I built a Pinterest-inspired web app. It's cute, but it shows how coding with AI falls short.

In a recent endeavor, I set out to create a web application inspired by Pinterest, using AI platforms Lovable and Wix. While my experience was certainly enlightening, it became clear that my creation fell short of the polished features offered by established apps. My journey began with a request from a friend to develop a mood board application named "Dreamscapes". The goal was straightforward: allow users to create multiple spaces for pinning images and sharing ideas with collaborators. With my newfound skills in vibe coding, I attempted to build this app within the constraints of Base44, an AI coding platform. Initially, I crafted a detailed prompt with the help of ChatGPT and submitted it to Base44, hoping to automate much of the process. However, I quickly encountered limitations. It took me eight days of free credits just to get the pin boards functioning in a basic way, marking this as one of my most challenging projects yet. The app ultimately featured several functionalities. Users can design "spaces" that resemble pinboards, complete with customizable backgrounds. Within these spaces, there are "scenes"—templates tailored for various creative projects, including mood boards and timelines. The mood board feature was my attempt to replicate Pinterest’s user-friendly design, but it remained a simple digital notebook rather than a dynamic visual platform. Despite my efforts, Dreamscapes is riddled with issues. I often found myself wishing I had a better grasp of coding or a clearer way to communicate my needs to the AI. Simple glitches, such as issues with the mood board edges and loading failures of the notes function, consumed my daily credits without yielding satisfactory fixes. Additionally, making the app mobile-friendly proved impossible, and I was unable to deploy it on the Apple App Store due to the limitations of the free version. My project starkly highlighted the vast gap between amateur creations and robust platforms like Pinterest. With its extensive image library and sophisticated algorithms, Pinterest has effectively transformed into an AI-driven visual discovery platform. According to Ayumi Nakajima, a senior director at Pinterest, the platform is designed to understand user preferences beyond mere keywords, a capability that my basic tool lacks. In summary, while I was able to create a functional mood board application, it pales in comparison to the comprehensive features offered by established platforms. My experience underscores the challenges faced by hobbyist coders when attempting to compete with advanced AI-driven applications.