However, there are still valid questions around how useful these tools are in practice. Here at Bitcot, we are always learning about new technologies to provide our clients with effective solutions. Many of our customers have asked whether low-code no-code is suitable for their projects.

In this article, we will explore:

• What low-code and no-code platforms are
• Examples of tools available
• Key capabilities and limitations
• When they make sense versus traditional development
• Best practices for selecting the right approach

By understanding the options available, we aim to determine if low-code no-code truly provides value or is just hype. The right tool should solve business problems – so let’s examine if these platforms fit the bill

In the increasingly tech-centered world, we are continuing to come up with great ideas for apps and technologies. We’ve worked with enough tech entrepreneurs to know that a good idea with a great team of developers can grow into something world-changing.

But ideas aren’t the end-all, be-all. In order to turn an idea into a business, you need to develop the tech that is the backbone of your product or service. The problem is, developing that tech requires developers. As a tech entrepreneur you have two choices:

• • Develop the software yourself
  • Hire Full Stack developers to develop the software

Developing the software yourself requires the ability to write high-quality software and the time to do so. Unless you have a large team of talented developers with decades of experience, doing this yourself can lead to years of development, without a single dime of cash flow.

Or…

You can spend money hiring a dev team to create your product or service. That’s what we do here at BitCot — develop high-quality custom-built software. 

This is how all of the big tech companies work. Often started by a coding prodigy and then developed by a world-class team. But, as humans, we love to try and find the easy way…

And that’s where Low-Code No-Code comes in.

The idea of developing high-quality software without coding abilities and without the need for an expensive dev team is the dream that all businesses have — that’s what Low-Code No-Code promises.

Low-Code No-Code platforms allow non-developers to develop software. While “traditional” software development requires developers to write code in order to create the logic, interface, and other parts of the app, Low-Code No-Code uses a GUI — a paint by numbers if you will.

According to the marketing from these Low-Code No-Code businesses, anyone with access to a computer and minimum computer skills can build the app of their dreams and become the next Mark Zuckerberg.

That’s the idea behind Low-Code No-Code, but what does this look like in action?

In 2009, Apple released the “there’s an app for that” marketing campaign. The idea was that whatever your needs were, there was an app for that. That was over ten years ago and the paradigm of apps being ubiquitous has just become more and more prevalent in our lives. Low-Code No-Code is no exception.

Here are just some of the current Low-Code No-Code platforms and how they’re being used.

#1 Low-Code No-Code Analytics & Predictions Platforms

Many of our clients use big data to make business decisions. Some Low-Code No-Code platforms currently on the market are:

• • • • Amplitude
      • Obviously
      • Mixpanel

#2 Low-Code No-Code Forms, Rules, and Workflow

For businesses that want to scale, automation is a must. Here are Low-Code No-Code platforms that promise to do just that:

• • K2.com
  • Quick Base.com
  • InRule
  • Decisions
  • FlexRule
  • Kissflow
  • Pipefy.com

#3 Low-Code No-Code Admin Tools

Administration duties can also be taken care of with Low-Code No-Code:

• • Retool.com
  • Skuid.com

#4 Low-Code No-Code Application Development

This group of Low-Code No-Code platforms is probably one you have heard of before. I’m sure you’ve heard “create an app without knowing how to code” many, many times by now. Here are some of those platforms:

• • Claris FileMaker
  • Salesforce Lightning
  • Outsystems
  • Appian
  • Pega
  • Microsoft Powerapps
  • Radzen
  • Zoho.com

#5 Low-Code No-Code Deployment Automation

Deploying your software can be a headache if you’re not too familiar with the process. Luckily, some Low-Code No-Code platforms can take care of that for you.

