Can ChatGPT Replace a WordPress Developer? I Tried It So You Don’t Have To

As someone who’s been working with WordPress for over 15 years, I’ve seen it all—page builders, theme frameworks, custom functions, security patches. And when I’ve needed something beyond my expertise, like a custom plugin, I’ve always turned to freelance developers. Platforms like Upwork have been a go-to for finding affordable, capable contractors who can jump in and get the job done. It’s not perfect, but for someone who doesn’t have a full-time dev on staff, it works.

But with the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT, a question popped into my head:
Could I skip the developer entirely and have ChatGPT build a plugin for me?

This wasn’t just a random experiment. I wanted to test whether a non-developer—someone like me, who understands WordPress deeply but doesn’t write code—could use ChatGPT alone to create a working, useful plugin.

The Setup

No IDE. No stack overflow rabbit holes. Just me, a blank plugin, and ChatGPT. I would describe what I wanted, ask for the code, copy/paste it into files, and see if I could get the thing to function.

Here’s what I learned:

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ChatGPT Can’t Do It All—At Least, Not Yet

At first, it felt promising. ChatGPT confidently generated plugin headers, admin menus, form shortcodes—you name it. It clearly understands the structure and purpose of a WordPress plugin. It knows what files to create, what hooks to register, and even how to talk to third-party APIs.

But as the project progressed, it became clear: Chat can’t hold it all together.

Every new request or change would either overwrite previous logic or fail to reference parts we’d already built. It’s not that it doesn’t “know”—it just can’t remember and manage complex architecture reliably over time. You end up either re-explaining everything constantly or watching it gradually erode the foundation it helped build.

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It’s Not Worth the Time

Even if Chat could stay perfectly organized, the time investment is substantial. Prompting, explaining, debugging, adjusting formatting, re-testing—it adds up fast.

And as someone who’s hired devs for years, I can confidently say:
My time is worth more than what I’d spend paying a real developer to build the same thing.

This experiment showed me that even “free” labor isn’t free when it comes with this much back-and-forth.

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Bugs Break the Whole Process

This is where things got painful.

Whenever the plugin hit a snag—and it always did—trying to fix it with ChatGPT turned into a loop of frustration. It would identify the issue, offer a fix, and that fix would break something else. When I pointed that out, the next fix would undo the progress we’d made or repeat an earlier mistake.

It wasn’t an accident—it was a cycle. Fix A caused Bug B. Fixing Bug B reintroduced Bug A.

That kind of instability is hard enough for a real developer to manage. For someone like me, who relies on Chat to do the actual coding, it quickly becomes untenable.

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ChatGPT is a Great Tool—for Developers

Ironically, I think ChatGPT would be fantastic if you’re already a developer.

If you know your way around the WordPress codebase and can diagnose problems in real time, Chat becomes a useful assistant. It can:

• Review code

• Explain obscure errors

• Suggest snippets or refactors

• Help brainstorm architectural changes

But if you’re expecting it to be your hands, not just your advisor? You’re in for a rough ride.

When you’re asking Chat to generate full plugin files or rewrite entire functions without knowing how to plug those into your system—or how to test and isolate issues—you’re essentially flying blind.

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Final Thoughts

I don’t regret trying. It was a fascinating experience and a great stress test of what AI can (and can’t) do today.

But here’s the honest bottom line:

If you don’t know how to code, ChatGPT won’t replace a developer for you. And if you do know how to code, ChatGPT might just become your new best friend.

It’s a powerful tool—but it’s not magic. At least not yet.

Also worth mentioning there are other AI tools besides ChatGPT that are more oriented around development and I would assume they would be more effective that what I experienced with ChatGPT but since most of them are paid tools and I don't see this as an ongoing project I couldn't justify paying for those just to give it a test.

And yes… Chat GPT helped me format my thoughts into this article. I figure it is only fitting to use Chat to discuss Chat's failures.