No-Code App Developers - Practical Considerations, Hidden Limitations and When It Makes Sense

Startups and small companies are increasingly turning to the idea of hiring no-code app developers instead of developing full-fledged engineering teams within their companies. The reasons for this are quite obvious: faster time to market, lower development costs and the ability to test an idea without having to set up extensive infrastructure. However, the choice of whether to hire no-code app developers or not is not always an easy one.

No-code development platforms such as Bubble, FlutterFlow, Adalo, and Webflow enable the rapid development of MVPs, booking apps, marketplaces, CRMs and internal dashboards. Experienced no-code developers can create complex database structures, workflow logic, API integrations and scalable apps without resorting to traditional backend coding. However, scalability, custom logic, and performance optimization can become limitations if not done carefully.

For instance, even in no-code development platforms, backend logic is organized in a similar manner to traditional development: 

// Example logic for conditional booking validation
if (user.subscription === "premium" && slot.available === true) {
    allowBooking();
} else {
    showUpgradeMessage();
}

Or basic API integration logic:

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.paymentgateway.com/charge",
    json={"amount": 100, "currency": "USD"}
)

if response.status_code == 200:
    confirm_payment()

The only difference is that no-code app developers use visual tools to set up this logic instead of doing it manually.

When deciding on whether to hire no-code app developers, the following criteria should be considered:

• Platform knowledge
• Database design knowledge
• API integration knowledge
• Scalability planning
• Migration plan if switching to custom development in the future

Discussion points if you are interested:

1. At what point does it make more sense to hire no-code professionals over traditional developers?
2. What scalability issues have been encountered post-launch?
3. Has anyone successfully migrated from no-code to custom infrastructure?
4. How do maintenance and performance compare in the long run?

Practical insights from real-world experiences would help clarify when this approach is strategically sound versus short-term convenient.