What is the No Code Movement?

Mitch Tor Picture

by Mitch Tor | Last Updated: Mar 5, 2022

As recently as 2014, if you wanted to develop an online marketplace, you had to develop it from scratch. Into the What You See Is What You Get era led by WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace. Anybody could use these tools to make a website and edit it, but the power of the site relies on its customization of content, not form. For apps this development process was even more complicated. If a business wanted to develop a mobile app, there were two options. First, you could have the IT team to take care of it, waiting months for it to get to the front of the queue and then a couple more months waiting for the app to be finished.  If this option doesn’t sound all that enticing, you could choose the second option, paying an agency anywhere between $40,000 to $120,000 to make an app for you.  Moving into the no code age, you can develop unique apps with an unlimited combination of features with no coding experience, starting for free.  Enter: the no code movement. No code breaks down the significant barriers to entry that have existed in the tech industry for years. Business users no longer need to have an extensive knowledge of coding or development to turn your idea into a reality. The no code industry was already worth 12.85 billion dollars as of 2020 and will be worth $65.15 billion by 2027, according to Statista projections As you can see no code technology is already widely adapted and it's still quickly growing. But what is no code? How is it being used? And, why is it important? Let’s take a look at some of the questions surrounding the movement. From Individuals to Enterprises: No Code is Here to Stay There’s a sweeping wave of innovation for the software development community right now. It's called the no code movement and there are thousands of ways that it could drive demand for brands. Marketers specifically need to be able to move fast. The no code movement allows business users to come out of the shadows and use no code platforms to their advantage. From improving the guest experience with wayfinding to consumer-facing apps in-aisle, no code platforms unlock possibilities for companies to design solutions to engage with their audience faster than before.  What is No Code? The no code movement is the new era of development, empowering anybody without previous knowledge of programming to make full stack apps without writing a single line of code. The concept of “no code” often leaves people asking “How can I make an app if there is no code?” No code as a concept however, refers to the user building out their ideas not needing to write any code.  The no code programs themselves are incredible feats of software development consisting of thousands of lines of code, designed to make it easier for users' ideas to flourish. To solve this problem of communicating what no code software development is, you will hear it described in many ways, building through a visual interface, What You See Is What You Get, drag and drop, or point and click. How is No Code Being Used?  Traditionally, all of the digital tools you use on a daily basis were built using the traditional path of development featuring thousands of lines of code being written directly in a code editor. These innovations have changed the way that we live our lives and do business, but it is essential to think about the players in this shift. If you want to build an idea using that path, you either need to become fully literate in software development languages or hire someone who is.  According to Statista, only 24.5 million people in the world know how to code. Put in different terms, there is only 0.3% of the world’s population that would be able to build an app using traditional methods. But that’s now changing thanks to the no code movement.  The use of no code tools removes this barrier and allows anybody to build the app, website, or database in a fraction of the time it would take without this technology. The use cases don’t end with the hobbyists who dream of making the world’s next great app. It also applies to enterprise. Using no code tools, an enterprise team can build a seamless app experience for their internal teams without having to wait in the IT queue or take the IT team away from a more complex issue within the organization. Skeptics argue that no code apps are not flexible enough or of a high enough quality. Contrary to this belief, the best no code app builders are built with the enterprise in mind, with benefits including scalability and security. One should do their research before partnering with any software, not just no code platforms. But generally you’ll find many of the well-known platforms have already partnered with numerous enterprises to enable their business users to bring their ideas to life. Why is No Code Important? Society was introduced to the concepts behind no code with the popularity of site builders like Wordpress, SquareSpace and Wix. It was no longer necessary to sit down and write HTML, CSS and JavaScript to make a website like ones that were professionally developed. As a result, the average person was able to start selling their products online or writing blogs for an audience they would have never been able to reach. They were simply able to look at a screen and design the storefront or content format they envisioned.  As time passed, innovation in the area of no code has been pushed further and further. Now it is much more than just an ecommerce site or a blog that you can make on your own; its full scale websites, mobile applications, and intuitive databases.  This takes the power from the few who had the skills to develop these projects and gives it to anybody that wants to make the thing they’ve been dreaming up for years and never had the resources to make in the past. But it does not eliminate the need for developers. Rather, it drives continuous demand to create and enhance no code solutions. The no code movement empowers everyone to bring their ideas to life. With app building specifically, one can keep up with ever-changing consumer behavior and spin up an app in a matter of hours. Ready to join the movement? Try building an app without code using Lumavate! 

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