Webflow or Bubble - What if they fail!?
Do any product makers out there consider the consequences of what would happen to your product or service built on one of these no-code platforms if they failed one day? Do you have a backup plan?
They could run out of funding causing them to immediately shut down or simply tweet a picture of a cat that looks suspiciously like someone evil! https://patch.com/img/cdn/users/271628/2015/07/raw/201507559b597b5e341.jpg
As a JavaScript/React developer mon-Fri and curious product maker on weekends, I am excited about how quickly one could iterate on these platforms but is there a grave risk of building your business around them?
I could build a product in React and only depend on servers but take 5-10x as long to build it... or is the shorter time to market worth the risk?
Really curious what others think!
Paul
the chances are pretty slim of them shutting shop.
Bubble has said they'll open source in case they have to shut down!
Alternative is to use a platform like Wappler (wappler.io) which allows you to own the code and run the apps without licensing restrictions. It will be difficult (but not impossible) to maintain the app in case they shut down - but you're in no way tied up to the platform without recourse with Wappler.
For people like yourself there are better tools out there that will give you the “speed” to market that you need with minimal upfront cost. If you have JavaScript skills, front and back, I would recommend tools like WeWeb, clutch, supernova, and for the backend; Canonic. They allow you to own your code, and don’t lock you into their platforms. You can take your code and infrastructure with you, if you decide to manage on your own. I really see bubble and Webflow as more “disposable” MVPs before Re-platforming once you have product market fit. I stayed away from bubble because of the lock in, and went with Webflow because you can export the HTML/css and JavaScript. However, both these tools are really good, well funded, “secure” and you can go a looOOOOOOoooooong way just on these node code tools alone.
I know for both Webflow and Bubble you would be able to export your code and host somewhere else in the low chance they went out of business, so that mitigates the risk for me.
Also, Webflow just raised 140M at a 2.1B valuation, and Bubble has raised 6M (I wouldn't be surprised if they raised more soon), so I'm confident they have plenty of access to capital
For Faster execution, you risk having to recreate it somewhere else. Most likely you will validate your idea & move ahead, before any of this happens. You simply take the risk. Just like you do when you cross the road or take a flight.