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How to choose the right no code tool for your app, or website— when you’ve never built a digital product before

About me

I usually tell people that if product hunt was a person— it would be me.

As an indie hacker with limited resources, the one fulcrum of leverage that you have, is to be more resourceful at finding tools that will give you a distinct advantage, or a force multiplier of your skills, time, and motivation.

This is why I’m a huge fan and supporter of no code projects.

I’m just like you, but not as smart.

The goal of this article is to give you an overview of the no code landscape. I want to help you get started, even if you know nothing about web development, and to give you a process to succeed at creating something valuable.

My baseline assumption is that you can read and write, and you are deeply passionate about making something on the web.

I’m assuming that you have no prior web development experience, you might have even been told that you need to hire someone expensive, or to find a technical cofounder if you’re trying to launch a startup.

I say this because— this was me about 3 years ago.

Before the deluge of no code tools started to flood the market.

I was that “non-technical” founder desperately trying to convince a “technical'' founder to help me build my app.

I got so frustrated with the issue, that I just woke up one day and decided that I was going to figure out, come hell or high water, how to make my app on my own

In fact my current project started out as a way to connect non-technical people and companies to software developers and designers.

I have a background in design, so I understand how to use things like adobe illustrator and I can make decent graphics, so I had a baseline of skill that I could leverage. I knew how to use Excel spreadsheets, so I had a basic understanding of how to organise data.

This is it. This is all that I started with.

I knew I wasn't going to take a 4 year degree in CS, or even a 6 month boot camp, so I figured that I was going to have to find a way to learn fast and use some of the no code tools in the market at the time to hack together an app until I could either attract a real engineer, or afford to hire one.

This is where my story with no code starts, and like many of you, I fell into some familiar mistakes that hopefully I can save others from falling into.

No one wants to make a to do app

We all want to make a digital product that improves our lives, and the lives of others.

Essentially, what no code tools solve; is the desire for creators to gain respect and to be empowered.

I’m sure, like many of you, you just want to get started on building your killer app. I don't blame you, and I’m not going to be the one that says start with HTML blah blah blah.

Learning the basics is fine, but no one wants to make a to-do app, and I’m not gonna sit here and tell you that you need to learn the basic minutiae of HTML, CSS, and Javascript in order to get the outcome you want.

These are very important things, you should learn the principles but not the details.

I’m proposing that the accessibility of “no code” to “code less” tools will allow you to learn the basics while you’re creating— something like a “wax on, wax off” Miyagi effect.

My goal with you is to help you jump into the deep and swim. To do this, you must have a specific goal:

Create a project you want to complete that challenges you.

My learning really started with the desire to build something—my own project.

This is an important first step.

You need to challenge yourself, and get out of your comfort zone in order to rewire your brain to learn new concepts.

Secondly, we live in a great time where almost everything you could ever want to learn is a search on google, or youtube.

There is really no excuse to not be able to learn a new concept or skill on your own in this day, so take solace that you’re not by yourself. It won't cost you a lot of money, and there are many other people out there struggling with the same issues–so, trust the process

What's the difference between “no code” “low code” and "code less".

No code

Full removal of anything that requires you to script a programming language.

Usually drag and drop or mostly visual in use.

These tools provide templates for mainstream, popular use cases, and business models.

They’re best for basic websites, landing pages, and basic e-commerce with limited plugins and integrations with tools for enhanced functionality.

Low code

Has many of the accessibility features of no code, but also has features that will require you to understand basic programming, and engineering principles in order to achieve higher levels of functionality and feature richness for your project.

These tools extend on the templates of the previous, but allow you to address edge cases and business models.

These types of tools are best for advanced websites, apps, and e-commerce sites that need to integrate well with third party applications

Code less

(pro-no code)

Is an exciting category of no code tools that provides a degree of automation to professional developers that makes the development experience better by allowing you to make products without redundancy.

These tools merge the best elements of no code, visual development, and configuration— rather than scripting, and provide tools and templates for advanced product development edge cases.

You can do almost everything you can do with scripting and custom development, but the tedious and redundant parts of development are either readily prepared for you, or removed from the process entirely.