• • Netlify
  • Heroku
  • Firebase

#6 Low-Code No-Code Data, Connectors and API Automation

Many of the tools you use can be even more powerful if they are connected and work together. These platforms can help you with that:

• • Zapier
  • IFTTT
  • Unito
  • Airtable
  • Segment

#7 Low-Code No-Code Visual Development Tools

While the mantra of most Low-Code No-Code tools are “creating without coding,” these specific platforms take it one step further and focus on making development as easy as possible:

• • Mendix
  • Parabola
  • m-Productivity

#8 Low-Code No-Code Website Development

Long ago, those that wanted to create websites without coding only had options like Adobe Dreamweaver. Luckily, there are more options on the market:

• • Webflow
  • Squarespace
  • Wix

These are just some of the Low-Code No-Code platforms on the market right now. But all of them have similar benefits for businesses.

The big idea that Low-code No-code platforms is selling is that anyone or any business can make an enterprise-level app with little or no coding — hence the term “Low-Code No-Code.”

Companies like DWkit, Appian, and KiSSFLOW boast that with tools like their drag-and-drop builders help you develop world-class applications. In fact, building new software is no more difficult than arranging Lego blocks.

Advertising by many of these Low-Code No-Code platforms shows that you can have a complete tech business without need of Hiring a Single Software Developer.

Get A Free Consultation About Low-Code No-Code Development 

No more developers to manage, meetings to attend, or milestones to hit. With just a few clicks, your software writes itself.

By now, it probably sounds like Low-Code No-Code platforms could be a great option for your business. But are they really? Let’s cut through the marketing talk and take a critical look at Low-code No-code platforms.

As with many things in life, choosing the easy option is usually not the best. And the same rings true with Low-Code No-Code platforms. Here are the problems your business will have if you consider using a Low-Code No-Code platform.

Your business is held, hostage

When you use a Low-Code No-Code platform, your software, and essentially your entire business, relies on another company. That means if that company:

• • goes out of business
  • changes their pricing model
  • has service that temporally goes out, or
  • has literally any other major change

Your whole business could disappear overnight.

That means customers calling you wondering why software isn’t working. 

That means your cash flow drops to zero.

That’s right, imagine all of the hard work you’ve done, the countless nights networking and marketing your app, and your family and the others depending on your business’s income… all in jeopardy because of something you have no control over.

Don’t believe me?

Tech businesses using Low-Code No-Code to build their software thought they were doing everything right until one day they woke up and saw the following message from Google in their inbox:

“The App Maker editor and user apps will be shut down on January 19, 2021. New application creation will be disabled starting April 15, 2020”. Learn more

What was supposed to be a normal day was turned into a complete nightmare when companies that relied on Google App Maker found out they had two years to completely change their business. 

I want you to think about that for a second…

You can spend years developing your business, marketing it, and then finally when you start to become successful… the rug can be pulled out from under you forcing you to essentially start your business over at square one. This isn’t hypothetical — this happens with Low Code No Code.

Business owners have enough to worry about on a daily basis. Having their whole business shut down overnight because of something out of their hands is not something that business owners should have to worry about. The ease of mind by not having your business depends on another company is worth it alone to have a custom-built solution.

You are paying The Low-Code No-Code tax

Low-Code No-Code platforms are businesses, after all. And that means they need to get their share of your business’s profits. You might only have to pay annual licenses, or you may even have to pay a share of your business’s revenue to the Low-Code No-Code platform you are using. 

That’s right, Low-Code No-Code might be cheaper initially, but the fees from them will quickly add up, maybe even becoming one of the biggest expenses for your business. Don’t even think about scaling.

You probably can’t do what you want

There are many Low-Code No-Code platforms out there. Why is that? It’s because Low-Code No-Code platforms have a very specific idea of what an app should look like. That means if your software isn’t exactly what that Low-Code No-Code platform wants it to be, you are not going to be able to make it. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to spend time and money developing an app, only to find out that the killer feature I want to add isn’t possible on the platform.

Back to square one….. again.

Even if you can add specific features to your app on a Low-Code No-Code platform, you might have to hire a specialist that knows that specific platform. When you develop a “traditional” app, you’ll have millions of devs all around the world that are able to help you expand and maintain your app. These developers have spent decades learning a specific programming language, using the same frameworks over and over again, and finding out the best way to develop software with their favorite tools.

