Low-Code vs No-Code vs Traditional Development: How to Make the Right Choice?

Read this article in full on the CHI Software blog.

Mentioning no-code development in a conversation did not make sense just a few years ago. Building software without coding knowledge — how is it even possible? But today, it is a matter of debate, confusion, and doubts at the same time. Does it mean we do not need professional developers to create software? Not exactly.

We live in an era when no-code, low-code, and traditional development can coexist harmoniously. Each method can cover a certain part of your development needs and bring the desired results.

Read on to learn the differences between the three development approaches and find out which will help you achieve the maximum benefit.

What Is Low-Code / No-Code Development?

As the name suggests, both no-code and low-code development do not require professional coding skills to get the work done. The only difference lies in the amount of such skill.

To start low-code (LC) development, a user needs basic technical knowledge, while no-code (NC) development can be applied by anyone with little to no coding experience.

The times when businesses had to hire developers for any software development need are officially over. Now even amateurs can delegate some technical tasks to special development platforms, leading to the emergence of the so-called “citizen developers”, specialists who create software with no IT expertise.

Low-Code / No-Code vs. Traditional (Custom) Software Development: Considering the Differences

When you decide to use LC / NC development platforms, you will deal with a web solution based on a simple and intuitive drag-and-drop principle. Such platforms mostly contain both low-code and no-code features so that literally anyone can use them.

Traditional development (also referred to as high-code development) is not so easily implemented. It requires some heavy manual coding and at least minimal practical experience to provide high-quality results.

These are some basic definitions, but the two approaches are fundamentally different, so we put more of their distinctive features in the illustrative infographics. Check it out below.

These characteristics show that building web and mobile apps with no-code / low-code development platforms is faster but can fail when detailed customization is required.

Questions to Ask Yourself when Choosing Between Traditional and Low-Code / No-Code Development

Just like many other spheres, software development has no one-size-fits-all solutions. Regardless of its simplicity, each project has unique features targeting a specific business need or a customer’s pain point.

So how can you figure out what type of development to choose at an early stage? How much code writing will you need? Use our infographics as a hint.

Answering these questions will give you a clearer image of the work to be done and will help development teams at the first stage of the discovery phase.

Will Low-Code Development Services Replace Professional Developers?

The short answer is no, they will not. At least in the foreseeable future. The stats we mentioned at the beginning of this article state that only low-coding elements will be used to create new software. It is only a helping tool, not a fundamental instrument.

Why are we so sure? There are several reasons for that:

• Not enough maneuverability in low-code application development. Only professional developers can scale your application with minimum negative consequences. Collaborative work and exchanging creative ideas are the only sure way to your business growth.
• Traditional developers have unique expertise. They can translate your business requirements to a programming language, pick an optimal range of tech tools to build your product, and suggest the best solution out of numerous options. Out-of-the-box platforms do not offer this level of personalization and in-depth knowledge.
• You cannot build one-of-a-kind software using only ready-made blocks. Low-code development will significantly help you with an MVP presentation or minor technical issues, but prominent software is derived from the human mind first. Low-code app builders, in other words, cover some of the routine development tasks so that human experts devote more time to creating complex architectures.

Software development automation is a natural part of technical progress, so, unsurprisingly, digital transformation becomes more accessible across all industries thanks to low-code / no-code solutions.

Conclusion

The IT industry is definitely one of the most dynamic ones. The changes take place every day, transforming other industries and market competition.

Now a big role in transformation processes is given to low-code / no-code development skills. But it is too early to say that traditional coding fades into the background. Instead, businesses should focus on balancing the two fundamental approaches and use the synergy of low and high codes to achieve their goals.

Read on to learn more about no-code / low-code development and consult our team to find the perfect balance between traditional and low coding skills.