I became a Next.js dev while improving my K/D ratio (vibe coding)

Took two flights (HEL-BER), and somehow, a LAMP boomer (me) ended up building Next.js apps. No clue why or how any of this works, but here we are.

At first, I sucked. Bad. Like, ChatGPT'ing “What’s md for Mac?” bad. This started with absolute chaos - just-write-typoed shit everywhere, breaking things left and right.

Then I switched my workflow: plan in ChatGPT first, break things down, then touch code - and suddenly, it clicked.

I don't think I have been this hyper-focused since the stonks era, which escalated so badly I ended up writing smut about stonking. (pic related)

But now? I’m vibe coding my entire affiliate website portfolio into a modern stack. At least, that’s the plan.

Vibe Coding as a learning strategy

I'm thinking why isn’t everyone doing this? I literally learned to code in the ‘90s from outdated library books and diskettes, hoping my code worked the next time I got internet access.

Now? I can vibe code, ask ChatGPT for instant explanations, and iterate in real-time.

“But did you really learn anything if you don’t fully understand how it works?”

Honestly? Yes. I avoided the modern JS stack for over a decade because LAMP worked fine for my typical marketing funnel use case. But with Cursor explaining things and ChatGPT breaking down differences, I finally did it in 4 hours.

I still don’t fully understand everything, but that’s exactly the point - learning while building is the entire process. Just like I originally learned LAMP by copying code from Stack Overflow and testing it, I’m now generating, testing, and tweaking code in real-time instead of spending hours Googling.

One unexpected bonus? Better accessibility. AI keeps catching things I never considered - like ensuring proper contrast ratios (WCAG AA or higher) and optimizing page structures automatically. Turns out, vibe coding also means accidentally making things more usable.

Vibe SEO & affiliate portfolio migration

I’ve got 30+ affiliate sites still running, plus the entire Herizon marketing funnel ecosystem I’m working on. But now that I’ve built a migration boilerplate and a lead gen boilerplate, that makes moving everything to Next.js almost effortless.

I’m seriously considering digging up my old affiliate portfolio backup from the basement, migrating the relevant ones, and relaunching the whole thing. Crazy times.

I vibe coded 12 websites last weekend. It's still not my entire affiliate/lead gen portfolio, but getting there.

A couple of findings:

The marketing funnel built in 17 minutes gets insane performance scores.

Next.js migration = instant SEO boost. I dragged a forgotten WordPress site into the modern era with my migration boilerplate, and Google Search Console is already showing improvements.

Can I actually migrate everything in few weekends?

At this point, I’m too deep into the vibe coding rabbit hole to stop now. Cursor’s still open, caffeine levels are high, and the boilerplate is getting more refined by the hour.

If LAMP boomer me can do this, I’m not sure what excuse anyone else has.