Pause a moment. Stay still. Observe your surroundings.

What do you see? Well first of all to be very obvious, you are reading this article on your laptop or mobile screen. Then there’s probably an AC, Television set, or a digital wall clock in your bedroom. Next, the kitchen contains the maximum appliances like microwave oven, coffee-maker, induction cooker, refrigerator, etc. Do you realize how these machines are working? Well, if you remove the hard covering of all these gadgets, you are left with the actual controlling system. Their mechanisms are fueled by software. Software is made by developers who have knowledge of programming language.

Hence it is easy to conclude that software can only be designed by people who know to code. But the reality stands contrasting especially with the popularization of personal computers by using operating systems like Mac OS and Windows. When we are using spreadsheets where you can use a formula (percentage, division, etc) and select a few cells and the arithmetic is done for us, this is already coding with using a programming language. In that regard, is anyone that uses excel or Google sheets a coder? That is partially true as we are doing what code can do without actually coding. The correct term to use here is No code.

Forrester coined the term “low code” for the first time in 2014. Their definition said, “Low-code platforms enable rapid delivery of business applications with a minimum of hand-coding and minimal upfront investment in setup, training, and deployment”. This eventually gave rise to No-code development.

What is No-code or Low-code development?

Low Code and No code App Development is a method to build applications with less effort and from certainly no knowledge of programming language, they rather use visual tools. Users can build apps without coding experience. There are many variations of low code or No code tools ranging from simple drag and drop tools for user interfaces to exhaustive workflow automation tools.

We’ve already seen how Google Docs took the world under its wings through free cloud-based software, forcing Microsoft to change its Office 365 business model. “No-code allows people who don’t know how to write code to develop the same applications that a software engineer would,” says Vlad Magdalin, co-founder and CEO of Webflow, a company having no-code platform niche. “It’s the ability to do without code what has traditionally been done with code.”

Also Read : No Code Vs Low Code Development

Why was there a need for no-code?

If IT was as flawless as it was once claimed to be, then it shouldn’t be having so many drawbacks. IT has faced criticism due to its time-consuming and high-cost attributes. 24% of the IT budget and time are spent dealing with technical debt. There was a need for a change that came in the form of No-code development.

Environmentalists have predicted that the world will go paperless in about 30 years as a need for the hour. We need to take into account that workplaces, educational centers, and commercial sites will have to be digitized to eliminate paperwork. Hence the need for building software will be extreme. There are not enough software engineers and developers to supply this extravagant demand. There will be too much pressure on IT. Low-code reduced the steps from 16 to only 7 in software development.

Coding might not be for everyone but creating applications should be.

No-code came as a rescuer for creative, non-technical minds. No-code had to enter to truly democratize the web development process. To manage and distribute the load on IT companies, a very efficient alternative is No-code and Low code development platforms.

Detailed Page of No Code : A Guide to No Code Web Development

Misconceptions about No-code

With the entry of No-code came assumptions and stories. There are so many myths out there that are stopping people to try this amazing product of technology.

• No code is for simple applications only.

Here’s the truth! No. Using no-code to produce a working application of an idea, whether simple employee time card management to inventory control processes, is a key advantage and beneficial to both business members and IT staff.

• There is no coding involved at all

No code can be as flexible as you want. If you have no experience or idea of coding then you can opt for a complete drag and drop method. But if you want to customize and code a few things as per your need you can find a provider that lets you do the same.

• There’s no flexibility of templates

It might be your mindset that all no-code development platforms come with pre-designed template sets. This is true in most cases but a few vendors provide you with the option to select any template on the internet and design your website from thereon.

• No-code is a threat to software developers

Well, this has to be the silliest argument put against No-code platforms. When we talk about No-code platforms the front-end (how the user sees an application) is chosen by the client. But the back-end (the main procedure that works behind the screen) is still taken care of by a developer itself. How can something that needs software developers be a threat to software developers?

We hope we could clear up some dirt that was thrown on No-code without proof. No-code is making so much progress at such an early stage. The Low-code market will grow from $6.5 billion in 2019 to $21.2 billion in 2022. Currently, 12% of enterprises utilize low-code tools for management and marketing.

Initial challenges No-code faced

When no-code was initially launched, it looked like a business strategy to trick innocent people into believing that they could build applications. But within a small span of time No-code got so much acceptance and appreciation, which proves it is so much more than just a business strategy to make money.

It didn’t come that easy for no code from the start. No-code faced grave doubts related to the security of the data shared with it. These applications are more vulnerable to hacking and data theft. This drawback can be taken care of, by choosing the right providers. But in the early days, it was troublesome to choose whom to give your confidence to.

Professionals questioned the sustainability and limitation of the applications made using NCDP. It was irresolute to imagine a technical novice to competently run a technical system. But many successful entrepreneurs already acknowledged how no-code was a blessing to their venture. Even with many flaws no-code is flourishing at an exceptional rate.

Also Read : Risks and Challenges of No-Code & Low Code Development

Success stories of No-code

The most motivational form of encouragement is seeing actual results. Let us introduce you to a few people who have scaled so high using various No-code developing platforms.

