The no-code guide: benefits, tools and use cases.

The term no-code may seem barbaric and technical at first glance, but in the final analysis, everyone knows a no-code program: Excel, to name but one, and its more than 1.2 billion users. No-code technologies enable users to do for themselves, without any knowledge of code, what would normally require the intervention of developers. 

On the other hand, some, like Gartner, criticize the term no-code. To create a no-code tool, there are lines of code somewhere, only the user doesn't see them.

In concrete terms, the user places elements such as images or fields ("Enter your date of birth", for example) on pages. They can also add buttons to other pages, or to forms to record data, for example. All this is done via an intuitive, graphical, click-and-drop interface. And the field of possibilities doesn't stop there.

Many questions are being asked today about these new technologies, which have gained and continue to gain ground. In this article, we'll look at the advantages and limitations of no-code, and how it differs from low-code. We'll also take a closer look at the use of no-code tools, using case studies to illustrate the point, while offering a selection of the best no-code tools available today. 

What is no-code? The definition 

No-code brings together all the tools needed to do what normally requires the expertise of developers. In this sense, the applications of no-code are very broad. Some tools, such as Webflow, can be used to create websites, while others, such as BAM, focus more on mobile applications. 

As you can see, there's a wide range of no-code tools available, and all you need to do is find the right one for your specific needs. 

The French no-code market has a head start and is beginning to structure itself. No-code tools can be aimed directly at their customers, but they can also work through agencies and freelancers. In the first case, a Maker - a creator of applications using a no-code tool - takes charge of the tool in-house. 

However, many companies wish to benefit from the advantages of no-code without dedicating a staff member to creating the tool. This is why agencies such as ZeToolBox and Cube have appeared on the scene. These agencies not only create applications, they also provide expertise, particularly in the choice of no-code tools. 

In addition, they are essential market players in the evangelization work they carry out, because the newness of no-code raises many questions, particularly concerning its reliability and data security. Through their projects, agencies demonstrate the power and reliability of no-code tools.

Many SMEs are now opting for no-code, not least for its flexibility, thanks to the work of the agencies. And no-code is winning over more and more people, with over 1,200 people attending the first edition of the No Code Summit in Paris at the end of September 2022.

After this initial overview of the French no-code market, let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

Who is the no-code for?

No-code is for everyone, and that's its strength. Nevertheless, we can define different categories of Makers, the no-code creators of tools. According to a Gartner survey, 41% of workers are no-coders or low-coders in spite of themselves. Perhaps you're a no-coder without knowing it?

The first category is made up of professionals who work in companies and have a no-code tool at their disposal to quickly digitize their business in a specific area. We call them citizen developers. 

Their profile can be very varied, depending on the structure in which they evolve. In general, large groups choose to train and specialize an employee in-house. 

It's interesting to see that it's not necessarily IT department staff who take the tool into their own hands, but also employees directly concerned by the problem, such as service teams or logistics teams, for example. 

In the case of SMEs, the way in which they adopt no-code also varies greatly. Some business leaders are comfortable adopting new technology directly, while others prefer to outsource it to agencies or freelancers. 

Last but not least, no-code is also used for prototyping, in companies of all sizes, but especially for young structures wishing to launch a new solution. 

There are, of course, exceptions to this typology. The case of FINN - a long-term car rental platform - is quite original in that no-code was adopted by the technical teams themselves: instead of developing in hard copy, they used no-code tools, notably to automate certain tasks. 

Ishtiaque Zafar, engineer at FINN, recounts this epic story - FINN raised $900 million in 2022 - in this fascinating article.

The benefits of no-code

Accessibility

The first and most obvious advantage of no-code is that it removes the code barrier. Anyone can learn to use a no-code tool without having an engineering background, which opens up a whole new world of possibilities for the digitization of businesses: no need to go through quotations and calls for tender to find the ideal software. You can create it. 

