When starting a new online project, the main goal is usually to launch a minimum viable product (MVP) as fast as possible, so different ideas and hypothesis can be validatesd. So the first question that comes to mind is: should the MVP be built by coding or by using no-code tools? In this post we will analyze the differences between both options.

Initial setup

In order to create a website, several steps are needed: buy a domain, rent a server, build the webpage in the server, etc.

There are two ways to do this:

• The “classical” way: The classical way includes buying a domain, renting a server from a service provider (after deciding the characteristics) and building the webpage. we have named this optio the "classical" way because this was the path to go to before the rise of so many no-code tools.
• The “modern” way: The moder way of building a website implies using a tool like Webflow or Shopify, where you will only need to purchase the domain and they will take care of the rest. With so many different no-code tools, you can choose one that completely suits your project. If you're unsure about the ideal platform, you can check our review on some of the most popular platforms to build websites on: React vs WordPress vs Webflow.

The difference between both options is just some hours of work, but the maintenance is likely to be less in the second option than in the first one. The main issue of the modern way is that there will be dependence from those tools, if the web suddenly changes its business model it might be necessary to create a new web from scratch using a different tool.

Personalization

When developing a web page using Wordpress, plain HTML, CSS & Javascript, React, etc. the personalization options are almost infinite. On the other hand, when developing a web page with Webflow or Shopify (or any other no-code tool or platform) the personalization options are limited.

In the first case, programming knowledge is required while in the second case it is not, but having a deep knowledge of the tools is important in order to get its full potential. Be careful: these no-code tools also have a learning curve, even though it is quite flatter than the programming one.

Speed

There are two different kinds of speeds to measure: developing speed and loading speed.

• Developing speed: No-code platforms are ideal for starting projects from scratch and finish them quickly. They will allow you to build a functional website in a fast way. A web page can also be rapidly developed using code, mainly with the use of templates, but most of the time it will be slower than a no-code platform.

• Loading speed: Nowadays, no-code platforms produce really clean web pages, which allows them to load faster. Code developed web pages will most of the times have the opportunity to be faster, but there are also higher chances of making mistakes that will make them slower.

Time consumption

The development and maintenance of a coded web page will most likely be more time consuming than the development of a web page developed with no-code tools.

Conclusion

When starting a new project, our recommendation is to use no-code tools until the business model is validated. This way, you can be sure you will be saving time and you can iterate the project easily and with almost no resources. Once it is validated and the income starts growing, a parallel development can start taking off, while the no-code project keeps going on. But nowadays, many projects can grow a lot until there is a real need to stop using no-code tools.

Regarding pricing, the main cost of code development is the development team, while no-code tools are initially cheap but they can become expensive once the project grows and more resources are required.

Corporate Lab is a venture studio specialized in creating new tech startups for large corporations. We're experts in launching fast MVPs and new technologies for other companies. If you think your company needs to be ahead of the business curve and build new businesses, contact our team.

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