1. Hustle Crew

Abadesi is the founder and CEO of Hustle crew which is a platform to empower and teach women in technology and other aspects. She used ‘Squarespace’ for site design and architecture and ‘GoPayWall’ to turn ‘Squarespace’ into a membership site. Then she used ‘Buffer’ for publishing and managing social content.

2. Teacher Finder

The main goal of the app is as simple as its name. It helps you find a private language teacher nearby your location. This application was built using WordPress, Zapier, and Bubble. It got many users from the start. It is one of the top 20 applications on Playstore for teachers.

3. Hey Marketers

This is a job finding portal for marketers. It is attached with big names such as Corey Haines, Head of Growth at Baremetrics, etc. It is a technical website made by No-code. It used basic no-code tools like Webflow, Typeform, and Google Sheets.

4. Budget Meal Planner

It is one place to plan all aspects of your diet. They give you meal ideas and prices. This application has over 3.5k subscribers and still growing. It is a simple and elegant website made using ‘Wix’.

Between 2018 and 2023, more than 500 million apps will be created. That’s more than the previous 40 years combined out of which 65% will be built using No-code. Genpact Limited and Yahoo Inc. have already adopted low-code development platform to increase their work efficiency. There are much more available and yet to come, one of them could be yours. Taking that into account let’s look at how no code has evolved since all these years.

Trends in the No-code market

No-code is not a new concept. The concept of no or low code was introduced in 1982 by a book written by James Martin called Application Development Without Programmers. In 1985 Microsoft released the first version of excel. In 2003 WordPress stepped into the arena and helped build websites without the use of code. Hence it seems to be a late bloomer in terms of popularity.

A major reason why it’s been catching the front page lately is good quality visual tools. There was an increase in digitalization and people started using computers to replace many manual tasks. It was recorded there’s a 52% IT related skill gap within an organization. When the demand for developers increased the non-tech populations started taking matters into their own hands and were called ‘Citizen Developers’.

Let us explain to you why No-code and Low-code development is gaining such high momentum.

• Solution based application development

By 2019, solution-oriented applications gained significance in businesses. These applications were mostly built by citizen developers and hence enterprises could save a significant amount of money by replacing software developers. 70% of enterprises already have policies for citizen developers to encourage and supervise them.

• Advancement in Cloud computing and SaaS (Software as a Service)

The advantages of using cloud computing are being realized lately. Companies can save huge sums of money by renting access to anything from applications to storage from a cloud service provider. They can easily pay for what they use and in turn, the SaaS vendors can earn by providing the same service to many firms. Most no-code and low-code vendors are providing their services over the cloud. Cloud-based deployment offers increased scalability, high speed, and enhanced management for application development.

• IT companies are generating high revenues

The IT category held the largest share in the low-code development platform market in 2019. It welcomed No-code as it helps to reduce IT backlogs. Hence, 74% of IT companies want to expand application development to their business department. With the increasing demand for mobile and web-applications along with third-party software, having a helping hand is always encouraged.

• Geographical analysis

North America was the epicenter of Low and No-code development platform from 2014–2019, as it contained a more IT vogue and technology inclined population. But it is estimated that by 2030, the Asia-Pacific region will attain the fastest growth in Low-code as a preferred destination of IT outsourcing work.

• Business digitization

Various sectors like banking; financial services; insurance; manufacturing; automotive; oil & gas; and several other verticals are forced to adopt digital technologies. Low-code and No-code development played a crucial role in the computerization of non-IT sectors. 24% of No-code app builders have no experience with coding and 40% of people are from business backgrounds.

• Government norms

Different governments of many countries realized how data is being generalized and could be abused. Over 75% of the federal government’s $80 billion IT budget goes to maintaining legacy systems. European Union has introduced the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Act, which defines how organizations are permitted to use personal data. By using Low-code and No-code most organizations are able to follow through the government guidelines.

• Market competition

From 2014 till now, many players got interested and invested in Low-code and No-code development platforms. In October 2019, Genesis Global Technology Limited announced the launch of the genesis platform, a low-code development platform designed specifically for capital markets. In April 2019, Siemens AG integrated Mendix Inc.’s Mendix low-code solution in its internet of things (IoT) platform MindSphere. Zoho Creator, Appian, PowerApps, Mendix, Outsystems, AppMaker, Quick Base, etc are top low-code platforms in 2019. With the increased competition between the providers, No-code is going to develop and get better with time.

No-code started as a basic innovative idea to help do simple tasks like calculation, making graphs from data, etc easily without writing lengthy codes. But now it has become a movement changing the way we perceive IT and making apps.

Future visions

In 2018, there were 30.2 million small businesses operating in the U.S. Firms with fewer than 100 workers accounted for 98.2 percent in the whole world. This means most businesses don’t have an extravagant amount of money on high demanding software developers.

If we look carefully there is a monopoly of Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services in cloud computing infrastructure market. The reason is probably that they already have a strong footing in the tech industry and people have complete trust in it. But maybe and hopefully in the future, No-code and Low-code development will shift the paradigm from customized application development to No-code application development.