Speed

Once you've mastered the no-code tool, no-code projects can be completed very quickly. Above all, no-code tools allow you to see in real time the changes you've made. Don't like the color or size of a button on the home page? You can change it in just a few clicks. It's important to point out that this speed comes from mastery of the software. Any no-code tool requires dedication. 

What's more, creating a no-code application or website is quick and easy, provided you've done some mock-up work beforehand. The more complex the application, the more time is needed upstream of the actual realization. 

No-code speeds up the creation of software, websites or mobile applications, but not the time spent thinking and designing that precedes it.

Flexibility/Transparency/Responsiveness

No-code removes the opacity of code. When a company has used developers to create its business software and wishes to add to it a few years later, it will have no choice but to make a quotation and go through the entire sales process again, in the best of all possible worlds where the developers who created the first version of the software are still with the company. 

No-code makes it easy to make changes to your software or other products, even if an agency has produced them. Indeed, some minor changes don't necessarily require you to delve back into the complexity of the application, and a superficial mastery of the tool will suffice.

Cost

Developers, especially today, are rare and therefore expensive. No-code is a way of getting around these financial limitations. As an indication, subscriptions to no-code tools very rarely exceed €500 per month. 

Scalability

Because of their flexibility, most no-code tools are scalable by default. In fact, they are confronted with scalability issues from the outset, and respond to them through their architecture. 

What's more, most no-code tools on the market today adopt a data-driven approach which, as its name suggests, places data and its management at the heart of the application. 

Finally, as competition rages on in the no-code market, no-code tools regularly release new features and are constantly updating.

Security and RGPD compliance

Basically, no-code tools are software - Saas, to be exact - like any other. In fact, many of them respect good programming practices such as those defined by the OWASP Foundation. More and more no-code tools are certified with regard to their security or compliance with RGPD standards, a key issue for Saas by 2025. 

Interested in finding out more? Here's an article you might like: The benefits of no-code for businesses

The limits of no-code

If no-code is so easy to use, it's because strategic choices have been made upstream, at the tool level. In fact, no-code tools depend on their intrinsic rigidity. By definition, a no-code tool offers only certain bricks. In general, no-code tools are not suited to needs that are too complex or too specific, particularly in terms of graphics.

Is No code different from low code?

No-code and low-code generally share the same promise of going beyond the limits of code. However, they differ in several respects. 

With no-code, there's no need to code at all. To master a no-code tool, no knowledge of coding is required. 

Low-code, on the other hand, leaves room for code. In this sense, low-code goes beyond the rigidity of no-code, but re-establishes the code barrier. Low-code is a good compromise in some cases.

Interested in finding out more? Here's an article you might like: Low code or no-code, which development method should you choose?

Is no-code really accessible to everyone?

It's precisely the aim of no-code to democratize the creation of applications, software, websites, etc... . Anyone can learn to use a no-code tool, but make no mistake: learning a no-code tool requires time and investment. The complexity of mastering no-code tools often lies not in the software itself, but rather in the complexity of the project itself.

How to make no-code?

In France, the no-code industry is already highly structured. In fact, there are several ways to go about a no-code project.

The first is to do it yourself. As mentioned above, this requires time and dedication, but has the advantage of giving you complete control over the project - and thus facilitating any future modifications. If you decide to do it yourself, you can nevertheless choose how you train. 

Training and doing no-code yourself

The first obvious solution is self-training, but you can also turn to specialized training organizations such as Ottho, Uncode School or Alegria Academy.

Agency support

The second way is to call on agencies specializing in new no-code tools. This option makes sense if you don't have the time to dig deep to define the right no-code tool for your project, or if you need support in carrying out the project. A case in point is the desire to digitize a company process.

What's involved? What are the best practices? How can we streamline the process? All these legitimate questions are ones on which agencies have expertise based on their own experience. 

There are many no-code agencies in France, the best known being Alegria.tech, but there are others like Noxcod and The Tribe.

Use the services of a freelancer

An alternative to agencies is freelancers. The major difference between freelancers and agencies is their strike force. An agency often has several in-house skills (project managers for design and layout, Makers, designers, etc.) that a freelancer doesn't necessarily have. Nevertheless, freelancers can also be more reactive, since they're the only masters of the ship.

