Robot testing code

Testing new code in WordPress.

Before you hit “copy-paste” on that sleek new AI-generated snippet, remember that professional developers spend about 30% of their time writing code and 70% testing it. If you’re a “vibe coder,” you need to flip that ratio even further to ensure your site doesn’t crash the moment a real user interacts with it.

Use this checklist to audit and validate your AI-generated WordPress features before they go live.

Phase 1: The Safety First Audit

  • Staging Environment: Never, ever test code on your live site. Use a staging site (offered by most hosts) or a local tool like LocalWP.
  • Conflict Check: Deactivate other plugins one by one to see if your new AI code still works. AI often writes code that clashes with popular plugins like WooCommerce or Yoast SEO.
  • PHP Version Match: Ensure the AI isn’t using deprecated functions. If your server runs PHP 8.2 and the AI gives you PHP 7.4 syntax, you’ll get a fatal error.

Phase 2: Functionality & Edge Cases

  • The “Empty State” Test: What happens if the feature has no data? If it’s a “Recent Posts” widget, does it break if there are zero posts?
  • Input Torture: If the code involves a form, try submitting symbols (!@#$%^&*), extremely long strings, or leaving fields blank. AI often forgets to include Sanitization (cleaning input) and Validation (checking if input is correct).
  • User Roles: Log in as a “Subscriber” or “Editor.” Does the code still work? Or worse, does it give a low-level user access to admin-only features?

Phase 3: The WordPress Technical Standards

  • Sanitization and Escaping: Check the code for functions like sanitize_text_field() on inputs and esc_html() on outputs. If these are missing, your site is vulnerable to XSS attacks.
  • Prefixing: Ensure all custom functions start with a unique prefix (e.g., my_custom_feature_). If the AI names a function get_data(), it will likely crash your site by conflicting with another plugin.
  • Hooks and Filters: Did the AI use the correct “action hook”? Adding a script to wp_head instead of enqueuing it via wp_enqueue_scripts can slow down your site or break your theme’s layout.

Phase 4: Performance & UX

  • Mobile Responsiveness: AI-generated CSS is notoriously “static.” Test the feature on a smartphone to ensure elements don’t overlap or vanish.
  • Query Monitor: Install the Query Monitor plugin. Look for “Slow Queries” or “Duplicate Queries” caused by the new code. AI code can sometimes be incredibly “heavy,” making your server work 10x harder than necessary.