Experts suggest that the low and no-code market overall may reach $21.2 billion by the end of 2022. And it is not surprising. The no-code movement is booming and may soon replace traditional app and web development for most companies and startups. As you may expect, no-code does not require you to write code to produce an application.
In this digital era where digital transformations change almost every aspect of our daily lives, brands need to stay informed about tech advertisements and follow the high speed of modern software solutions. To help you better understand what exactly the no-code movement means, let's explore what it is, how it works and who should choose no-code over traditional coding in 2022.
Why is No-code Popular?
The short answer is simplicity and cost-effectiveness. The operational versatility and informational availability that no-code development provides have quickly become the key drivers of business growth. So companies that are looking for hyper-availability of services, internally and externally alike, use no-code platforms for their applications.
Developing a basic website or app via traditional coding will require a lot of effort having only small value, especially in the inner stages of business growth. Every part of the application and architecture has to be developed and maintained from scratch to ensure customization to specific needs.
This process may take months and years while also requiring a significant investment of resources from the company. While regular development allows stakeholders to understand the app's capabilities only when the app is ready, a no-code app builder allows companies to take the lead in developing software.
Can No-code Support Complex Projects?
With the increased number of tech solutions, the costs also increase for both code and no-code. However, the primary difference is that no-code provides the same high level of tech capabilities at a much lower cost covering a vast number of projects.
Only in the case when the project has reached a particular level of complexity may companies need specific coding skills to finish the product. Nevertheless, this is a rare situation as these highly specific requirements can also be solved with no-code by integrations and API. Therefore, no-code development brings value for both: easily built projects and is perfect for complex projects with lower costs and the same level of efficiency.
Benefits of No-Code Development
1. Speed: Less Time to Enter the Market
We all know how important it is for companies to enter the market as soon as possible. This is due to many reasons that start from investment needed to high market competition. As a result, over 80% of companies prefer to sacrifice quality to boost the development speed.
However, the final product is poor and lacks features, so it won't give companies the revenue and success they want to achieve. While coding will always require months and sometimes years to produce top-notch applications, no-code platforms are perfect to resolve this issue. They allow companies to quickly deliver high-quality and feature-rich web and mobile apps within a few weeks.
This, in turn, gives brands a competitive edge in the market, reduces the time needed, and allows them to get through investment rounds within a very short time. No-code tools can become a happy medium for any company that doesn't want to spend years on the development and is looking for a quick yet efficient solution.
2. Easy Collaboration: Less Communication Gaps
In regular app development, there are always many communicating issues that should be solved by a wide range of people in the team, like project managers and business analysts. Even though some companies are more tech-skilled, others do not have any picture of what is going on after they sign a contract with a development company. As a result, there will be many stresses and misunderstandings during the process for both sides.
No-code platforms eliminate this communication gap between a company and the development team as it is much easier to understand and also provide a clear picture of each step. Even though no-code app development companies may still have their project managers in the team, the whole process is hassle-free and allows for better communication even without any other resources and knowledge needed.
3. Maintaining Business Agility
Business agility represents a company's ability to easily adapt to any changes in the market and stay flexible while capitalizing on new opportunities. Today's market is highly digital and requires companies to apply the newest advertisements to respond to users' needs. Following business agility is not only a choice; it is an essential point for any company that wants to stay in demand.
Since traditional coding is more complex, it cannot provide the same level of flexibility as no-code. And even if it has a high agility rate, the time needed for the changes will take weeks. This is why no-code is a gold standard in the business agility world, providing companies with a chance to quickly adapt to everything that happens on the market and produce new products in a short time.
4. Flexibility: Build on Your Own Terms
Software development is always based on legacy code and rigid data models. Developers have to first identify all entities (like what third-party apps need to be integrated) at the very beginning. This usually makes it quite challenging for teams to get a project off the ground. As a result, there will later be a need for updating, modifications, as well as other labor-intensive processes.
When developing an application with no-code, your data will be stored in a JSON document. This means you will be able to load data much faster and without any other resources. No-code tools have a much higher level of flexibility in terms of adjusting during the development process and even entirely redirect the goal if necessary.
5. Cost Savings: Less Money Needed
Being probably the most valuable reason for most startups and companies to choose no-code, some brands still believe that the more they spend, the more they get. However, in reality, even with the estimation of regular development, companies will later pay x2 more by the end of the project.
In addition, hiring your own developers or using outsourcing services will still cost more than using no-code. The biggest difference is the complexity of apps, but as mentioned earlier - no-code tools can still be used for feature-rich and custom apps.
When you use no-code development teams, you are able to save lots of money for more vital things that you will require later. They include maintenance, updates, changes, marketing, and more. Therefore, you get high-quality products while also saving money and zero maintenance costs.
Who Should Choose No-Code Development?
Startups
Startups are probably the biggest winner of the no-code movement. This is because they always need quick and cost-effective development without wasting time, resources, and money on unnecessary things. Since startups first need MPVs to get their first investments, no-code development companies are the way to go.
SaaS companies
As the practice shows, SaaS companies can significantly benefit from no-code platforms. The reason is that no-code is specially designed to produce such applications (depending on the tool). Most SaaS brands look for affordable yet effective applications for their business, and no-code can be the ultimate choice.
NFT Projects
NFT projects not only need to drop their collections, but they also require a full package of services and marketing campaigns to attract attention to their tokens. This is where no-code is required. Even though no-code is not suitable for the whole smart contract development, it will become a great option for website development or landing page creation. Landing pages and websites are a must-have for NFT projects as they work as a first place for future buyers to learn about your project, whitelist opportunities, NFT drop dates, and show the value for users.
Healthcare Companies
Telemedicine applications have gained immense popularity during the last few years. Even though the reason was the COVID-19 breakdown, today's market is even more popular than ever before and continues to grow every day. People are looking for remote sessions with healthcare providers, and no-code offers simple solutions for everyone who wants to enter one of the most popular industries today.
Best No-Code Real-Life Cases
Ensemble19
The no-code movement can not only bring benefits for startups. These tools can become an ultimate option for urgent projects during a crisis or pandemic. Ensemble19 is a real-life case that was developed in just three days during a pandemic. The app aims to help local merchants stay in demand and survive during the COVID-19 restrictions. The platform allows users to send money as a donation or purchase vouchers that can be spent after the lockdown.
Qoins
Qoins represents a financial application that has been created to help people overcome their financial crisis and pay off their debt. The app provides financial coaching services and contains several useful features. They include payroll deductions and daily roundups on purchases. Three years ago, Qoins raised $750k in funding from angel investors. The app has been developed on Bubble from scratch.
Comet
Comet is a job marketplace allowing freelancers to meet their clients. The platform is perfect for tech engineers and teams that want to join specific projects. Comet is different from other well-known platforms like Upwork and Malt, where clients have to search through numerous profiles to find the right ones.
Comet allows companies to create teams from various people depending on the project requirements within 48 hours. Comet can also test the team's soft and hard skills to make sure they are a perfect fit for the project.
Final Thoughts
No-code movement is a buzzword. Being flexible, cost-effective, and fast, no-code development is becoming an ultimate choice for most companies. No-code tools can bring significant value to all companies, but startups, healthcare, SaaS and NFT projects can benefit the most from using these platforms over traditional development.