These tools provide almost limitless creative freedom, higher accessibility for diverse professionals, and multi-disciplinary collaboration.

Essentially, these are design and development automation tools that abstract away all the tedious things that a developer/designer hates to do, and provides visual interfaces to configure products as opposed to hand coding them.

You need to know code concepts, but you don't need to get into the weeds with scripting--unless you want to.

To me, it's the next level up from no code, which as many can attest to, you can outgrow really fast, especially if you want to create some unique functions that are not common web patterns or features that many people use.

Great no code tools get you going fast and help you scale over time by providing you with a launch point into a broader community of more advanced tools and capabilities.

Go from no code zero to hero

Here is a List of tools that I would recommend, that will allow you to go from zero to hero in a matter of months, and allow you to create (almost) anything you want with minimal time and effort.

Tools can span a couple categories, but I will sort them based on their primary use, customer, or what makes them unique in comparison to other tools.

Backend as a service and APIs

Airtable - (No code to low code)

Nhost - (Low code to code less)

Xano - (Low code to code less)

Supabase - (Low code to code less)

Canonic - (Low code to code less)

Zapier - (No code)

Frontend

Plasmic - (Low code to code less)

Webflow - (No code to low code)

Typedream - (No code)

Full stack

Clutch - (Code less)

Weweb - (Low code to code less)

Draftbit - (Low code to code less)

Flutterflow - (Low code to code less)

Bubble - (No code to low code)

Softr - (No code to low code)

Adalo -(No code to low code)

For example my current stack is:

Plasmic - Frontend
Supabase - back end
Vercel - hosting/cloud

These tools allow you to make custom applications with a minimal amount of code, or the code that you need to know is very low and can be learned in a matter of weeks.

These are great tools to level up from no code and get to higher levels of development without going full handwritten code and learning javascript functions etc. Secondly, it's a great next step in getting better as a developer because, to me, it seems to lower the learning curve for product development, but accelerates your ability to ship a digital product that will be unique to your use case.

The difference between a site and an application

An important distinction that you must understand when looking for the right no code tool for your project, is that the difference between a site and an app is usually the ability to access and interact with data.

A site displays data and does not allow you to interact and modify the data that is displayed.

An application allows you to create, update, and delete the data displayed.

Generally, if a product has authentication and dynamic data (or a database)— it's an app. Anything that simply displays information— is a site.

Responsive websites

Webflow
Typedream

Mobile apps

Draftbit
Flutterflow
Adalo

Web apps

Plasmic
Weweb
Bubble
Softr

Rules for creators

No code is really about accessibility and empowerment, but navigating the tools that are in the marketplace requires that you understand a few principles when deciding on which tool to use.

Learning through launching

To get started on your dream project, is just that. Get started. It doesn't matter which tool you try, because you’re going to be learning and iterating through a process anyway.

The point is to get started. Contrary to popular advice. Just pick one and try it.

A few things will happen. You will start to learn, gain confidence as you make progress and solve your own problems, and secondly, you will start to understand, first hand, the limitations of whatever tool you’ve chosen.

In some cases this might come very fast, or in other cases your particular tool of choice might take you very far, satisfy your needs, and allow you to become an expert in that tool and in your specific domain.

Join the community

One of the best ways to learn is within a group and thankfully many of the no code tools listed above have thriving communities with people from all different backgrounds that are they to encourage and help you along your way.

If you get stuck on something and don’t wanna read the docs because they seem confusing, posting a question to the community to get help from someone saves a lot of time.

The great thing about no code communities is that you meet a lot of individuals and increasingly more small studios and professionals at companies that are going through the same thing as you and are willing to help.

I would encourage you to actively participate and as you learn and level up, give back to the community by helping the newer members make their way on their journey.

I’m a part of the Plasmic and Supabase community and it has had a huge impact on overcoming the challenges of teaching yourself how to build digital products.

I chose these two products and communities because I wanted to become proficient with SQL/Postgres, my chosen backend, and React/Html/CSS for my front end.

The tools were both easy for me to adopt and the communities are very helpful and friendly to new people trying to learn.

They are both extremely encouraging which makes learning a lot easier and gives you the resolve to keep pushing because a whole group of people is cheering for you.

