Hands-On AI: Build a Web-Based Movie Review Generator Database with Generative AI, HTML, CSS, and PHP

4hIntermediate2025-08-01

Authors

Joe Casabona

Course Developer, Founder of Creator Courses

Course details

Generative AI is having a profound effect on every aspect of work, including web development. From planning to writing code to testing, the process of creating a web application is changing. In this course, instructor Joe Casabona shows you how to leverage AI to plan, write, and test a web application by creating a movie review website. Along the way, learn where AI can best help you, and where your skills as a web developer can still reign supreme. By the end of this course, you'll be equipped with a fully functioning web application that you wrote using the power of generative AI.

Learning objectives
Appropriately use generative AI at every stage of the web development lifecycle, from planning to testing.
Leverage tools like GitHub Copilot to help code along with you to speed up the development process.
Develop a fully functioning web application built in conjunction with generative AI.

Skills covered

Web StandardsWeb DesignFront-End Web DevelopmentArtificial Intelligence FoundationsArtificial Intelligence (AI)Web DevelopmentProgramming LanguagesSoftware DevelopmentOne-Off

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - How can generative AI help with web development
02 - What you should know
03 - Using GitHub Codespaces

1. Planning

04 - Project and requirements
05 - Fleshing out the features
06 - Use cases and user stories
07 - Finalizing planning docs and timelines
08 - Using AI to create wireframes

2. Creating the Templates

09 - Creating the main PHP templates
10 - Creating the additional templates
11 - Creating the initial admin templates
12 - Finishing the admin templates
13 - Refining the CSS
14 - Organizing the files

3. Creating the Database

15 - Designing our database with AI
16 - Accounting for user authentication
17 - Generating the SQL to create and install the database
18 - Populating the database with test data
19 - Diving into the CRUD
20 - Using AI to write a class to talk to the database - Front-end functions
21 - Using AI to write a class to talk to the database - Admin functions

4. Writing the PHP

22 - Replacing dummy data with real data
23 - Writing helper functions
24 - Building search
25 - Building the filters
26 - Wiring up our admin forms
27 - Adding and updating movies
28 - Deleting movies
29 - CRUD on studios
30 - CRUD on genres
31 - Fixing the actors page
32 - Protecting the admin

5. Other Considerations for our Application

33 - Site review
34 - Testing
35 - Bells and whistles - Sorting
36 - Bells and whistles - Autocomplete
37 - Bell and whistles - Sort admin columns
38 - Documenting our code
39 - What we learned
40 - The landscape changes fast

Conclusion

41 - Next steps