Simon Jenner
Tuesday, 29 September 2020
While no-code has excellent benefits, there are a few drawbacks to consider before diving in head-first with your startup.
Posted in:
No-Code
As you begin your startup journey, the success of your startup is heavily reliant on how quickly you can produce a working product. No-code is breaking down barriers and democratising the process for building your MVP.
The startup world has long struggled with a high demand for software and low supply of developers and coders. Even if you were lucky enough to get a piece of that supply, you were likely investing a decent amount of financial resources and time to acquire it.
Thankfully no-code has arrived and is growing at rapid speed. This technology is becoming so mainstream that tech giant Google acquired AppSheet, a no-code platform, in January 2020.
No-code technology allows anyone to become their own MVP app developer, regardless of technical training. But, is it right for your company?
Advantages of No-Code
Business Validation Support: Even before you build your official MVP, no-code can provide you with a limited-functionality app to be used for validating your business idea both internally and among early adopters.
Finalise Your Product Before Early Adopters Lose Interest: Once early adopters become excited about your product, they will want the finalised version as soon as possible. The speed that no-code brings to development enables you to provide these users with the finished version quickly and efficiently, decreasing the chances they will wander elsewhere to find an alternative product to meet their needs.
No Technical Skills Needed: No longer needing a professionally-trained developer or coder to build your MVP not only saves you money, but you can now reclaim that time it would have taken just to find the perfect developer and apply it to actually getting your MVP app to market.
Simpler Building and Modifications: The drag-and-drop capabilities offered by no-code platforms, such as Bubble.io, both speed up your initial MVP building process as well as streamline any future modifications to your app.
Drawbacks of No-Code
Data Security: When you use no-code platforms to build your MVP apps, you are sacrificing the control you would have over a custom-developed app. There is always the risk of an internal security breach with or acquisition of the platform you choose.
Vendor Lock-In: As your app and startup begin to grow, you may eventually run into the desire to switch to a traditional application platform. For example, you might be catering to your target market so well that as their requirements expand, they expect you to provide the solution. If this happens, you will need to entirely redevelop your app, as no-code platforms are not equipped for data migration.
Rigid Functionality: No-code is an incredible tool for generating early prototypes and building your MVP. That being said, the functionalities no-code platforms provide are limited. This is nothing to worry about if you have a simpler program, though might pose problems if you encounter an edge-case.
Conclusion
Overall, no-code is eliminating the barriers to entry of the tech startup world. The capabilities that no-code platforms offer will continue to have a massive impact on entrepreneurs’ access to success, whether or not they have a technical background or a developer on their team.
While your business model may call for more advanced functions than the pre-coded templates of no-code, the opportunity to utilise no-code for building your MVP and prototypes can be crucial in the foot-race to build a strong business foundation early-on.
If the idea of building a no-code MVP quickly and at a low cost appeals to you, sign up for our No-Code Bootcamp. We’re here to help you build the best foundation possible.
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