No code development
What is No-Code Development?
Often referred to as visual programming, no-code development is pretty much exactly what its name would suggest – a method of building technology with graphical user interface (GUI) tools rather than writing in code. Most no-code development is based around a user-friendly ‘drag and drop’ approach that allows users to simply add components, move them around, and customise the look until the application is complete.
There has been a buzz around no-code development in the last few years, and for good reason. Without the need for complex coding, no-code development can help organizations achieve digital transformation faster than ever before, as users don’t need any prior knowledge or coding experience to create mobile and web apps.
The future of coding is no coding at all
Benefits of No-Code Development
Negating the need for teams of highly skilled developers is a positive result for businesses of all sizes. As it stands in 2020, there are over 1 million vacant programming-related jobs, so many businesses are looking to no-code solutions as a way of progressing while simultaneously cutting out the need to source staff. However, with the market for no-code development platforms expected to be worth $21.2 billion by 2022, there are many more benefits than this alone...
Easily Changeable
With traditional coding, you need a developer or programmer who can ‘speak’ the right coding language to make any adjustments to functionality. And even when you find one, changes can take time. With no-code development, however, the opposite is true. With visual programming, it is possible to transform a new concept into reality in just a few hours.
More Productivity
Writing code is difficult, takes years to learn, and is made even more complicated by the various different programming frameworks and languages. This is why the pool of available programmers is normally relatively small, and why IT departments are regularly overloaded. No-code programming not only allows non-technical users to build tools to suit their own requirements, it also allows them to do it quickly, and with little to no input from technical teams. More productivity all round!
Reduced Costs
Developers are expensive, and often in the case of smaller businesses, not a particularly feasible cost outlay. With no-code development, businesses of all sizes can be in charge of their own innovation and progression, as production-ready web and mobile apps can be built without the assistance of a developer at a much lower cost, and in a shorter timeframe. This, in turn, means that resources can be freed up and allocated instead to higher-value projects.
Better Agility
Due to the visual programming element of no-code platforms, apps can be built and launched faster. Even the testing process can be automated, which leads to even more time savings in the development process.
What are the Best Uses for No-Code Development?
While the specific uses are almost infinite, no-code development platforms are typically best suited to applications that provide a simple solution without too much customization. Sometimes, this means developing software for internal systems rather than customer-facing programs, but the potential to use no-code apps for external as well as internal purposes should not be ignored.
By understanding, applying and implementing the no-code tools, you’ll be able to use the latest technologies to create a winning customer experience which helps guarantee loyal, repeat customers and clients.
Every industry and every department of an organization can benefit from the use of no-code applications to streamline their processes and increase efficiency. Some specific examples of how to do this in a practical setting include:
Creating minimum viable products (MVP) to validate ideas
A minimum viable product is a version of a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide feedback for future product development. Being able to create MVPs without coding in a quick and efficient way is a huge benefit to all types of organization.
Creating fast and Powerful Landing Pages
By breaking through the barriers presented by coding, organizations can build better business websites in a shorter timeframe. Plus, some no-code website builders like Webflow offer their service free until the web build is complete and ready to launch, making it incredibly cost-effective too.
Creating Custom Forms
No-code platforms like Getform allow users to create custom forms to conduct surveys, collect orders, amass contacts for email marketing lists, and gather feedback, to name just a few examples.
Automating Processes
Busy people can use no-code solutions to connect multiple apps together and become more efficient by automating their workflow. No-code apps like ReportMyAds connect more than 200 individual applications including Facebook, Taboola, Google Ad Exchange, Appnexus, Outbrain, etc.
Streamlining Back Office Procedures
No-code apps can help make data accessible to a large number of users simultaneously, so teams are able to analyze data more efficiently. In fact, one of the most popular uses of no-code tools is transforming Excel files into interactive apps.
No-Code in the Digital Marketing World
The no-code tools of today have very few limitations, and offer businesses a plethora of ways to save time, resources, and money, in addition to allowing for more progressive and innovative ideas to move from the realm of theory into reality. With marketers now able to build applications to fit even the smallest and most niche needs without any prior programming experience, it’s no wonder that no-code products have made their way into almost all everyday tasks. From customer service tools and chatbots to satisfaction surveys, integrated social media solutions and digital assistants, no-code applications are a constant presence in daily digital life.
No-code tools are particularly useful in the hands of marketers, as these are the people who know a company’s customers the best. Giving these non-technical staff members the ability to custom design and build the apps they need to attract and retain market share, without the input of development teams, essentially makes them ‘citizen developers’ with the power to truly revolutionize a business. Indeed, bearing in mind the rapid-paced nature of modern business, giving any non-technical employees the tools they need to develop software solutions for increased efficiency, automation and optimization of workflow, etc., is a huge advantage.