What do you need to know before you low-code an app?
You must have heard about the rise of the low-code and no-code platforms. So, what are the realities of taking part in the low-code revolution? Before establishing a foundational understanding of what low-code development entails, it is essential to clarify the distinction between low-code and no-code.
Low-code is for individuals who understand programming but want more flexibility, while no-code is for those with no coding experience. They don't know how programming software works, but want something simple and quick.
Just as these platforms are gaining traction in Web2, we are now seeing their equivalents emerge in Web3 through visual interfaces and automation tools designed to accelerate blockchain application deployment.
What is low-code development?
Low-code development involves building applications using prebuilt tools and features that require minimal coding effort, but it still demands an understanding of programming intricacies.
With low-code development, developers can create applications in weeks or days, tasks that would normally take months if coded from scratch. These platforms are becoming widespread and rapidly gaining traction in the tech space, including in Web3. After all, who wouldn’t appreciate faster development with less stress?
The main goal is to accelerate application development and delivery while lowering the barrier to creating software solutions.
What are the pros and cons of low-code development platforms?
Now, let’s get to the most interesting part of low-code development platforms: how they benefit developers and businesses.
Pros
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Saves cost
Comparing the number of developers hired in traditional teams to what is required today shows a significant cost impact. Companies no longer need large developer teams because low-code/no-code tools enable one developer to do the work of several. Over the long term, businesses hire fewer developers skilled in these platforms, which reduces overall hiring costs.
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Speed
Every CEO and developer wants to launch MVPs quickly. Low-code and no-code tools allow the rapid building and deployment of websites and applications with minimal effort. Today, speed and time to value are decisive factors for project success.
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Flexibility
Low-code tools offer teams much greater flexibility, let’s double-click on some of the immediate wins:
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Fully coding an MVP requires skilled developers to create and build applications. However, with low-code/no-code tools, individuals from diverse technical backgrounds, such as project managers, business developers, and product designers, can easily prototype ideas and build applications without requiring deep coding expertise.
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In terms of integration with other systems, low-code tools offer the flexibility of prebuilt connectors and RESTful API services, which are far easier and less prone to errors than writing custom API connectors.
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Another important aspect is the seamless flexibility these platforms provide; when plans change, you can update your application’s design quickly and easily with just a few clicks.
- Automated scaling
Some low-code platforms handle app deployment and automate app scaling. This enables your app or workflow to scale as needed—no heavy lifting or complex DevOps. As more people use your tool or you collect more data, the platform adds resources and keeps things running smoothly. You don’t have to worry about performance drops, even when things get busy. It’s built to handle whatever comes next, hassle-free
- Low latency
Similarly, some low-code deployment platforms offer low latency serving of data and media. When an automation or request runs, the platform routes the request to the node or data center nearest the user. This means no annoying delays. If the process is really complex or under heavy use, you might see a slight lag, but for most everyday tasks, it feels close to instant.
Cons
No solution is 100% perfect. While low-code platforms offer many benefits, they also present potential shortcomings:
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Customization limitations
When platforms are designed to serve a wide range of businesses, they are inherently generic in nature. When your business has unique, complex, or highly specific requirements, you may find the platform unable to accommodate them. Always test whether the components and logic provided by the vendor support your needs without forcing you into suboptimal workarounds.
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Citizen developer reality
The idea that business users can independently build complex applications is often overstated. Without proper engineering discipline, these users may create fragile, poorly structured spaghetti workflows that are hard to debug, maintain, or scale. When such workflows break, IT teams are left to clean up the resulting mess. Ensure you invite the experts in early enough in the product development lifecycle to ensure the maintainability and security of your application.
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Rising costs
Although these tools reduce hiring costs, their adoption and usage fees could continue to rise. Some platforms charge monthly based on resource usage, so as your business scales, costs increase and can potentially exceed the cost of building applications from scratch. Do your research and ensure you choose a platform with transparent fees and a commitment to never locking users in.
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Steep learning curve
Low-code does not mean non-technical users can simply drag and drop to build robust applications. The simple visual interfaces can be deceptive; building scalable, secure integrations requires deep knowledge of system architecture, APIs, and data modeling. Often, significant training or IT involvement is still necessary.
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Vendor lock-in
Building applications on a specific low-code platform ties you to that platform’s pricing, feature set, and ecosystem. Migrating to another platform later can be difficult and costly, limiting your long-term flexibility.
