Nothing could be more fascinating than the fact that you are about to save lots of time, money, and resources by using No-Code Development platforms for your next project. Why has it become so popular in the software development industry?
The burden of hiring multiple developers or coding experts has been just eliminated with the introduction of no-code tools. In fact, no code development platforms have seen a huge surge in growth during the Covid-19 pandemic. No code platforms became successful primarily because of their effectiveness and capability to handle complex issues.
There’s no denying that the no-code development sector is growing at an enormous speed and is estimated to jump somewhere around USD $40 Billion by the end of 2022. This must be the next future in the IT industry. Moving fast forward now is the time to adopt the new changes to speed up the development cycle.
Now, coming to our agenda, we’ll discuss the following topics:
- What is no-code?
- What is a No-code development tool?
- Why is it important to use a no-code development tool?
- What are the best no-code development tools available today?
What is No Code?
A method of building software applications or websites without using any code is called a no code. It’s the best solution for small or mid segments businesses that cannot stretch their budget for hiring a software development team or outsourcing their project. Besides this, no code is very promising and is said to be the next future of software development to save time and money.
About No Code Development Tools
It’s a process where a tool is (basically a GUI) used for programming and develops the code at an unimaginable speed and accuracy. This method is helpful in solving the traditional methods of programming and eventually saves time and money. The no-code development tool is useful for non-programmers as well as programmers to create software using GUI (rather than writing). No code development has removed the obstacle of having the knowledge of programming language and lets everyone bring ideas to light.
No Code Development = An Abstraction layer right over code
Importance of Using No Code Development Platform:
Below are some of the major importance of using no-code development tools:
1. Speed: No code platforms enable the ability to finish any project in very less time and that too with rich functionality. The visual interface offers an extensive solution for converting an idea into reality.
2. Accessibility: Being a no-code development tool, it allows multiple users who are able to contribute to application builds, and businesses can start eliminating project backlogs that eventually save time and additional resources.
3. Flexibility: Working with no-code development tools and platforms is really fun. Apps built with such technology are more flexible, extensible, and scalable. Developers are not required to develop any new app for an add-on function at any point in time.
4. Easy Support and Update: Making changes in no-code development tools are way too easy than manual coding. The developer need not move line-by-line for making any change. Changes can easily be made in a few clicks and fresh updates can be pushed at the same time.
Best 10 No Code Development Platforms
1. Appy Pie
This one tops the chart, with over more than 10 million clients, this no-code tool is the finest for building apps. The best part about Appy Pie is that you can easily connect over 300 apps for each of your dedicated tasks (such as calendar, reminder app, etc.) and it also offers a rich workflow (automated). It is well-suited for businesses of small-medium scale. All you need is to choose a theme and features (as per requirement) and you’re good to go.
Below are some important elements that Appy Pie offers:
- Democratizes apps development & design
- Users can easily build and launch a chatbot system
- It is highly robust and can automate almost every task to enhance productivity.
2. AppSheet
AppSheet is a tool that can help developers in building mobile applications. It is heavily used by over 300,000 developers (creators) throughout the world. You can easily integrate it with MS Excel or Google Sheets to extract data at your convenience. AppSheet is a well-suited tool that can be helpful where multiple deployments are required in real-time.
Some of the key features of AppSheet are as follows:
- Easy to automate and integrate data
- Sample apps and templates are provided by AppSheet to use as per the requirement
3. Ninox
This platform offers a huge variety of templates such as CRM, Bill Invoicing, etc. and it’s perfect for small-medium scale enterprises. It comes with 3 bundles – Starter, Professional, and Enterprise where the prices start at €10 per month.
Ninox also provides multiple APIs for users to share table views, or to retrieve any specific file. The data can be exported in CSV or Excel format and is one of the best cloud-based data entry solutions out there in the market.
Below is the list of some add-on features provided by Ninox:
- By using Ninox, apps can run on both major OS platforms i.e. Windows & Mac, or any provided mobile app platform.
- Easy to do accounting, inventory ecosystem and now it has also started offering solutions for real estate (property management system).
- You can easily sync all your meetings and TO-DO tasks from a single slab and on the other hand, the tracking can be done seamlessly for any task.
4. Airtable
It’s an independent tool that offers the freedom to organize tasks by grouping, filtering, and sorting that is suitable for both personal and in-house team usage. Using Airtable, you can easily add more than 50 rebuild applications for a seamless workflow. Besides this, for every small task, there are different templates (such as product planning, cataloging, bug tracking, product tracking, etc.) and these templates are highly effective to reduce the workload. The pricing starts from USD$12/month and can be extended accordingly.
