Keeping AI-Written Code Clean: Quality, Performance and Accessibility Checks
Sagar Patel
To keep AI-generated code clean, review it in four passes: read it for structure and leftovers, check security and escaping, measure performance before and after, then test accessibility with a keyboard and a screen reader. Do this on staging before launch. The code looks finished long before it is.
This checklist applies to any AI tool, not only ours. If you generate sections with Composer, it pairs with writing real HTML, CSS and JavaScript inside Elementor with AI. I make no claims here about what any specific tool outputs. The point is the review.
Why AI Code Needs a Review Pass
Language models write code that looks plausible. It often runs on the first try. That is the trap. Plausible code can hide an unused library, an unescaped value, a missing label or a layout that breaks at 360 pixels wide.
The fix is not distrust, it is routine. You would review a junior developer’s pull request. Give generated code the same courtesy, and do it before the client sees the page.
If you hand sites to clients, this is also a protection for you. A reviewed section is one you can explain. The related guidance for whole sites is in how to review an AI-generated WordPress site in 30 minutes.
Pass One: Read It
Open the code. You do not need to understand every line, only to spot trouble. Look for:
- Dead weight. Unused CSS classes, commented-out blocks, console.log calls, placeholder text such as “Lorem ipsum” or “Your text here”.
- External dependencies. Any script or stylesheet loaded from a third-party address. Did you ask for it? Is it needed?
- Hard-coded values. Colours, fonts and spacing typed in directly instead of using your site’s variables. This is how brand drift starts.
- Invented content. Phone numbers, addresses, testimonials, statistics. Models fabricate these. Delete anything you did not supply.
- Structure. One h1 per page, headings in order, buttons that are buttons and links that are links.
A tool that scopes its CSS to the section helps with leakage, and the Composer docs say it does. Still check that nothing reaches out and restyles the rest of the page. Open the page with the section hidden and compare.
Pass Two: Security
Front-end snippets are lower risk than PHP, but not risk-free. Check:
- No secrets in the code. API keys, tokens and passwords must not appear in markup or scripts. Anything in front-end code is public.
- Safe handling of input. If the section reads from the URL or a form, make sure it does not write that text into the page as raw HTML. That is how cross-site scripting happens. WordPress documents the principle in its escaping guide: escape late, at the point of output.
- Form targets. Where does a form send data? An unfamiliar address is a red flag.
- Links that open new tabs. They should carry rel=”noopener”.
If the code is PHP, stop and get a developer to review it. Do not paste generated PHP onto a production site untested.
Pass Three: Performance
Measure, do not guess. Run PageSpeed Insights on the page before you add the section, and again after. Compare the same URL under the same conditions. The method, including the difference between lab and field data, is in how to test the performance of AI-generated sections before launch.
What to look for in the code itself:
- Images: width and height set, lazy loading below the fold, sensible file sizes, modern formats where your site supports them.
- Scripts: no heavy library loaded for a small effect; scripts deferred where possible.
- Animation: animating transform and opacity is cheaper than animating layout properties like width and top.
- Fonts: do not load a new font family if your theme already provides one.
Pass Four: Accessibility
This pass catches the most common AI misses. Three tests take about ten minutes:
- Keyboard only. Put the mouse away. Tab through the section. Every control should be reachable, in a logical order, with a visible focus ring. Enter and Space should activate buttons.
- Reduced motion. Turn on the operating system setting for reduced motion and reload. Parallax, autoplay and big transitions should calm down.
- Zoom and small screens. Zoom the page to 200 percent and view it at phone width. Text should reflow without horizontal scrolling.
Then check the details: images have meaningful alt text (or empty alt when decorative), form fields have labels, colour contrast is readable, and icon-only buttons have an accessible name.
For animated sections, the order of operations matters. See GSAP scroll animations in WordPress for the motion side. For what Elementor’s built-in AI covers and misses here, Elementor AI: what it generates and what it cannot is a fair reference.
The four passes at a glance:
| Pass | What you look for |
|---|---|
| One: read it | Dead weight such as unused CSS, console.log calls and placeholder text, plus any external script or stylesheet you did not ask for |
| Two: security | No secrets in markup or scripts, and safe handling of anything read from the URL or a form |
| Three: performance | PageSpeed Insights on the same URL before and after you add the section |
| Four: accessibility | Keyboard-only use, then the reduced-motion setting |
The Copyable Checklist
AI CODE REVIEW (run on staging)
READ
[ ] No placeholder text, console.log, or commented-out blocks
[ ] No unrequested external scripts or stylesheets
[ ] Colours, fonts, spacing use site variables, not hard-coded values
[ ] No invented phone numbers, addresses, quotes or statistics
[ ] One h1, headings in order, real buttons and links
SECURITY
[ ] No keys, tokens or passwords in code
[ ] No user input written into the page as raw HTML
[ ] Form action points where I expect
[ ] External links that open new tabs have rel="noopener"
[ ] PHP reviewed by a developer, or not used
PERFORMANCE
[ ] PageSpeed Insights run before and after, same URL
[ ] Images sized, lazy-loaded below the fold
[ ] No heavy library for a small effect
[ ] Animation uses transform and opacity
ACCESSIBILITY
[ ] Full keyboard pass, visible focus
[ ] Reduced-motion setting respected
[ ] Works at 200% zoom and phone width
[ ] Alt text, labels, contrast, names on icon buttons
SIGN-OFF
[ ] Tested on a real phone
[ ] Backup taken before publishing
[ ] Log entry: what it does, where it livesKeep a copy in your project folder and tick it off per section. It also makes a good attachment for client handoff, a habit that fits the routines in AI workflows for WordPress agencies.
