- December 19, 2022
- Posted by: Indium
- Category: Application Engineering
Fast development platforms have recently become a critical part of building enterprise applications. Companies are looking for quick mobile app development solutions to accelerate their digital transformation. And in the search for rapid development approaches, two terms (low-code and no-code) have become common among companies and developers. Low-code/no-code has taken the mobile app development industry by storm.
Gartner projected that companies will build up to 70 percent of their software with low-code development by 2025. If you’re about to dive into the low-code/no-code world but still have several reservations, this article is specially made for you. Here, we bring you every detail you need to know about low-code and no-code development, features, process, and much more. Without further ado, let’s get started.
What is Low-Code/ No-Code Mobile App Development?
As their names suggest, they have something to do with reducing the hand-coding you need to build a fully functional application. Low-code development is an app development approach that upgrades coding from textual to visual.
Instead of a technical coding setting, low-code development works in a model-powered, drag-and-drop interface. Therefore, anyone with a slight development skill level can utilize this development approach to create value-driven enterprise applications.
On the other hand, no-code development is suitable for those without any coding experience or knowledge. However, this approach is often used for building applications with a restricted scope – you don’t need to involve the IT team.
5 Top Features of Low-Code/ No-Code Development Platforms
As previously stated, low-code/ no-code mobile app development is visual rather than textual. Therefore, low-code/ no-code development platforms provide a variety of modules. These pre-designed blocks help streamline business processes like finance, customer service, and human resources.
The following are the crucial features and tools that lie at the core of low-code/ no-code development platforms:
Visual Modeling
In a low-code/ no-code development setting, citizen and professional developers operate in a visually integrated development environment (IDE). Building application features and designing user interfaces is intuitive and quick, thanks to the drag-and-drop functionality. Simply put, you visualize how the application works as you develop it.
Cross-Platform Availability
You don’t need to create separate applications for desktop and mobile because the platform automatically compiles the necessary versions for you. As a result, it increases productivity as you only need to write the code once.
Reusable Components
Unlike conventional coding environments, low-code elements are easily reusable, thanks to the pre-configured templates, logic, connectors, modules, and more. Once you build a UI element or feature, you can reuse it as often as you need, significantly reducing the development period.
Multi-User and Collaboration Tools
Low-code/ no-code development platforms feature built-in collaborative tools for revision tracking, messaging, feedback loops, user stories, and more. This visual nature of the low-code/ no-code development environment keeps every participant on the same page and speaking a uniform development language.
App Life Cycle Management Tools Low-code/ no-code support every phase of the application development lifecycle, thanks to the advanced tools that streamline requirement management, project management, deployment, testing, version control, and more. Advanced low-code/ no-code development platforms, such as Mendix, integrate DevOps tools and agile development practices to further streamline the development experience
Low-Code/ No-Code Mobile App Development Process
The general logic of developing applications with low-code/ no-code is quite similar to that of conventional manual coding. However, the process differs significantly, with less bureaucracy and fewer steps. Here is what it involves:
1. Defining requirements and goal definition
Before you decide to build your application, know why you need it. This goal forms the basis of defining how you want it to work. Ensure the team is aware of what you want to achieve by establishing clear expectations
2. Select a preferred low-code/ no-code platform
There are many low-code/ no-code development platforms. You must comprehensively assess the available options to identify the most suitable platform for your needs. It will be expensive and challenging to switch to another platform once you get started.
3. Draw Business Processes and Workflows
Drawing these processes and workflow in low-code/ no-code is easy because you can simply drag and drop visual components. Define your variables in a specific process and design the relevant user interface blocks. Also, this step will involve consulting other stakeholders, building prototypes, and refining your UI and other features to ensure everything is as expected (or even better)
4. Test, Deploy, and Manage
Low-code/ no-code development platforms of quick testing features, especially if you did little or no manual coding. Deployment is even simpler thanks to features like one-click deployment, which offer a streamlined deployment and maintenance process. What’s more, common maintenance is minimal and often comes with the plan you sign up for.
How to Choose the Right Low-Code/ No-Code Development Platform
As initially stated in step 2, choosing the right platform is crucial. You need to have your priorities in mind because not all platforms have universal tools. They mostly vary significantly in terms of optimization for various business tasks, models, and domains. So, it is worth doing the following practices to help you find the right low-code/no-code development platform:
- Thoroughly read the platforms’ descriptions – Do they match your use case?
- Does it support web and desktop development? Does it generate Android and iOS applications automatically?
- Are there specific requirements regarding coding skills? Will your team learn to use it as fast as possible, or do you need to acquire more experts?
- Check project samples: do you love the general design, colors, and fonts?
- Look at the platform’s pricing plan – are they affordable? Are the storage and technical restrictions of lower tiers acceptable to your business?
Asking yourself these questions will surely guide you to the most appropriate low-code/ no-code mobile development platform. Alternatively, you seek professional help from experienced software partners for independent assessment.
Final Thought
Low-code and no-code are the future of mobile app development, thanks to the streamlined capabilities and advanced features that allow you to drag and drop elements. Developers are increasingly relying on these automated platforms to build affordable and highly-effective enterprise applications within a short period. With AI-assisted features, there’s a reduced probability of errors because you can get suggestions on the next course of action.
So, what are you waiting for? Leverage the power of one of the best low-code/ no-code development platforms and start building your next enterprise app.
