AI-Built Sites: What Breaks After Publish
You shipped with v0, Cursor, Bolt, or a no-code builder. Preview looked great. Then production broke. That gap is normal, and fixable.
Why preview and production are different
AI tools and no-code platforms run your site on their stack first. Going live means domain, DNS, SSL, environment variables, form endpoints, and error monitoring. Most breakages sit in that handoff, not in the design.
What usually breaks first
- Contact forms submit but email never arrives
- API keys still point at localhost or test mode
- Mobile layout breaks outside the builder preview
- Site feels slow once real traffic and plugins load
- Deploy works once, then breaks on the next push
What to do before you rebuild
List what is broken, check DNS and SSL, confirm form endpoints and env vars in production, then decide: patch, takeover, or rebuild. Skip buying more plugins until you know the root cause.
Common questions
Is it normal for AI-built sites to break after publish?
Yes. Builders optimize for fast previews. Production needs hosting, DNS, keys, and monitoring that AI output often skips.
Should I rebuild or fix?
Fix if the structure is sound and only config is wrong. Rebuild or takeover if the stack is unmaintainable or you cannot access hosting.