process, but not for a while yet.
There’s still a lot for me to dive into when it comes to using page builders like Bricks and Oxygen 6 more specifically, and over the coming weeks I’ll start sharing how I actually use AI to streamline my workflow—along with plenty more.
So there you have it—that’s my two cents. I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts on AI, WordPress, and where page builders are heading. Are you excited about what’s coming, or are you planning to steer clear of AI in your web design workflow? Like me, are you curious, but still lean toward more human-crafted websites? Let me know what you think.
If you found this useful, feel free to share the podcast on your socials.
OK so we’ve come to the end of this episode. I hope you’ve found it entertaining as well as educational. A little bit of a short one. If you are interested in learning more about my WordPress and page builder courses, tutorials, and resources, you can check out my membership options at Van Marciano Pro. Until the next episode, take it easy, happy building, and stay safe out there.
