The tech landscape is steadily evolving and offers impressive solutions that were hard to imagine a decade ago. While apps are most often associated with coding—an essential process in their creation and effective operation—modern apps can be built without it. It sounds impressive, doesn’t it?
While this solution seems fascinating on the surface, it has numerous practical limitations. It is also difficult to treat it as a one-size-fits-all solution, especially for doing business. In this review, we will reveal all the nuts and bolts of the no-coding approach and custom enterprise app development, which is actually better for doing business. We will delve into the details about the reasons why.
What Are No-Code Apps?
While it is more or less clear what coded apps are, no-code apps raise interest and questions. These tools are not created alone. Specialized no-code platforms, such as Microsoft Power Apps, Airtable, Glide, and others, are used to build fully scalable, functional apps, skipping the code-writing stage. These environments provide different drag-and-drop components, logic builder, and visual interfaces to create a custom no-code app.
Advantages
No-code apps remain steadily popular among users and are increasingly attracting business owners. There are many reasons behind this trend:
- No Skills. No Knowledge. Workable Apps. Non-technical users widely appreciate these platforms. Enthusiasts can easily bring their ideas into reality without acquiring sufficient technical knowledge and skills. Anyone can become a developer, organize their workflows more effectively, automate them, create custom dashboards, or even deploy applications with minimal involvement of IT professionals.
- Fast Turnaround Times. Creating no-code apps is much faster than the traditional approach. You can get the final product in days, instead of spending a month on coding and testing. Making updates and adding features is also very fast and straightforward.
- Much Lower Costs. While there is no need to hire professional developers, companies may significantly save their funds and optimize budgets.
Disadvantages
It seems to be perfect, doesn’t it? However, as with any other solution, there is also another side to the coin:
- Poor Customization. Customization is always restricted on these platforms. Their functionality and offers are predefined. You are always limited to navigating solely between the existing templates and integrations.
- Lower Data Capabilities. These platforms can’t handle large datasets and increasing user loads. Once a business starts to sell up, it feels the full impact of these limitations. The latter may significantly impact business growth and even cause the loss of new customers, depending on the business type.
- Troublesome Migration. When you plan to migrate away from no-code platforms, it may be really challenging once this tool is deeply embedded in your business operations. This situation imposes severe limitations, especially when an app no longer meets your needs.
- Data at Risk. Finally, if you pass any sensitive data through these platforms, you may never know its intended use. The platforms for producing no-code optimize their costs in all possible terms. Among others, they most often store user data on third-party servers. Under these circumstances, your ability to control and limit data use is very conditional.
Why Are Coded Apps Not Only Classical but Also More Reliable Options?
As a reminder, coded apps are built using traditional programming languages such as Python, Java, C#, and JavaScript. These specialized frameworks, such as React, Django, .NET, or Spring, are used for this purpose.
By the way, professionals distinguish several types of apps: no-code, low-code, and high-code. While comparing them is a whole other story, we will note briefly that the low-code app is a balanced solution for startups on a budget. In general, having a code is always better than skipping it, for many reasons.
Advantages
While this approach is far more sophisticated and envisages different stages, including its thorough testing, it has numerous advantages that the no-coding approach lacks:
- Unlimited Customization. Nowadays, it is not even possible to say it is limited solely to human imagination. Many advanced IT companies also leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI), which greatly expands the opportunities.
- Exceptional Adaptability. Coded apps can be adapted to different business needs. When crafted well, these tools deliver exceptional performance and can handle millions of transactions and large data volumes.
- High Scalability. Once your business scales, the same can be done with the coded apps integrated in your workflows. When you involve professional developers in the process, the risk of mistakes is significantly decreased, if not eliminated entirely.
- Flexible Integration with Other Tools. Coded apps are very flexible when it comes to integrating with other apps and systems, for instance, ERPs. Professional developers can ensure and verify stable, seamless connectivity with various APIs and, where applicable, innovative technologies. Yes, custom-coded apps even let you leverage technologies such as AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) to run your business.
- Robust Data Security and Control. While professional developers usually pay special attention to these aspects to address potential data threats, by default, coded apps demonstrate much higher standards in this context than no-code counterparts. Nowadays, coded apps are bolstered by a wide array of security features and technologies, for instance, encryption. They also allow businesses to maintain full control over hosting and fully comply with all applicable compliance standards. The latter, by the way, is an extremely important aspect for businesses that handle large volumes of customer data. Failure to ensure proper data safety may lead to severe financial sanctions and reputational damage. The case of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a vivid illustration.
Limitations
While the above set of advantages really brings peace of mind, there are also some limitations to consider on balance. Coded apps usually bring these challenges to the agenda:
- Much Higher Costs. The more custom, sophisticated, or scalable the app your business needs is, the more it will cost you. There are two major reasons for this. First, creating complicated coding apps needs a specific skill set and background. Skilled, professional developers always command higher rates. Second, creating an advanced, coded application always requires more complex infrastructure and effective management.
- Longer Timelines. Custom projects take longer to bring to reality. This process envisages several rounds of negotiations, getting approvals, testing, and making adjustments, when necessary.
- Steady Need for Maintenance and Support. On the one hand, it is good that a business owner does not need to worry about the app’s maintenance. However, in any case, maintenance is too complicated to handle alone. The code needs to be regularly monitored and updated to prevent any bugs and security challenges.
Bottom Line
When no-code apps are still worth trying, even out of curiosity, they are not the best fit for business, especially for SMEs and large enterprises. No-code apps have limited functionality, scalability, and features. Once a business grows, it can face significant constraints.
In contrast, coded apps ensure maximal customization, flexibility, and scalability. They can handle large data volumes and more complicated business processes, becoming a significant booster on your way to business growth.
Investing in a custom-coded app that is fully tailored to your needs is a real bargain. It will deliver high ROI with less headache over security and handling growing workflows.