Introduction

The demand for low-code platforms is at an all-time high in the business world. This is due to the flexibility this low-code app development technology provides to businesses, allowing them to build market-ready apps in no time. The trend of digital transformation can be seen conquering all kinds of businesses today, and this makes low-code platforms an incredibly helpful way to digitalize businesses.

Without getting entangled in the intricacies of coding, one can create an application with the help of a low-code app development platform. This directly contributes to cost-efficiency and time consumption for a business while developing an application. In this blog post, we will seep through all the key sections of low-code app development and how the technology can help your businesses fast-forward towards success!

What is a low-code platform?

A one-line definition of no-code platforms can be derived right from their name—a platform that can be used to develop applications with little to no effort in coding. A low-code platform will help to shape your creative ideas into applications with the help of a graphical interface. This interactive UI of the platform will simplify the process of application development, which demands no expertise in coding. Compared to conventional application and software development processes, low-code app development boosts the entire process of developing an application to an impressive level. The overall time required to build an application can be shortened by almost half with the help of such platforms.

A low-code platform is also called a no-code platform, as it requires low to absolutely no codes to develop an application. All it takes is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for you to create efficient, market-ready applications. Such interfaces usually come with a drag-and-drop tool set, from which you can easily select and place elements in the development space. If lack of knowledge in coding and inexperience in handling complex platforms to develop applications are the factors that are stopping your business from creating an application, it ends here!

Low-Code App Development Process

1. 1. Requirement Gathering: The process of application development starts with understanding the requirements of stakeholders. Effective communication is the key to getting these requirements right. A detailed idea regarding the expected features, functionalities and UI can be gathered during this stage.
2. 2. Choosing the right platform: There are plenty of low-code development platforms available for you to design, develop and deploy your app. Choosing the best one among them requires detailed research to understand the features of each platform.
3. 3. Prototyping: Creating a preliminary prototype will help you gather everything that is required before starting the development process. This approach will also minimize the possibility of errors during the app development process.
4. 4. Configuration: A low-code platform's graphical user interface will help you design and configure the user interface, workflow and business logic of an application. With the help of an interactive drag-and-drop interface, you can build the structure of the app, define data structures and also setup integration with external services as per requirement.
5. 5. Testing: Once the application is built using the low-code platform, it is time to test it. Thorough testing of the application must be done to make sure it is flawless. The bugs identified during this process should be fixed immediately to make sure the application is efficient.
6. 6. Monitoring and Maintenance: The process doesn't end with releasing a market-ready version of the app. Continuous monitoring and maintenance are required to add or modify the features of the application in future releases.

Choosing Low-Code Platforms

There can be scenarios when rapid production and release of an application are demanded in an organization. When you want to immediately release a prototype or want to quickly cater to a surge in business demand with an application, low-code app development platforms can help you big time. By cutting the overall development time in half with maximum efficiency, you can release ready-to-market applications after testing with the help of such platforms.

1. 1. Limited Development Resources: At times, startups or organizations that depend on non-technical sectors might face a lack of experienced resources or developers to build an application. In such scenarios, instead of causing a splurge by hiring a developer or training the existing employees, a low-code platform can be utilized to develop and release applications without any coding knowledge.
2. 2. Prototype and MVP Development: The best way to quickly produce a functioning prototype of an idea or a minimum viable product (MVP) for testing is to depend on a low-code platform. By utilizing the lightning-fast development of applications, businesses can send the apps to stakeholders and clients for reviews and promotions.
3. 3. Custom Web Applications: There can be situations where off-the-shelf solutions may not help meet your business requirements. The best solution to this issue is to build a custom web application that can be tailored to meet your specific requirements. In order to create such applications with specific requirements, low-code platforms can be used efficiently.
4. 4. Cost-Efficient Solutions: Low-code development platforms can be of great help for startups that can’t afford to make a big splurge to develop applications that suit their business. With low to no costs spent, such platforms can be used effectively to create applications that can help you attain the desired business needs.

Pros and Cons of Low-Code Platforms

Like all technologies out there, low-code platforms have their own set of pros and cons. It is essential to understand both sides of such platforms to make an informed decision on whether to depend on them or not.

pros:

1. 1. Lightning-fast development: As no code is involved in the process of development, you don’t have to spend considerable time in the process of building an application.
2. 2. Reduced dependency on developers: Instead of hiring a developer, a person who has zero knowledge of the conventional app development process can build an application using low-code platforms with ease.
3. 3. Cost-efficient: As the only expenditure involved will be for the installation of such platforms, no extra charges are incurred during the app development process, saving a considerable amount of money for organizations.
4. 4. Highly flexible and accessible: Along with the growth of your business, the application can be easily scaled using such platforms. Along with this, multiple contributors to an organization can access the application at the same time through such platforms, making the process of development modular and fast.

Cons:

1. 1. Limited Customization: As you will be using pre-defined code sets, templates and tool sets on low-code platforms, the scope for developing will be contained within this limit. This will minimize the scope for customizing an application while creating it.
2. 2. Security Concerns: As rapid application development is one of the key factors for such platforms to gain popularity, the security of such applications might be overlooked by the developers. Hence, it is important for users to make sure the applications built are secure to safeguard user data.

Final Word

Low-code applications have a great value when it comes to businesses of various sectors looking to develop applications in less time and with fewer resources. Shaping up your ideas into effective applications should not be an issue with such platforms. A constant evolution of feature sets and the introduction of innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence are contributing to the growth of low-code applications. The future of such applications will make sure to help businesses develop more complex and secure applications. Apptor is one such platform that you can count on to develop efficient, future rich and secure applications in no time. With a rich graphical interface and drag-and drop interface, let your ideas take shape into well-built applications with Apptor!