But with an app on a Low-Code No-Code platform? Many Low-Code No-Code platforms have only been around for a little while. There hasn’t even been enough time to develop best-practices or for people to become experts. And if you can find an expert, you have to pick between the five guys in the world who have experience building out that feature on that specific Low-Code No-Code platform.

If there are only a handful of developers that can help you with your problem, do you think hiring those developers is going to be cheap? The promise of not having to pay a developer falls apart as soon as you want to create a non-cookie cutter app.

Here at BitCot, we develop custom software for business use. That is, we don’t use Low-Code No-Code platforms, because they just don’t provide what our clients want or need.

But we’re also business-minded engineers, we understand that development costs are a real issue. We can see the value in Low-code No-code platforms if they are not used for serious businesses. If you want to make a simple app for a weekend hobby, hiring a team of expert software engineers may be a bit overkill. Here, a Low-Code No-Code solution might be a suitable choice for you.

But if you want to take your business seriously at all, you absolutely should not build your business on top of a Low-Code No-Code platform. We’ve heard from way too many tech entrepreneurs that, in the attempt to save money on the front-end, used a Low-Code No-Code solution only to find out later that they wasted their whole development budget and couldn’t afford to move on any further.

Like building a house, developing software requires a strong foundation. Using Low-Code No-Code platforms is like building your house on sand – a ticking time bomb that will lead to the complete failure of your business. You are giving away the keys to kingdom in exchange for saving a few dollars up-front.

So, if Low-Code No-Code isn’t the solution, then what is? If you are serious about your business and the software that runs it, you need to work with a team of experts that have worked with some of the top brands around the world. We’ve developed software for clients of all shapes and sizes, but we do more than just write code — we make your business successful.

If you are serious about your business and you are looking for a tech solution, we encourage you to look at our previous successes with our clients. After that, contact us and let’s see how we can help you.

Let us know how you use this in your own apps. Read our blog and be sure to keep in touch on Twitter and Facebook for updates, including announcements when we release additional educational resources.

Cross-platform mobile app development tools have become increasingly popular in recent years, and it’s not hard to see why. They offer the best of both worlds, allowing developers to develop apps for multiple platforms using a single codebase. If you want to create a mobile app that works across various platforms, this article is for you. We will discuss the top 10 cross-platform mobile app development tools available today.

Are you holding yourself back from developing a breakthrough app just because you’re daunted by the lines of code you have to write? Don’t. Because today, there are tons of tools to do the dirty heavy-lifting for you. These tools will help you at each stage to convert your innovative idea to an advanced technological product.

BitCot award-winning development team, having developed more than 100 apps, we have explored the plethora of tools out there. And today, we picked the 10 best tools to help you build a custom app.

Also Read: Cross-Platform Mobile App Development: 7 Best Frameworks

 1. XCode for iOS App Development – Cross-Platform App Development Tools

Xcode, developed by Apple, is an editor with a complete toolset for iOS app development. You can build apps for macOS, iOS, watchOS and more. This IDE enables user interface design, coding, testing, debugging and app submission. It supports source code in Swift, C, C++, Java, Python, Ruby and more. So if you want to develop an iOS app, here’s your first step.

2. Android Studio for Android App Development

Android Studio is the official IDE developed by Google for Android app development. With powerful tools for editing, debugging and developing an instant deployment system, this is maybe the best IDE for app development. Lastly, with great support and easy-to-understand documentation, it won’t take you much to launch off into complex projects.

3. Sketch for Design

Sketch is a powerful designing tool for Mac. You can create interfaces, websites, icons and more. With its exponential growth, it is becoming the norm for designers. Founder Pieter Omvlee commented “We have tried to do that with key improvements to basic functionality and radical new features. We’ve been humbled by the enthusiasm with which people have started using Sketch and the amazing work they have created already.” Among numerous notable features, one we particularly like is its ability to convert designs in CSS. This lets you design any crazy custom shape you can think of. If you want your app to look unique and attractive, Sketch is the way to go!

