There is a famous saying that the future of coding refers to development without coding. Still, most businesses and app aspirants cannot think of building an app without coding. Well, for them, both low-code and no-code development approaches continue to be popular.
Since mobile apps’ demand has already outgrown and outpaced the availability of skilled developers worldwide, no-code and low-code development routes are gaining ground. Even Google has entered the no-code development scene with some solutions now. Already for automated mobile app UI testing, no-code tools are widely popular. The time is not far away when both small startups and large enterprises will embrace zero code development.
Before we showcase some platforms for your no-code development ambition, let us point out the differences between no-code and low-code development and their corresponding pros and cons.
What is no code development?
No code development refers to software development with tools that require no coding expertise and skills. This development approach comes as a time and cost-saving solution to replace the traditional development approaches. The no-code approach is particularly suitable for non-technical users who aspire to build their apps without writing any code.
What types of development scenarios are suitable for no-code development?
When as a business, you lack an adequate budget for building software with an in-house team of developers or by outsourcing the development project to an expert development firm, you can embrace the no-code platforms. Thanks to no-code platforms, even regular citizens can become app developers and build simple and effective software applications.
Simple software applications that involve performing single-point tasks are more appropriate for no-code development. For example, in an organisation, the data entry tasks can easily be handled by a simple cloud-based application storing and segregating data into grids.
How the no-code development differs from low code development?
There is a widely perceived misunderstanding that no-code and low-code development are the same. They are different in more ways than one, so it is essential to know their differences.
No code development platforms are particularly for enterprise users without any coding knowledge. It is just about using a tool that can follow your command regarding performing a task. The app creator explains what the app needs to do, and the tool takes care of the “how” part.
On the other hand, low code development platforms require some amount of coding input to finish the app project. Low-code platforms offer a lot of ready to use functionalities that can be used to shape the app to a certain extent, but the remaining part needs to be finished by the expert developers.
Here, some no-code app development platforms can be used by people e without a tech background to build apps.
Appian
Appian helps with both app building and customisation and offers different business users and IT experts’ other processes. Inbuilt tools for team collaboration, development task management, and a social connectivity tool allow building an app with a drag-and-drop process interface. It also offers a decision engine to model complex logic for the app.
Microsoft PowerApps
Microsoft PowerApps comes as a robust and powerful no-code solution with a robust feature set. This solution’s key features include workflow automation, CDS-based data modelling, the use of standard data services, and several others. The tool also provides a wide array of integrations, a variety of user interface (UI) options, and templates.
Google App Maker
Google App Maker dealing with UI and UX with separate development consoles allows building great looking and high-performance apps with ease. Allowing easy integration with Google Apps and APIs, offering a powerful dashboard designed following Google Material Design principle and providing many customisation options with JavaScript and CSS, this tool outperforms most other no-code development tools.
Quick Base
Quick Base is a robust cloud-based development solution that can be accessed on all browsers and mobile devices. It also allows building apps by using any of the available templates or just by uploading your already existing spreadsheet or building everything from scratch through guided point-and-click actions.
Quick Base also helps your app integrate with popular solutions such as Gmail, Salesforce, NetSuite, and many others, using the pre-developed app connectors. The Quick Base solution can also produce custom reports. Used by several Fortune 500 companies, it stands as one of the leading no-code development solutions in the market now.
Zoho Creator
Zoho Creator allows developing cross-platform applications for web, mobile, tablets and desktops. This no-code platform, by using custom forms, pages and sophisticated design workflows, makes development a fun task. It comes with a simple and engaging user interface to help to build the apps in no time.
To allow app creators to add more value Zoho Creator tool allows integration with native solutions such as Salesforce and QuickBooks. Zoho Creator also facilitates working on a single app, editing and modifying the components by several users. The tool also allows Sandboxing to help create duplicate app versions for testing, evaluation and change management.
Salesforce App Cloud
Salesforce App Cloud is another powerful and widely acclaimed no-code development platform that has been an early adopter of this approach. The tool comes with a bounty of useful features, allows customising your app with simple tweaks. All the existing Salesforce users can quickly get accustomed to the platform for developing their custom app solutions.
Conclusion
In this respect, one must remember that no-code development tools are also widely used for faster prototyping in the initial stage of an app project. Coming with a simple use point and build or drag and drop interface make things easier for the business users with no technical expertise and a shoestring budget for the app.
Author Bio:
Ciaran Stone is the project coordinator & CEO of SquareRoot Solutions an acclaimed mobile app development company in Ireland – Their years of experience and passionate mobile app developers enable them to help businesses in building a robust mobile app solution at a cost-effective budget. Apart from his professional life, he is a tech-savvy person who loves to explore new technology through reading blogs and express his thought, experience, and opinion on different technologies through writing blogs.
