Do you remember DreamWeaver for creating a website? The so-called no-code tools have existed for a very long time and are now an integral part of the web, just as the no-code tool WordPress is. These tools continue to improve for the benefit of everyone — developers or not. Indeed, creating code and adding lines of code to a programme has always been about automating tasks to avoid doing the same thing by hand over and over again. No-code is an achievement of concentrated automation that allows tasks to be carried out much more quickly without having to rewrite the same lines of code each time, but simply by clicking on an element that generates it.
Definition of No-Code
No-code allows developers and non-developers to create applications via graphical user interfaces (GUI) without writing lines of code. No-code refers to how the person uses it, but code is indeed created when the tool is manipulated. It is simply a matter of clicking or dragging and dropping elements onto the interface to automatically create code — all visually.
Definition of Low-Code
Low-code refers to software that can combine both no-code and code. That is, you can use a graphical interface that automatically generates code based on your manipulations, but you can also write code manually. Moreover, most so-called no-code software is actually low-code — it is a misuse of language. By way of comparison, one could say that Wix is a no-code site creation tool and WordPress would be a low-code tool. In English, low-code simply means “low amount of code”.
The Interest of No-Code / Low-Code
The interest of no-code, or rather low-code, is to open up the possibility for anyone to carry out complex tasks without needing to know how to programme. In reality, far more developers use these tools than novices do. Why? Because they allow a phenomenal amount of time to be saved, such as in website creation. Experienced coder or not, by using a tool such as Webflow and exporting the code, you multiply the time saved on even the smallest task by at least 20 — and all while receiving clean code (at least with this software).
Speed and “simplicity” are, moreover, a fundamental issue for developers. That is why there are a multitude of libraries, or frameworks, of programming languages. jQuery allows you to write JavaScript with fewer lines of code while doing more. The same goes for Laravel, a PHP framework, or Bootstrap, a CSS framework. You get the idea. Low-code software follows the same principle but goes even further. Using a graphical interface saves considerable time in carrying out tasks and in no way prevents you from writing your own code if necessary.
What to Think About No-Code
As you certainly know, many people criticise and judge those who use no-code tools. Today, no-code or low-code tools on the back-end side for site creation come with trade-offs, admittedly, but this is never very penalising either. More tellingly, tools like Webflow are not at all constraining on the front-end side for any website. For example, major companies use Salesforce and Zapier to find prospects even though they have teams of engineers capable of building anything they can imagine. They choose to use “no-code” tools because it is faster to do and easier to maintain. We always perceive things that are difficult to do as being better. Sometimes, that is true. But as these no-code tools advance, it is foolish to do things the old way. Hosting infrastructure has already undergone this transformation. We now have AWS, Google Cloud, and other solutions to facilitate our tasks on the hosting side. Even the most experienced and talented dev ops engineers use their services. It would be senseless to have them spend time creating their own servers. It would be extremely expensive, extremely time-consuming, and it would not be better in terms of performance.
The Risks of No-Code
While no-code tools allow anyone to seemingly venture in, the majority fail to create a stable project simply because speed is not always synonymous with simplicity. For example, if Webflow is the , you still need to learn to master it, and a knowledge of basic programming languages such as HTML and CSS is a big plus. Not to mention that to create an effective page, you will also need knowledge of UI/UX and therefore web design.
Note: More and more companies are looking for no-code experts.
The Best “No-Code” Tools
There are many no-code tools today ranging from the very well-known, like WordPress, to others less well-known but very powerful. Within a company, their use allows costs and production time to be reduced for better results. In the Anglo-Saxon sphere, most of these tools are very well-known and enormously used. Here are the 5 best no-code tools — the most powerful and most interesting:
Webflow
Primarily dedicated to web design professionals, Webflow revolutionises the way websites are created on both the front and back end. It is possible to create showcase sites, blogs, or e-commerce sites without necessarily writing lines of code, simply by using a complete and complex graphical interface. Webflow is a SaaS tool; the (excellent) hosting of a Webflow site is therefore entirely managed, although it is possible to export Webflow code and use it in various other scenarios. It is an indispensable low-code tool for web professionals. It remains, however, an online tool that allows you to create your site easily without coding and is therefore accessible to persevering beginners.
Airtable
Airtable is a collaborative tool capable of rapidly developing small applications such as customer relationship management. Its data server allows you, for example, to create a product catalogue, a customer database, or a payment tracking table. Resembling a classic spreadsheet, it allows you to go further by creating a database (spreadsheet – database). Airtable is therefore comparable to software like Microsoft Excel, but much more powerful.
Figma
Figma is a collaborative tool that allows you to create almost any visual. Particularly used for website or mobile app design, it is possible to extract your visual as code (HTML, CSS, React, …) or even directly as a web application by pairing it with Bravo. Figma has an enormous number of plugins, including WordPress, and can do just about anything you want.
Bubble.io
Bubble works in the same way as CMSs like Wix, Webflow, Shopify, or others, with the difference that it allows you to create web applications. That is, by using simple clicks or drag-and-drop, it is possible to create a full-fledged application. Not only is no line of code required, but it also takes care of hosting and everything you need for a self-managed application.
There are also no-code tools like Glide, Adalo, or Bravo for creating mobile applications.
Zapier
Zapier is a tool that allows automation for just about anything and everything. For example, it is possible to import a Google Sheets file to automatically create an article on Webflow thanks to Zapier. But perhaps you would like to automate the publication of your social media when you publish an article on your blog? It is possible to do even more complex things with Zapier — the principle is to create automations without coding, for just about anything you want.