Can no-code be open source? 🤔
I wrote about this in my recent blog post but I'll do my best to summarize the main points here.
I started learning about open-source the other day and got to thinking - if you build a product using a no-code tool (like Bubble, for instance), could you make your product open-source?
By the way, if you're looking for a quick lesson on open-source, see this clip from the Farnam Street podcast episode featuring WordPress.org’s co-founder Matt Mullenweg.
So, first off, this is what I learned about why you might build an open-source product.
One reason is if you want to build a platform that others can then build upon. Making it open frees it up. It's sort of like Wikipedia.
Wikipedia is like open-source software because it relies on open contributors. And that's made it pretty dang big (and helpful).
For WordPress, they created a big ol' pie that people were benefiting from. There's a whole ecosystem built alongside WordPress. From a business perspective, you could start something like WordPress and then start another business that serves WordPress users. Build the pie and then build a piece of the pie. Grow the pie (the open-source product) and everyone wins.
But how can open source apply to a no-code product you are building using Bubble, Adalo, Glide, etc.? Can you make a product like WordPress?
Can a product built with no-code be open-source?
I found that the short answer is no.
If you are building a product on a no-code tool, and that no-code tool is not open-source, then your product can’t be either.
But, there may still be some open-source principles you can apply like:
- Abundance Mindset – we don’t live in zero-sum world anymore. The internet frees up resources like never before and so it’s possible to have a we win, you win, I win strategy.
- Community Strength – there is strength in numbers. Working together with shared incentives can help us build better products.
- Transparency – good things follow like accountability, helping others learn, and creating equity.
I’ll be trying to apply these principles to what I build with no-code, even if I can't go fully open-source!
🙏 I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. What would it look like to have an open-source product built with no-code? I'm new to the concept of open-source and so I'm sure there's a lot I haven't considered!