Test the limitations

Once you’ve chosen a tool, be it for your specific use case or proficiency level, jump in and test the tool out for yourself.

Does it solve your problem?

Is it easy to use?

Is there a helpful community?

How long will you be able to use this tool as your project grows?

These are all the questions you should be able to answer by trying out the tool, learning, and building out your project.

Convenience is the enemy of independence

You will be lured in by push to start solutions, a lot of exciting features that you think will be useful, and many of these options are really just candy and empty calories.

This is how many of these tools lock you into their service.

Using a tool should be your choice, and the vendor needs to keep you there based on the merits of the product.

Your ip is yours. Your data is yours

Vendor lock in is real, so it's unlikely that you will be able to port anything useful from a true no code tool.

Often their objective is to give you an awesome tool that makes it super easy to build your product.

Then host it for you for the life of the product.

Many of the tools that I listed above, YOU own the code, and you can host that code anywhere, so you're not locked in to their hosting.

With many of the tools above it's much easier to go from "low-code" to “code less”, because most low code tools use code as well as part of the offering.

Parting words and open door

Please check out all the tools I listed above. I've tried all of them personally over my journey and recommend any of them for what they're good at.

This was not a post of what’s better than the other, but more of an overview of how diverse and empowering the space is.

What I’ve found is that the beauty of no code tools is empowerment, diversity, and redefining what it means to be “technical”.

I can confidently say that over the course of my journey I have realised that I am “technical”, but come from a non-traditional background.

What these tools allow you to do as a person from a non-traditional background; is to open the world to different voices, perspectives, products, and services.

I truly believe that with time these tools and the no code mindset will allow professionals to pursue higher order problems, allow more people to author solutions to problems and overall make the web great again ;)

If there is anyone reading this that has a no code tool in development that wants some feedback on, my DM on Twitter is open and I’m more than happy to give a thoughtful consideration and feedback, or if you're a freelance agency and no code/visual developer please do reach out, because I’m looking for studios and freelancers to represent.

C

  1. 5

    This is a great guide, thank you. I did not know there were low code backend tools. In my podcast I have interviewed a nocode developer. Which is a concept that I did not know existed. You can actually make a lot of money as a nocode freelancer

    1. 2

      Wow Tiago, I love your podcast series! Your site is super clean, very well organised, and the content is really unique. I think the challenge for many entrepreneurs is the imposter syndrome that creeps in when you have an idea, and you don't know if it will work out. Sometimes you need other friends and founders around you to help you through the moments of insecurity and the hard times and your content seems to cover this really well from all different perspectives. Well done!

      1. 1

        Thank you, I am happy that you like my website :) Being surrounded by other like-minded bootstrappers really help to test your ideas and get some nice advice. That's what I am trying to build with my entrepreneurs coworking space too :)

        1. 2

          Oh dang. You have a Coworking space too. Put the link up here so people can find it. Where is it located?

          1. 2

            It's a virtual co-working space. We have people from all over the world there. Here is the link: https://wannabe-entrepreneur.com/coworking/

  2. 1

    Thanks. Please write about the economics (short term, long term) of such tools. Money is an important factor for bootstrappers.

  3. 1

    hey, great write up! you are a fantastic writer

    I'm just at this point: "I got so frustrated with the issue, that I just woke up one day and decided that I was going to figure out, come hell or high water, how to make my app on my own"

    However, still just looking around, trying to figure out what tool will be best for me.

    what did you end up building with nocode? is it intrepid? if so, wow, nice :D that's a lot of funcitonalities

  4. 1

    Great post Collin! The no-code environment is pretty complex and can confuse makers on different levels: indeed, most people who don't know how to code don't even know about the "no-code" movement.

    NoCode 101 (https://nocode101.one) is a list of 250+ tools that'll help you create your own SaaS, website or app, without coding. I built this list when I had enough of looking endlessly on Google for the right tool for my project. You can filter the list by budget (ie. tool price is < $20/month) and knowledge level (ie. Bubble is more complex to start building with than Softr).

