What I learned after getting stuck building my first no-code app in Lovable

I’m a non-tech person building my first app in Lovable (no-code), a simple to-do list. It was exciting when things worked early, but once I added features like recurring tasks or marking items complete, frustration set in. Bugs kept breaking parts of the app, and I had no visibility into what was happening. I kept trying different prompts, hoping one would fix it.

I shared this on Reddit (r/NoCode) and received helpful feedback. Here’s what others taught me.

1. You’re not alone

Many people have hit the same wall. Lovable and similar tools are great for fast prototypes but become opaque once logic grows. When workflows depend on each other, debugging becomes difficult because you can’t see exactly where things fail.

2. Tools that offer more control

These were the main tools people recommended to get better visibility and debugging:

Bubble: Most recommended. Includes a visual debugger and step-through workflows to see what fails.

WeWeb + Xano: Separates frontend and backend, so issues are easier to locate. Xano provides a query inspector and versioned logic.

Glide or Softr: Easier to learn, stable options for simple apps.

FlutterFlow: Closer to low-code, with full code export and visual logic mapping.

Retool or Power Apps: Low-code tools that let you add bits of custom logic or code, useful if you want to understand more about how your app works.

3. Debugging tips from other builders

One approach I thought would be useful is creating a Logs table. Each time a major action runs (create, complete, reschedule), write a record with the task ID, action type, and data. This gives you a visible history of how the app behaves and helps identify where things go wrong.

Other advice included keeping workflows small, testing them in isolation, and using debugging tools such as Bubble’s ?debug_mode=true or Xano’s query inspector to trace each step.

4. My takeaway

Lovable is great for starting fast but difficult once logic grows. My next step is to try Bubble, and later possibly WeWeb + Xano if I need more backend control.

These insights came from other builders who shared their advice on Reddit. I found them extremely helpful and wanted to summarize them here in case they help someone else who is going through the same thing.