4. InVision or Marvel for Rapid Prototyping

Today, speed is a primary criteria in any technological development. If you want to quickly build a prototype to validate your idea and find out potential flaws, InVision or Marvel is the way to go. Both are great for rapid prototyping, with numerous design templates and cool workflow tools. Furthermore, both allow sharing to help you collaborate with other developers and colleagues. Lastly hey allow quick integrations with numerous platforms such as:

• InVision: Sketch, PS, Basecamp, Trello, Jira, Slack, Teamwork, Hipchat, Flowdock
• Marvel: Sketch, Slack, Box, Asana, Google Drive

This enables you to easily import your Sketch designs to your new app without hassle and focus on interaction and flow.

5. Mixpanel for Analytics

When your app is developed, you would want to track the digital footprint of your users to gain key insights. Mixpanel is the way to go. Available across mobile and web devices, with several tools, it allows you to be proactive in preventing and resolving issues. Simple to implement and scalable, this is one of the best tools for enterprises, executives, product managers, and data scientists.

6. Branch for Deep Linking

If you are developing an app for online retail, e-commerce or any other which requires deep linking, we strongly suggest Branch. Deep links basically point to the content inside the app. Without them, on your mobile device, when you click on a link, you would be directed to a destination in your web browser, instead of content inside the app. Branch handles every device, Android, iOS and Desktop, publishes links anywhere, Facebook, Twitter Whatsapp or Pinterest and supports all standards such as Google app indexing, Facebook app links, Twitter cards and many more. Lastly, Branch is partnered with giants like Pinterest, Airbnb, Slack, AmazonMusic, Tinder, Starbucks Snapdeal and over 10 000 more!

7. Fastlane for Deployment Automation

Once you have your app ready, you might want to have a beta release for user testing or release it fully. Fastlane is the perfect open-source tool for you. Available for both Android and iOS mobile app development, it helps you automate beta deployment and final releases to Crashlytics, HockeyApp and Google Play and more. It helps you generate screenshots, deal with code signing and releasing your application. In the final stages of your product, we suggest you use Fastlane to save hours of tedious nerve-racking work.

8. Crashlytics for Crash Reporting

After your beta or final release, you want to keep track of bugs and crashes to better your product. It is a core task for all app developers. But without a powerful tool, you would be wasting hours hunting for the bug and trying to resolve the issue. But with Crashlytics those tedious hours are saved. It is a lightweight and powerful tool to track crash reports, which supports Android and iOS. It’s the go-to solution for all app developers. So don’t think twice, just go for it.

9. PostMan for API Development

If you have developed a new tool that you want to distribute for everyone to use, you need to convert it into a user-friendly API. This might be a challenging task if we didn’t have tools like Postman. With over 3 million users, Postman is an excellent tool that eases API development for macOS, Windows, Linux, and Chrome. With a great GUI, it makes building API testing, documentation and sharing extremely easy.

10. App Distribution During Development: TestFlight and Crashlytics

Finally, when you want to distribute your app, for beta testing or releasing, TestFlight is one of the best options for iOS. By simply adding names via iTunes Connect, you can send requests to up to 2000 testers. Furthermore, 25 of your own team members can be testers. On the other hand, you could also use Crashlytics for this task. Crashlytics is also available for Android developers, as we covered in section 8.

With these new easy-to-use tools, you can not only speed up app development but also reduce effort. So now, all you need to do is innovate.

Conclusion

Cross-platform mobile app development tools have made creating mobile apps for different platforms more accessible and efficient. With the right tools, developers can create high-performing, native-like apps that cater to different audiences. The top 10 cross-platform mobile app development tools mentioned in this article are all highly rated and offer a wide range of features and functionalities. Depending on your needs, the right tool for you may differ. However, these top 10 cross-platform mobile app development tools provide you with a great starting point to get you started on your mobile app development journey. BitCot can help you maximize the potential of these tools and provide guidance throughout the app development process.