    Hope it helps for fellow no-coders! 🤙

    1. 2

      Super helpful. Yeah it’s pretty complex and there seems to be a new site builder like every week. But what it shows is that the space is really diverse and there’s really a tool for almost any background, skill level, and use case. Well done on putting together this list —I bet it’s growing weekly!

      1. 1

        Thanks! Yes, that's quite hard to map all relevant products since you also have to check whether the product is still being maintained etc. - but that's great because I get to learn about very interesting projects!

  5. 1

    I'm yet to understand the IP part of it. If a platform like bubble is used, you are well not writing any code to build your product. So how well is the point of IP in that use case? The entire things can be only work with bubble platform.

    1. 1

      I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking, but if I understand you correctly, you’re asking about how would you protect your IP, on a platform like Bubble? If this is your question. You cannot. So you would have to ask yourself. Is speed and convenience worth the trade off of your IP and the portability of your app?

      1. 1

        Yeah, This was my point. I don't think any serious people who want to build a business on a long term will go with no code. As intellectual property will be a big question mark. Without IP what is the point in whole thing?

        1. 1

          I wouldn’t go as far as this. It just depends on your goals. How exactly do you define “serious”? Eg. An e-commerce store that does $1-3m arr is pretty serious to me, and there are many people on platforms that are not portable who are perfectly happy with the performance and ease of use. I wouldn’t diminish that, for them the trade off works—but for others it wouldn’t. All I’m saying is be clear on what’s important to you.

          1. 1

            I say serious, when you want to build a SaaS or any business and look for VC to fund. And Even MVP will be a technical debt later on if you want to off load it later when platforms grow with more users.
            Yes, a normal eCommerce store or similar business may not be facing such issues. But Building a product where the value entirely is on source code/ IP and to go with a nocode platform will be a big no in my opinion.

            1. 1

              Yeah, in that case the low code or code less options are where you wanna be.

  6. 1

    This is a great article. I am getting more fascinated by no-code tools day by day with all these exciting articles. Read a similar article on no-code tools for startups but yours is so much better. Thank you for sharing.

    1. 1

      Hey Adeyemi, yeah this article is alright. Many of these tools are super useful, but it doesnt really talk about the context in which they should be used. This seems to be a listicle of productivity tools. I think for founders. they wanna get started on their idea, get paid, and grow. At the end of the day, you need to create a product that delivers a valuable service, not just be productive.

  7. 1

    Hey Collin, thanks for sharing. I found this content to give an interesting perspective on where to start and how to know if it is for you : https://www.cogniflow.ai/blog/how-can-i-use-ai-in-my-project-or-daily-routine Cheers mate

    1. 1

      I don't see how this is relevant at all. Perhaps you can explain?

  8. 1

    Thanks for the guide! Have you considered including Backendless and Appgyver? I think they are also awsome tools, and Appgyver is 100% free.

    1. 2

      100%, I know Doc Williams (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoQR-TLPo_U) does alot of videos on Appgyver and it's one of his favourite tools. definitely worth trying out.

  9. 1

    Great post, a ton of useful content. I can relate to all of this. I never could figure out how to code. However now I’m building SaaS with nocode tools.

    One additional piece of advice. When starting out with hobby projects, feel free to mess around with all the nocode tool options. However, if you’re planning on building a scalable business on a platform, do your research and ask other nocode experts what tool is best for your needs. I’ve found that some are much more powerful than others and are a better fit in the long run.

    1. 1

      This is the exact spot I'm stuck at now. I have a great idea, I'm pretty sure how the logic behind it would work, but can't decide on which platform to use. Yeah, i could spend the next two-three months trying each and every combination of tools, but don't have the luxury of time.

      I tried posting in several places what i need to do, and just get general suggestions from people who seem to be evangelizing one product or another, without any argument why i should use a specific tool. yeah, i know people don't want to give their knowhow for free, but I still haven't found a great no-code community.

      Maybe that's an opportunity for someone...

    2. 1

      Definitely, some tools are not good for simple products because it's overkill, and some tools are not good for large intensive projects because they are not powerful enough. Finding the sweet spot or tools that are interoperable, or can migrate is the trick. However, sometimes you just have to resign yourself to the fact that you will have to refactor at some point—and that's ok—as long as you can minimise. the technical debt.

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