Building a team within your company

Finally, a fourth way of implementing a no-code project in your company is to train one or more people in-house, which has the advantage of being very agile in managing the project and increasing the skills of your teams.

How do I choose a no-code platform?

As mentioned above, there are a number of tools available on the market today. The challenge is to choose the right no-code platform for your needs.

If you want to automate certain tasks, such as automatically saving documents attached to e-mails you receive on your Drive, you'll certainly opt for a tool like Make, formerly Integromat, or Zapier.

If you want to create an e-learning site, you'll probably want to turn to Softr.

To define your needs, the first trivial but important step is to describe them, not necessarily in IT terms, but in simple, everyday words. 

A good practice is to list the project's essential criteria, those that are indispensable to its validation. These may be linked to existing constraints, such as the IT department's internal policies on security or data storage location.

• Is the tool RGPD-compliant?
• Is the data stored in France or at least in Europe? 

Other constraints may relate to efficiency

• How many tools, and therefore subscriptions, am I prepared to accumulate?

Or others with the same design

• Does the design of the new tool respect the company's graphic charter? 

In short, there are many questions to be answered in the context of an IT project, and it's worth listing the criteria and their degree of importance.

Finally, you need to define an in-house project manager and assess the ability of a team to take on the project or not. Depending on the alternative chosen, the project manager can refer to the options mentioned above, i.e. training someone in-house or choosing an agency or freelancer.

Interested in finding out more? Here's an article you might like: How to choose a no-code platform?

No-code use cases

There are many uses for no-code tools. It all depends on the no-code tool you're using. Here's a broad overview of the possibilities:

• Automate certain processes that require APIs: if I want to send an SMS to my customer as soon as the status of his order changes to "shipped", then I'd opt for a Make link between my CRM/ERP and Twilio.
• Customer portal: I want my customer to have access to information and documents that are partly managed by the administrator.
• CRM/ERP: I want to monitor my files on a case-by-case basis, but also have a dashboard-style overview for the administrator.
• Intervention management tool: I want to be able to assign a mission to an interventionist, and have him produce a report that is visible to the end customer.
• Automatically generate documents and have them signed: I want the contract to be automatically generated and signed by the various parties involved.
• Equipment management tool: I want to manage my entire fleet of company vehicles (availability, fuel, insurance, etc.).
• Marketplace: I want to reproduce the SeLoger.com website
• HR tool: I want to manage my employees' on/off boarding and vacations.

No-code in the workplace: a new growth lever?

No-code is therefore an excellent force for rapid digitalization. It allows the development of digital tools to be shared between developers and other employees. As a result, certain IT projects can be allocated to non-technical teams who know the problem by heart. In this way, developers can concentrate on high value-added projects.

In fact, no-code is a lever for growth, as it enables companies to respond to the urgency of digitization. That's why digitization is at the heart of boardroom discussions: 40% of boards have shifted digital activity budgets to the business unit to accelerate digitization, according to a Gartner survey. 

Why should all companies go no-code?

There are two key reasons why companies are adopting no-code today. On the one hand, no-code is a solution to the current shortage of developers, who have become very expensive to recruit. No-code offers a lower-cost alternative. 

On the other hand, no-code allows you to digitize quickly, freeing you from the constraints of code. Need to create a customer portal? In just one week, including training, an employee can take ownership of the project and propose a first prototype. No-code is therefore also a vector of commitment for employees.

Interested in finding out more? Here's an article you might like: The benefits of no-code for business

How to deploy no-code in the workplace?

Deploying no-code in a company means first and foremost embodying it. The company needs a project manager to support it, but also to evangelize its adoption internally.

Secondly, there are two distinct ways of deploying no-code in the workplace, as mentioned above.

The first way is to train in-house staff, which offers the advantage of agility.

