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Where do you stand about developing a web app on a no-code platform?
We are currently building an automated task management app on Bubble.io. The platform is quite comprehensive, however as expected there are some limitations when it compared to native applications.
I experienced that these limitations are easily resolvable by embedding some code inside, and no-code development definitely fastens the app development process.
What do you think about no-code app development platforms? Have you used one before? Let's meet in the comments! 🚀
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Hi @sewell_stephens I have heard Editor X but never tried it out myself. I am definitely intrigued to check it out and discover its features after your comment. I have integrated Stripe payment system to my Bubble app without using any code or any other tool, but I have read so much about Zapier and I totally agree with you on that.
I looked into the websites, and if you want to check mine out: https://oppflow.io
I really want to hear your experiences, feel free to contact me on LinkedIn or Twitter if you want to.
Hi Hilal, I have developed aasaan, a complete no-code e-commerce platform, and I say this is the future as we as engineers should create no-code apps/platforms//solutions so that prospective audience can use it for their need than spend time understanding how to use for their needs.
Hi @raju_sivarama_gadiraju I am thrilled to see that the number of no-code solutions to the existing platforms are increasing day by day. I would love to listen your experiences on the no-code e-commerce platform you have built. I agree with you on the no-code/low-code is the future of engineering, and I believe that the limitations I mentioned will be resolved with the growth of no-code.
I have developed a website through Webflow several times before. Instead of spending hours with coding, you can create a website at any level in a short time!
Moreover, their own training is also available, and they explain it in a very descriptive way. Ready-made layouts are also available. Their systems are built on AWS, so your site speed and security are also very high!
I definitely recommend Webflow.
Hi @arda_finsmart as I mentioned, I am currently working with Bubble but I will definitely check Webflow out, and see what it provides to no-code developers. There are many no-code app development platforms in the market and choosing the one that satisfies your needs is a real task.
@arda_finsmart @hilal_aydin I have started using webflow and it's great for building not very complex websites. On the other hand I know that bubble is better for building web apps
@arda_finsmart @erblin_shala1 Hi Erblin, I totally agree with you, Bubble provides back-end development when it is compared to Webflow.
For minimalist phone (Android app) homepage, we use Webflow, primarily a static page. There is also a dynamically generated block section, for this one we use the Webflow CMS.
Hi @minimalistphone I have heard Webflow for several times under this discussion and it is great to see that how no-code platforms are used for different purposes!
@hilal_aydin Yeah, if you want to e-shop, you can try for example Shopify, Shoptet or Simple shop, it depends on the project you want to work on.
Maybe one day it will be a worthwhile strategy but today the downsides are massive.
Not the least of which is technical debt.
Hey Hilal. I use a lot of no-code wherever possible as it saves me a lot of time. In fact, my product's landing page is built using no-code.
And also famewall.io caters to no-code enthusiasts by easily adding testimonials to websites without any coding. One learning I had after interacting with customers who preferred no-code is that they just eliminate the need for developers to maintain & save them a lot of costs :)
It's a great tool to test product-market fit and build some simple straightforward products.
But once you've found it and need to grow and add some custom features - it might feel like it's getting in a way. When this happens - probably the best option is to gradually switch to custom development.
Hey @horovody I think we are on the same page about the limitations of no-code platforms. I experienced that when you embed some code into a no-code app you can customize it liberally. However, I believe transitioning to a native application is inevitable if you are planning to scale up your product.
Launching soon!
I think that no-code app development platforms can be a great option for certain types of projects, especially if you are just getting started with app development and don't have a lot of experience with coding. These platforms can provide a lot of helpful tools and resources, and can make it easier to quickly prototype and test out your app ideas.
However, it's important to be aware of the limitations of no-code platforms, and to be prepared to incorporate some custom code if necessary to overcome these limitations. No-code platforms can be a great starting point, but in many cases, you will eventually need to incorporate custom code to fully realize your vision for your app.
Overall, I think that no-code platforms can be a valuable tool for app development, but it's important to be aware of their limitations and to be prepared to supplement them with custom code as needed.
That is actually a question I have asked myself a lot. When you learn coding and you are able to build a decent looking website, you might feel tempted to think that you do not need no-code. However, at least for me personally, this is just not true anymore. When building such concept systems, it seems reasonable to say that focusing on the functionality and design is better than focusing on how to structure your code. No-code platforms are the future and I will probably also use a no-code way of building the website for my own startup. However, it is still a necessity to learn coding these days. You will still develop things with code and the platforms we use to build website without writing code also use code to make this happen.
Hey @vimfinn I totally agree with you! I believe that building low-code apps or combining no-code solutions with some code is the optimal solution especially in the early stages. As you said, you can really focus better on functionality and design with no-code when it is compared to coding.
Bubble.io and Glide are great for proof of concept. Once you have serious security concerns due to enterprise customers or build with any modicum of complex logic, it's time to move over to a serious solution that can scale. Until then, no code is great!
