Engineering

No-Code

No-code development uses visual builders and drag-and-drop interfaces to create applications without writing traditional code — platforms include Bubble, Webflow, Adalo, and Glide.

In depth

No-code is great for: - Landing pages and marketing sites (Webflow, Framer) - Internal tools and admin dashboards (Airtable, Retool) - Quick validation prototypes (Bubble, Glide) - Simple CRUD apps with no complex logic

No-code fails when: - You need native mobile apps (App Store quality) - Complex business logic, real-time features, or custom integrations - Scale beyond 10K users (performance degrades) - You need to own your code (vendor lock-in) - Payments, multi-tenancy, or compliance requirements

The typical journey: founder builds on Bubble → gets traction → hits platform limits → pays $20K+ to migrate to custom code. Starting with custom code at $3,460 often costs less total.

Real example

A founder validates demand with a Bubble prototype, then rebuilds on Next.js when they hit 1K users.

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