Low-code technology offers the best set of tools when starting a new project because it enables 3-5X more effective development. And the quicker you reach the market, the sooner you can make your project profitable.
However, speed is not everything. A business owner also has to consider risks. And having these two options reduces the risk significantly:
Both require the use of familiar technologies and a large pool of developers who already have 90% of the skills necessary for the job.
And in this article, you will learn what (specific) tools and skills give your project the highest chances of success.
Before we talk about specific low-code tools, we should first discuss the most common skills that "traditional developers" have. The more common the skill, the easier it is to find new talent.
One of the skills that literally every app developer has is JavaScript. There is simply no way to work with web technology without learning JS.
On the one hand, you have a vast pool of 17+ million JavaScript developers at your disposal. And they are immediately ready to jump in and be productive from day #1.
On the other hand, developers don't need to learn anything new if these tools use JS internally. This means no new languages, architectures, or libraries to learn. Developers can use the ones they are already familiar with.
Therefore, JavaScript is one of the requirements when selecting a tool to build your next project. And if that tool is built for JS, then you have a perfect match.
Another technology, also known by almost every developer who ever produced any kind of app, is MySQL. It is the most popular open-source database in the world. And as such, the pool of available developers also runs in the millions.
Therefore, this specific low-code tool should be built on top of MySQL to ensure a fast learning curve.
A low-code tool should be:
Having these three things will significantly reduce any risks involved with outsourcing your development to an agency. On top of that, if needed, it will make it easy to find new talent to work on the project.
One of the tools that satisfies all of these requirements is low-code application builder. It has an intuitive drag-and-drop interface; allows you to create and launch your project in a matter of minutes; and any customization can be done using developers' existing knowledge of JavaScript and/or MySQL.
Out of the box, you also get automatic scaling included. This means your app can go from one to a million users (and beyond) without any specific customization from your side. It just works.
The project is easier to develop and more cost-effective because there is no need for a separate DevOps team.
Outsourcing to an external agency always comes with some risks, but there are ways to mitigate them. If an agency uses a low-code tool that is easy to learn, you can easily switch agencies.
When it comes to the choice of technology, the situation is fairly similar. Having some exotic tech with proprietary language (no matter how useful or productive it may be) brings its own risks:
When a project is built on top of the most popular technologies, your options increase. It is easier to have peace of mind knowing plenty of developers can pick up the project where someone else left off.
Aside from replacing the team, you will almost certainly want to expand the team as the project grows. And if things go really well, you will want to expand it fast. But if the onboarding takes too long, it will slow down the entire project.
And the longer the onboarding process, the longer it is for a new team member to become productive. So a low-code tool with an intuitive interface and familiar technology (JS and MySQL) will cut the onboarding process.
Then there is also a question of customization.
Regardless of the tool, you will reach its limits and want to customize your app - it is completely unavoidable. And a tool that doesn't allow customization is destined to cause problems from the very beginning.
That is why no-code tools are rarely a good long-term option for the majority of projects.
Luckily, a low-code platform gives you development speed, allows you to reduce development time, and helps reduce infrastructure costs without any development constraints.
Essentially, you can build any app you want using the low-code platform while enjoying the 3-5X increase in development effectiveness.
When choosing a low-code application agency, you must carefully pay attention to the tools they're using. Those will significantly dictate your project's risk exposure and future success.
Make sure the tools are easy to learn and allow your app to be completely customizable. Also, they must be built on top of the most popular technologies to give you access to the greatest pool of technical talent. This will make future hiring easier.
When it comes to scaling, if the resulting app, built with low-code technology, is automatically scalable - you will not need a DevOps team. And this will further reduce your development costs.
We're excited about helping you achieve amazing results.