The second way of proceeding is to delegate the design and realization of the project to an agency or freelancer, depending on the need. This latter method offers the advantage of benefiting from the advice of these experts, as well as their wide range of expertise (designer, layout artist, etc.). 

This year's best no-code tools

As the no-code sector is still emerging and structuring itself, the turnover of tools on the market is significant: new tools are created every year, while others disappear. That's why it's a good idea to take a snapshot each year and look at the best no-code tools to draw up a best-off of innovations. Nevertheless, there are some that persist, innovate and make their mark. Here's a selection.

Bubble 

Bubble is the reference in terms of no-code today. It was the first no-code tool and was created over 10 years ago - by a Frenchman! Its graphical interface is very clear and works mainly on the drag-and-drop principle.

However, getting to grips with workflows is far more complex. The average training time for Maker Bubble is around three months, whereas most other tools take less than a month. 

In conclusion, Bubble is almost a new computer language - there's even talk of Bubble developers! -It's hard enough to master, but very powerful once you get past the bugs.

Glide

Founded in 2018, Glide is gradually making its mark in the world of no-code. Initially dedicated to mobile applications, Glide has gradually diversified into web applications and websites. 

Glide has opted for the approach favored by the majority of no-code tools - the data-driven approach. This approach initially held back the spread of Glide because it was rather limited. 

The latest additions have breathed new life into the tool, notably with actions that enable the creation of workflows. 

Softr

Soft can be defined as an enhanced Glide, particularly in terms of the range of tools on offer: web applications, marketplaces, mobile apps, websites, etc ... . Founded in 2019, Softr offers a wide range of functionalities, particularly with regard to workflows.

Stacker

Stacker belongs to the growing category of data-driven no-code tools, and was one of the first to champion this concept. This approach makes Stacker very easy to use: in just a few minutes, you can have your software connecting in real time to your data. 

But this simplicity comes at a price: you have to forego more advanced functionalities. Stacker therefore allows you to create only a limited number of products, and you'll only be able to create fairly simple customer portals, supplier portals or CRMs with this tool.

Stacker is therefore the tool you need if you want to develop a simple application/software and are looking for a solution that will allow you to implement it quickly.

Ksaar

Ksaar focuses on web applications, and pushes the functionality envelope even further by offering, for example, one of the most advanced electronic signature modules on the market, or the ability to automatically fill in documents.

The new version of Ksaar, with its dual user- and data-driven approach, promises to make a big splash.

Interested in finding out more? Here's an article you might like: The best no-code platforms

I'm too lazy to read the whole thing, so why don't you summarize it for me?

What is no-code?

 No-code is an approach to application or software development that enables individuals, even without programming skills, to create computer applications. 

What are the advantages of no-code?

No-code offers a number of advantages, not least the ability to create applications and websites without having to code. This allows non-technical people to express their creativity and turn their ideas into reality more quickly. What's more, no-code reduces development costs and facilitates subsequent updates and modifications.

What are the limits of no-code?

Although no-code has many advantages, it also has its limitations. For example, some complex projects or those requiring advanced customization may exceed the capabilities of commercially available no-code tools. What's more, the performance and scalability of applications created with no-code may be inferior to those developed with traditional code. So it's important to carefully assess your needs before opting for a no-code solution.

What skills do I need to use no-code?

One of the main advantages of no-code is that it requires no programming skills. However, certain skills can be useful in taking full advantage of no-code tools. For example, a basic understanding of design and user experience concepts can help you create user-friendly interfaces. In addition, a general knowledge of databases and conditional logic can be beneficial when creating more advanced applications.

Will no-code ever replace developers?

No, no-code won't completely replace developers. It simplifies the creation of applications, but developers remain essential for complex projects, advanced customization and solving technical problems. No-code and traditional development can coexist and complement each other to meet the varied needs of the technology industry.

Are there any no-code tools? If so, which are the best?

Yes, there are many no-code tools. The best ones depend on the needs of the project. Some popular tools include Bubble, Glide, Softr, Stacker and Ksaar. It's advisable to try them out and choose the one best suited to your specific application.