HomePod

As expected, Apple announced its HomePod speaker to compete with Google Home and Amazon’s Echo. But additionally, it wants to take on Sonos, to become the top home entertainment speakers. Available in 2 colours – black and white – and integrated with Siri, it will control your home devices, check the weather and update you with news. Furthermore, by using spacial awareness, 6 in-build speakers and powerful subwoofers, it will optimise sound effects to bring you an unmatched, immersive musical experience. Priced at $349, we expect it to be out this December for customers in US, UK and Australia, and worldwide sometime next year.

MacBook, iMac and iMac Pro

Apple announcements for the Macbook Pro were mostly hardware related. For starters, the Macbook will harbour a new beast inside: Intel’s Kaby Lake processors. The MacBook now will go upto 1.3 GHz, while the 13 inch MacBook Pro will hit 3.5 GHz and the 15 inch 3.1 GHz. Additionally, the Macbook Air is also getting a boost.

Apple also updated its iMac with Intel’s new powerful Kaby Lake processors, brighter Retina display with 4K resolution, 3 times more powerful graphics and USB ports with Thunderbolt 3. They will also support graphics for VR content creation! Most importantly, it’s available for orders today, and will be in stores on Wednesday, priced starting from $ 1,099 for the 21.5 inch model.

Lastly, the tech giant introduced its new iMac Pro, focusing on improving processing speeds, enhancing display and upgrading graphics. It’s scheduled to ship in December, with 27-inch 5K Retina display with improved cooling, 8-core Xeon processors (upgradable to 18-core), up to 4TB of SSD and 128GB of ECC memory, 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports  and 22 Teraflops of graphics computation power. The iMac Pro starts at $ 4, 999.

iOS 11

iOS 11 for iPhones will have several upgrades primarily for Siri. It will now have the “Do Not Disturb” mode for driving, improved speech ability with Deep Learning and the on-device learning to suggest actions. Furthermore, it will now be able to translate in Chinese, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Apart from Siri, iOS 11 will see a redesign of the control center, an updated Music app with new features and more. The camera will have better performance in low lighting, while Live Photos will offer new editing tools and features. Lastly, you will now be able to send and receive money through iMessages.

iPad

On the iPad, iOS 11 will ease multitasking. Now you will be able to drag and drop folders, files and photos like you do in MacBook. But one of the coolest upgrades announced was: you can now search for handwritten text! So when you make notes with the Notes app using an Apple Pencil, the software will use deep learning algorithm to find the keyword you are searching for. iPad’s filesystem will have an improvement, making it easier to access files and folders. Lastly, the iPad Pro will be available in 3 sizes, with a new 10.5 inch released priced at $649.

WatchOS

Seeing the success of Mickey Mouse on the watchface, Apple’s smartwatch will now have new characters, notably Woody from Toy Story! As health awareness is rising rapidly, WatchOS will include monthly fitness challenges by tracking and monitoring wearer’s activity. Partnering with the leading gym equipments, WatchOS will give more accurate updates on calorie loss and activity information. Moreover, you can now find and play music through the new integrated Music App to pump you up in your workouts and daily activities.

ARKit

This was the coolest demo of the keynote. ARKit will now enable developers to easily develop advanced augmented reality applications such as Pokemon Go. On stage, Apple provided a live demo, by adding a lamp and a coffee cup on the scene and showing several functionalities. With an impressive quality of image, this demo was an instant hit.

Apart from these six, Apple announced the new macOS, called High Sierra, which comes with updates for Safari to block autoplaying videos and site trackers. Additionally, there were other updates on the hardware. AppleTV had just a tiny mention: Amazon Prime videos will now be available on it. Overall, the WWDC17’s keynote made it clear that Apple is working hard to stay on top of the tech industry.