Some of the key features of Airtable are as follows:
- A user can connect the entire workflow to hundreds of apps to align it symmetrically.
- You can even share a source of truth table with outside members of your organization who are not directly involved with your project.
- Easy to do real-time edits and comments.
5. Webflow
Probably one of the best and easy-to-go tools for building websites without having knowledge of programming language. Using Webflow, a developer can build any kind of store (for personal or professional purposes). From SaaS to any business purpose, all requirements can be fulfilled using web flow and themes can be changed as per requirement (available in both paid and free options). It’s more than any website builder and also allows developers to build responsive software and websites with design independence.
2 major highlights of using Webflow before using it:
- A developer can even build custom DB for e-commerce stores or CMS
- No maintenance is required in Webflow and it’s a highly reliable, hassle-free hosting network that helps in uplifting businesses.
6. Shopify
When it comes to starting any business (to be specific, e-commerce), Shopify is the one that hits every mind. It’s an easy setup process and integration helps the user to establish their online presence in a few steps. Founded in 2006, Shopify is a powerpack platform that helps in elevating growth and managing all essential activities.
The basic plan starts at $29/month and it goes up to $299/month (for the advanced plan). The user can sell any products of their desired products and apply extinguishing templates for their webpage. It serves as a whole and also allows sellers to collect payment (via its payment gateway)
A few features of Shopify are:
- Shopify enables a POS (Point of Sale) feature that helps sellers to collect payments instantly. POS is available in 2 options Shopify POS Lite and Shopify POS Pro.
- Dropshipping: Shopify provides numerous channels to help businesses for connecting via thousands of wholesale suppliers across the globe.
- Security: Setting up stores on Shopify is both easy and highly secure as it offers 256-bit SSL Certification to every website and is PCI Compliant (Level-1). This security provides a safety net for all the necessary sensitive data (including customer’s data, card details, etc.)
7. Bubble
One of the most common names on this list is Bubble which was majorly built as a front-end-oriented builder. It helps developers to create responsive web applications that can cater to both mobile and web. Bubble offers a huge range of templates (user-generated) and other elements that can easily be incorporated into your project.
Bubble uses a decent terminology that helps developers to access it smoothly and it utilizes the concept of workflows for designing logic. The price range of Bubble starts from USD $25/month (for the annual plan).
Some of the few features of Bubble are:
- Completely functional and customizable
- Full control over code and data
- Export and manage data
- Data privacy
8. Zoho Creator
Possibly one of the best and most reliable platforms in the whole list is Zoho Creator. It offers an easy integration functionality for users and makes everything easy for their users by building them step-wise. It helps in transforming businesses of all scales and offers a customized solution for every need. Users get the best interface, color combinations, templates, etc. for building their projects for businesses.
Besides this, users also get custom templates for managing orders, vendors, logistics, inventory, etc. and the projects are capable enough to go up on a large scale without putting in the extra effort.
Some of the best features that Zoho Creator offers are:
- In-built cross-functional analytics
- Easy to automate every micro-task
- Easy to migrate
- Easy to import files for analysis in different formats.
Also, Read – Difference between Low Code Software Development and Traditional Software Development
9. Knack
It was introduced to provide an intuitive design and powerful features for building great applications with minimal or no bugs while running. It also enables users to structure their data in a synchronic way, data such as (mail, names, etc.) are connected in parallel form so that they can be called back when required. Besides this, it’s the best tool for building a robust database, and that too without writing a single line of code.
It also offers SEO plugins that help in making the app/website more indexable, user-friendly, and responsive at the same time.
Besides this, some other key highlights of using this no-code development platform are:
- Dozens of pre-built templates
- Add a secure payment system
- Data Security by maintaining the simplicity
10. Visual LANSA
LANSA offers an accurate and easy way of building applications. It also offers users to try their services for free (via 60 days trial), and you’ll get to know the insights of this software as required. The best part about LANSA is that you can create applications and migrate them over cross-platform as and when required without expending any extra cost. The IDE is class apart, and easy to use which is convenient for both beginner and advanced-level programmers.
Some of the key features of LANSA are:
- Integrate with services in a few clicks
- Easy to store app repository
- Easy to merge, migrate and transform your app
Conclusion
We hope that this article would have cleared many questions out of your mind right from the basics. Although the list is not just limited to this, you might find hundreds of such platforms that are offering no-code development. You can opt for the one as per your requirements and preferences. With the growing technology and time, the next future is no-code development platforms only that will cater to every business’s needs!