If you are comparing ways to run custom code at all, Composer vs custom HTML widgets and code snippets covers the tradeoffs, and the Composer documentation describes how the editor and code tabs work.
A Worked Review: Walking One Section Through the Four Passes
A checklist is easier to trust once you have seen it applied. Take a generated testimonial slider as the example section. I am describing the process, not reporting a result from a specific tool, so the findings below are the kind you should expect to look for.
Pass one, read it. You open the code and find a commented-out block, a class name that nothing uses, and a quote attributed to a person you never mentioned. Delete the dead code. Remove the quote, because you did not supply it, and replace it with a real testimonial from your client.
Pass two, security. You search for “http” in the code and find a script loaded from a third-party address. You did not ask for a library. Ask the tool for a version without it, or confirm the library is needed and pin it deliberately.
Pass three, performance. You run PageSpeed Insights on the same URL before and after. The after run shows a heavier page. The cause turns out to be three large images without dimensions. Resize them, add width and height, and run the test again.
Pass four, accessibility. You tab through the slider. The previous and next buttons are reachable, but the focus ring is invisible. You add a visible focus style and turn on reduced motion to confirm the sliding stops.
That is four small fixes in about half an hour. None needed deep expertise. They needed a routine.
Findings That Show Up Again and Again
Reviewing many sections teaches you where to look first. This table groups the findings by the pass that catches them, with the quickest fix.
| Pass | Typical finding | Quick fix |
|---|---|---|
| Read | Placeholder text left in | Search the code for “Lorem” and “Your text” |
| Read | Colours typed in as hex values | Replace with your site’s colour variables |
| Security | Form posts to an unfamiliar address | Point the action at your own handler or remove the form |
| Security | Link opens a new tab without rel | Add rel=”noopener” |
| Performance | Hero image far larger than its display size | Resize to the display size and compress |
| Performance | Animation changes width or top | Animate transform and opacity instead |
| Accessibility | Icon-only button with no name | Add an aria-label that says what it does |
| Accessibility | Low contrast text on an image | Add an overlay or change the text colour |
If you only have ten minutes, run the security and accessibility rows first. Those are the findings that cause real harm to a visitor, while a slightly heavy image costs a little speed.
Making the Review a Routine Instead of a Chore
Reviews slip when they feel like extra work. Three habits keep them alive without adding much time.
First, review in the same order every time. The four passes above are in a sensible order because reading comes before measuring, and measuring comes before the slower manual tests. When the order is fixed, you stop deciding what to do next.
Second, keep a short log per section: what it does, where it lives, and the date of the last review. A forgotten custom section is the one that breaks quietly after a theme update. The log also helps whoever inherits the site.
Third, review when the code changes, not only when it is new. If you regenerate or edit a section later, run at least the keyboard test and the speed test again. Editing is the moment problems sneak back in.
Teams that build many sites can store the checklist as a template and attach a ticked copy to each handoff. The designer workflow for shipping a custom interaction shows where that handoff note fits, and the prompt templates for a pricing table, tabs and a slider help you get cleaner code in the first place, which makes every pass shorter.
A final tip: when you find the same problem twice, add it to your own copy of the checklist. The list in this post is a starting point. The best version is the one that reflects the mistakes you actually meet on your sites, in your own words.
FAQ
Is AI-generated code safe to use on a client site?
It can be, after review. Treat it like any contributor’s code: read it, check for secrets and unsafe output handling, test on staging, and keep a backup. Front-end snippets carry less risk than PHP, but unreviewed code of any kind is a gamble with someone else’s site.
How do I check AI-generated code for accessibility?
Use the keyboard only, turn on reduced motion, and zoom to 200 percent. Then check alt text, form labels and contrast. Automated tools catch some issues but not all, so the manual keyboard pass is the most valuable ten minutes in the review.
Can AI code slow down my WordPress site?
Yes, if it loads extra libraries, large images or heavy animation. Measure the page before and after with PageSpeed Insights. If the score drops, check which script or image caused it, and ask for a lighter approach.
Do I need to read every line?
No, but you should skim for structure, external calls, hard-coded values and invented content. Full line-by-line review matters for anything that handles user input or talks to a server. For purely visual sections, skimming plus testing is a reasonable standard.
How often should I re-review the code?
Re-test after major updates to WordPress, your theme or your builder, and whenever you edit the section. Add the section to your site’s custom code log so you know it exists. Forgotten custom code is the kind that breaks quietly.
If you want a visual editor to sit on top of the code you are reviewing, you can Get Started and run this checklist on your first section.
Every feature named in this post is listed by product: all UiChemy features, UiChemy Composer features.
