Abstract: Traditional software development methods cannot currently meet the needs of enterprises because of high personnel costs, long development time, and complex operation and maintenance. Therefore, it has become an inevitable trend for no-code/low-code tools to become the latest craze. Those who are not familiar with these concepts will wonder what no-code and low-code are and what are the connections and differences between them. This article will elaborate on these issues.
What is No-code?
No-code is a development mode that does not require any code at all. It mainly concentrates on the requirements for managing enterprise data and business management, designing data structures, creating user interfaces, establishing access rights, and configuring workflows through visualization.
No-code is built for ordinary developers, so those who do not know or need to know any programming languages can develop applications on their own.
It is aimed at the general public. As long as business personnel are familiar with business needs, they can list all the requirements and quickly build applications on demand through drag-and-drop. It reduces reliance on traditional software developers, reduces the burden on developers, and allows them to do more difficult work.
This kind of no-code development not only saves labor costs but also significantly brings the demand side and the supply side together.
No-code is mostly used for the development of a specific link, and there are currently platforms that can be used in multiple links. There are three common applications: interface design, workflow forms, and data management.
Advantages of No-code
Easy-to-use interface
With the help of no-code solutions, all content can be dragged and dropped. Applications can be developed by the components on the platform, making operations on the interface convenient.
No need for coding
Applications with powerful functions can be created without writing any code, which greatly reduces the coding skills required of developers. Applications can even be developed by business personnel who know the actual needs best, allowing more people to join application development to boost innovation.
One-time construction and deployment
The applications developed by the no-code development platform can be easily deployed on any device. They can run on different devices without tests for compatibility. Network-based no-code applications can be accessed immediately in the cloud, allowing users to use them anywhere.
What is Low-code?
Low-code is a development mode that allows developers to build enterprise information systems based on platforms quickly. In this process, users only need to write a small amount of code, and most of the work is completed through visual drag-and-drop and selection.
It is also a high-productivity development mode, which has the advantage of reducing the amount of code that developers need to write, shortening the time required for development, and increasing efficiency.
Advantages of Low-code
Low risk and high return on investment
The high development, labor, and time costs of traditional development software are not issues when using a low-code platform. Developers can master the essentials of developing applications in a short period and focus on the business. At the same time, it can develop an application that meets the business scenario and put it into use quickly.
Suitable for various needs
The low-code product is the strong support that helps achieve innovation. However, innovation is often variable and chaotic. Drag-and-drop operations and rapid iterative versions make innovation easier to achieve.
Simple maintenance and strong extensibility
The low-code development platform speeds up application development, reduces its costs, and reduces the backlog of unfinished tasks.
What is the Connection between No-code and Low-code?
On the one hand, compared with the traditional software development model, the two are both rapid development tools. According to relevant data, the efficiency of development using no-code or low-code is 3-8 times that of traditional development. Both of these types use a visual form to extract some common code as functional components and hand them over to users to achieve rapid selection, dragging, and application.
On the other hand, low-code and no-code platforms are both APaaS (Application Platform as a Service). The biggest advantage of the APaaS platform is that it provides a fast development environment. You don’t need to purchase and maintain a series of technical infrastructures such as servers, middleware, and networks. The APaaS platform prepares all of these for you. You can develop, test, and deploy applications in a few hours and can adjust or update them at any time.
What is the Difference between No-code and Low-code?
| Low-Code Platform | No-Code Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| User Group | Those with a certain programming foundation, such as technical personnel and developers | Non-professional programming personnel, such as business managers and employees |
| Positioning | Auxiliary support for technical developers | Operational support for ordinary business users |
| Development Efficiency | Higher than traditional development | Higher than low-code platforms and easy to master |
| Ease of Use | General | Good |
| Technical Requirements | Have programming experience | No need for programming experience |
| Personalization Degree | General | General |
| Scene Implementation | Complex or deep scenes | Universal or simple scenes |
| Multi-Platform Operation | Supported | Supported |
| Suitable Enterprises | Large and medium-sized R&D teams with a large amount of money and resources | Small enterprises; Business departments of large and medium-sized enterprises |
The biggest difference between no-code and low-code is still the different user orientations. Low-code can achieve more complex scenarios than no-code, but its disadvantages are also obvious: higher platform threshold, longer development process, and higher maintenance costs. The no-code development platform is more suitable for non-technical personnel, such as CEOs, product managers, sales, and operations. The no-code development platform expects to reduce the threshold of application development as much as possible and enable everyone to become a developer. Although no-code has the above obvious differences from low-code in a narrow sense, no-code can be regarded as a subset of low-code in a broad sense.
Although no-code is an application development platform that does not require code at all, this does not mean that a no-code development platform is more advanced than a low-code development platform. It just makes a more extreme choice: completely embracing simple graphic visualization and eliminating complex text code. When enterprises choose a development platform, they still need to make decisions based on their own needs and budgets.
Five common no-code products and introduction
| Product Name | Product Introduction |
|---|---|
| Airtable | A cloud-based project management solution that offers features for creating, organizing, and storing content. It’s like a spreadsheet but with the power of a database to organize anything. |
| Kintone | A no-code business application platform that allows non-technical users to create powerful apps, workflows, and databases for their teams. |
| Ragic | A flexible cloud database for businesses. Users can build their own database applications that fit perfectly into their business flow. |
| Notion | A comprehensive tool that combines elements of databases, kanban boards, wikis, calendars, and reminders. It’s a great all-in-one workspace where you can write, plan, collaborate, and organize. |
| Jodoo | Jodoo is a comprehensive, no-code app development platform, expertly engineered to cater to the dynamic needs of enterprise and organizational management. With its intuitive drag-and-drop functionality, businesses can effortlessly construct all-in-one management applications, integrating forms, workflows, and business systems seamlessly. Jodoo’s robust dashboard stands out, offering powerful data visualization and analysis capabilities, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions with ease. |
Ready to unlock the power of no-code? Try Jodoo for free today and start building smarter, faster, and easier!