Hi @travis_page I totally agree with you! I am still working on data privacy and security for my product and customers. Do you have any recommendations on how to secure your web app and data on no-code platforms?
Hey Hilal, I've spent a lot of time building in Bubble before transitioning to a full development team (after our raise). The short answer is, platforms like Bubble are an amazing way to build a prototype fast and cheap. You can go from idea to basic platform in a weekend. When it comes to scaling anything complex, though, you'll need to transition to an actual code environment.
Hey @don__bosco I couldn't agree more. Transitioning to a native application is inevitable, but Bubble provides desired resources even for the complex projects. Special to our case, we can continue with Bubble for almost a year since it can support all of our clients but building the app with actual code is required at the end.
I have used a few, and I see it as a battle between time vs limitations.
No-code certainly speeds up. Code takes time for most.
Hi Hilal, I agree that every no-code platform have limitations in terms of functionalities. Being a developer I have very less experience in using such platforms, but nowadays I am more interested in learning about them. So, I discovered a few products like DhiWise and Overlay which can create applications through drag and drop AND you can download the high quality code for React.js, Flutter, Vue.js like libraries. This way we can overcome any limitation of no-code and speed up development as well. Since after downloading the code, you will have UI, code examples and best practices already available.
Hi @sanuj_bansal I will definitely check out the platforms you mentioned. Especially DhiWise seems so good at integrating no-code and code together. As I mentioned in the description, I am currently using Bubble.io, it has some elements that you can use to embed HTML or Javascript in but it is not comprehensive as DhiWise or Overlay I guess. Thank you for sharing your experience!
I think no-code tools are perfect to enable as many people as possible in a company to maintain websites, build automated workflows, etc. And on top of that, they will help you to really understand what exactly you need if you ever do hit the point where the no-code tools are not enough anymore, which makes it much easier and more efficient as a starting point to then build your own custom solutions.
Hi @jburr90 I am working on a low-code app for some time now and I wasn't aware of how no-code platforms and discovering their limitations are prepared me to the transition to a native app until I saw your comment. I totally agree with you on that! Have you ever hit to the point where no-code was not enough for you? Please feel free to share your experiences 🚀
@hilal_aydin I'm a software developer mostly working on saas apps, and i.e. one of the things I deliberately try to push for is to use no-code automation tools like Zapier as much as possible to test out potential integrations or automations within our apps. This makes it a lot easier to verify not only what we can automate from a product perspective, but also what users would be interested in. Once we verified what we need it's often better to build a proper integration, to cut out the need for users to have a Zapier account and to understand how to set things up there.
In contrast to that, I still remember the days when marketing websites had to be built and maintained by the dev team, and I don't miss those days 😅 Having no- or low-code tools like Webflow in place not only allows designers to build those sites themselves, but also the rest of the company like the Marketing team to access and change it. No more bottlenecks!
Code is gonna always be there and that's what provides the edge. Stating no code is great but once there is momentum it's important to shift for code.
if your app is small, simple and you don't see yourself escalating it - go ahead.
Otherwise, underestimating software development is a big mistake I've seen many managers and CEOs commit.
Hello @fail_men I think most no-code platforms are satisfactory enough to build a prototype or a simple website. However, as you said, when the app gets complicated you may need a touch of code at some points. Have you ever tried other no-code platforms other than Bubble?
As a product manager using various no-code tools, I believe these platforms are a game-changer for software development. They offer a way for individuals and businesses to quickly and easily build functional applications without requiring extensive coding expertise.
No-code tools have democratized the software development process, allowing anyone with an idea to bring it to life. With visual interfaces and drag-and-drop tools, these platforms enable users to create applications in a matter of hours or days, rather than weeks or months. This rapid development time means that businesses can iterate quickly and get their products to market faster.
However, as with any technology, no-code tools do have some limitations. They may not be able to accommodate highly complex or custom functionality, which may require coding expertise but hopefully it will be solved over time.
We recently tried FlutterFlow and I was amazed by the tool. It uses Flutter to build cross platform apps and within 2-3 weeks we had a web-app, iOS and Android native apps ready. I couldn't be more thrilled with a no-code app and makes me wonder that the future of UI is no-code apps.
In case you want to take a look at our product you can find it at - https://onelink.to/nbkfy6
No code platforms are nice till you want to make a very simple pre defined website but when you things start to get complex, it is very much preferred to make a web-app.
Actually new updates in different frameworks are making things way way easier then before. Fox ex: After the introduction of Hooks in react has made things very much easier for developer as you don't have to contantly decide between functional and class components. The new App Router in Next.js 14 is amazing and so efficient that you will feel like you are making front end by writing minimal code.
In conclusion I prefer web-app even for prototypes or simple websites as I have all the control in that and I can make it work according to me.