No code development platform (NCDPs) allows programmers and non-programmers to create application software through graphical user interfaces and configuration instead of traditional computer programming.
I did not come up with such a sophisticated definition, I borrowed it from Wikipedia. And you know if it’s on Wikipedia, it is totally legitimate 🙂
Why am I writing about No Code now?
Because I have never really explained why I support No code. And in a discussion with Sabrina, she mentioned how I support No code so she didn’t think I would code.
I realised that I need to say it at least once why I support No code.
Traditionally, programmers are responsible for developing products, apps, dashboards, anything.
Anything that converts an idea into reality. For the purpose of this article, I will only focus on the technology sector.
Imagine that for one second – ONLY programmers were able to convert ideas into reality.
In 2018 the world had 23 million programmers. And it’s predicted that by 2023 there will over 27 million programmers.
www.daxx.com
That’s A LOT of programmers, isn’t it?
Now, let’s say we assume that number is wrong. And double it. Just to be safe.
We would then have 46 million programmers. That’s a hell lot of programmers in the world to convert ideas into reality!
Now, do you know the population of the world?
The population of the world stand at over 7.7 billion (2019).
7.7 BILLION people in the world.
Less than 1% of the population are programmers
Imagine what happens when something where 1% of the population is disproportionately holding the resources that 99% of the population can’t do much about?
We know that 1% of the people own as much wealth as 99% of the people in this world. And that has led to so much inequality that society is affected and there is so much negative energy around.
Less than 1% of the world’s population can code. And I do not believe that coders will have an unlimited stronghold on those who cannot code. 99% of the world’s population have ideas, brilliant ideas, and technology is meant to help rather than hinder. So the rise of no code tech makes sense. And I support it because I believe in democratizing how people build on their ideas.
So that’s one argument, now onto the second argument on why I support no code development
Another reason I support no code development is to encourage shipping ideas early.
Everyone talks about building Proof of Concepts (POC) or Minimum Viable Products (MVP). However, most times, when I hear an idea being described, I follow up by asking how will they get started?
And the answer usually has an element of “need for technology product” or “time” or “resource to scale”. All of which is not necessary to test an idea.
To test an idea, you can do a number of things:
- Speak to potential customers (aka family and friends)
- Build a landing page to share your idea and track usage
- Run a survey to get feedback
- .. or any other technique
You don’t need to build out the whole product. Just build something that your potential customers can interact with.
No code development is my way of encouraging others to ship early and test ideas.
And let me be clear, no code development also includes individual platforms that are available in the market. Here are some examples:
- Build an e-commerce business using Shopify
- Start a blog or writing portfolio using WordPress
- Build a community around your idea or thoughts using MailChimp
- Generate revenue from your newsletter using Substack
- Build responsive and fully-functional web applications using Bubble.is and Webflow
- Generate one-page sites or landing pages using Carrd (PS: I used Carrd to build SAIL – startup accelerator and incubator list)
- A database is available to anyone now using Airtable
- Complex apps can be built using Zapier
- … and so much more
As you can see, there are a number of ways you can test an idea. And try to build that quickly and just enough to test something.
It’s what folks in tech preach – build the MVP – Minimum VIable Product.
To summarise
The growth of no code has begun. It hasn’t crossed into the mainstream yet. However, it is the future of tech. It is impossible to comprehend that the future lies in 1% of the population. It cannot be that 1% that decide how and what comes to life for the remaining 99%.
I would love to hear your thoughts, so If you liked this article, please share it with your friends. If you didn’t like it, share it with your enemies. Find me on Twitter (@faizanpatankar) or LinkedIn and let me know your thoughts on it.