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Collaboration and developer workflow
Low-code tools often lack mature collaboration features that professional software teams depend on, such as Git version control. This limitation makes it difficult for multiple developers to work simultaneously, track changes, perform code reviews, and maintain a clean audit trail. This can lead to chaos in larger or more complex projects.
FAQs about low-code/no-code platforms
What's the real difference between low-code and no-code?
While the lines can blur, the core difference is the target user. No-code platforms are designed for citizen developers (business analysts, marketers, etc.) with no programming skills, offering a completely visual, drag-and-drop building experience.
Low-code platforms are aimed at professional developers, providing a visual environment to speed up development but allowing them to drop down into traditional code for complex logic, custom integrations, and unique functionality.
Will low-code/no-code platforms make traditional software developers obsolete?
The prevailing consensus is no. Instead, they change the developer's role. These platforms automate and accelerate routine tasks (such as basic CRUD app creation), freeing professional developers to focus on complex, business-critical problems, architecture, system integration, and writing custom code for features that the platforms cannot handle. They act as a force multiplier, not a replacement.
What are the main limitations of Low Code/ No Code Tools?
The key limitations are:
- Scalability: Can the application handle a massive increase in users or data?
- Customization: Platforms can hit a complexity wall where highly specific or unique business logic is impossible to implement visually.
- Vendor Lock-in: It can be very difficult to move an application off the platform if you switch vendors or decide to build in-house.
- Integration: While many offer connectors, integrating with legacy or highly specialized third-party systems can be a major challenge.
- Security: The most vital component of any system that handles PII (Personal Identifiable Information) or accepts payments is security. It’s never advisable to rely on anyone else’s definition of secure.
How secure are low-code/no-code applications?
Security is a shared responsibility. The platform vendor is responsible for the security of the platform (infrastructure, runtime). However, the developer is still responsible for security in the application, for example, configuring user access rights, data validation, and business logic flows. It's crucial to ask vendors about their security certifications, such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and review their shared responsibility model.
Are these platforms only good for simple internal apps and prototypes?
While they excel at those tasks, some of the better modern low-code platforms are robust enough for customer-facing, enterprise-grade applications. However, this requires careful planning and often involves professional developers to extend the platform with code where necessary. They are not a one-size-fits-all solution and should be evaluated based on the specific project requirements.
What is vendor lock-in, and why is it a concern?
Vendor lock-in means that your application is so tightly coupled to a proprietary platform that it cannot be easily migrated to another system. If the vendor raises prices, goes out of business, or discontinues a feature, your business could face significant risk and cost to rebuild the application from scratch. It's a primary concern for long-term, mission-critical projects.
How do you handle complex data and business logic with a visual tool?
This is a common point of friction. Simple logic can be handled with visual workflow builders. For more complex scenarios, low-code platforms (as opposed to strict no-code) allow developers to write custom scripts, APIs, or backend code to handle the complex logic and then integrate it with the visual front-end. This is often where the low-code portion is critical.
What should I ask a vendor before selecting a low-code/no-code platform?
Key questions include:
- Can I export my data and app easily?
- How well does it scale and perform?
- Is there a test or staging area?
- How do you manage updates and versions?
- Which security certifications do you have?
If someone wants to be a serious developer, should they avoid no-code/low-code solutions entirely?
It depends on your goal, but for learning core programming, you should focus on code.
Using no-code tools does not teach you the fundamentals of software development.
In addition, understanding the code vs. the syntax of a programming language. Reading syntax is a small part of programming; the real challenge is understanding what the code does and how to think computationally. No-code tools don't teach this.
Which low-code development platform is the best for your Web3 project?
Many of the well-known low-code platforms have been improving to handle Web3 and blockchain app need, supporting everything from complex smart contracts to DeFi (decentralized finance) apps and NFT marketplaces.
These tools keep things simple and enable teams to move quickly, while also incorporating features such as automation and smart workflows powered by AI. This makes it easier than ever to tackle complex blockchain projects without getting bogged down.
Alongside these trends, several platforms stand out as great options for anyone building on Web3 today. For example:
- Thirdweb is fantastic if you want to deploy smart contracts easily and create NFT projects without hassle.
- Bubble offers a general no-code app builder experience, but with useful Web3 plugins that open up blockchain capabilities.
- Directual is a full-stack no-code platform that supports blockchain integration, making it handy for building more comprehensive solutions.
- Kalp Studio focuses on helping you build Web3 apps faster with its low-code features.
What next?
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About the Author
This article was written by Judith Etugbo, a technical writer specializing in developer documentation, API documentation, and content writing. Find her on LinkedIn.