Which Platform Should You Use?

You're starting a new project and you've decided to use a no-code or low-code platform to build your app - but which platform should you choose? There are more and more no-code and low-code app development platforms showing up every week and picking one to use can be really confusing. So how do you go about making that choice? Here are a few suggestions that may help you answer that question:

• Are you building a business-related app or a personal/social media type of application? Native mobile apps (programs designed specifically to run on Android or iOS devices) are generally the best bet if you're creating something that people will be using on their phone or tablet, especially if the app relies on features built into the device like the camera, GPS, biometric sensor, etc. However, web apps (optimized for mobile devices) are usually the best choice for any application that requires much data entry or analyzing detailed reports.

• My choices for platforms that are focused on building web apps include:

• Bubble.io - Bubble has a slightly higher learning curve than a lot of other platforms, but it allows you to build almost any type of application and it offers dozens of customizable templates. Bubble also has a wide range of tutorials contributed by users that show you how to build apps like Quora, Udemy, Medium, Quickbooks, and Instagram, among others. Hosting for your app is provided on Amazon Web Services (the leading cloud hosting provider).

• Caspio.com - Caspio works a lot like Bubble, with the platform divided into sections for building your data tables, designing the user interface (for forms and reports), and creating workflows based on event "triggers". As for infrastructure, Caspio is hosted on AWS and uses Microsoft SQL Server as its internal database system. Also, Caspio refers to itself as a "low-code" platform, although you can definitely build apps without adding any code. In fact, both Bubble and Caspio do allow you to add some JavaScript code to perform certain actions, so in that sense they're both "low-code" platforms.

• Zoho Creator - Zoho Creator is sort of a jack-of-all-trades. You can create desktop apps, native Android or iOS apps, or responsive mobile apps. It does have its own proprietary scripting language (Deluge) which you can use to provide customized features - that can be viewed as a plus or minus depending on your willingness to learn Deluge (although you can pick it up in a hurry). Zoho Creator also provides for a wide range of third party integrations, including all of the other Zoho products (Zoho Sheets, Zoho Books, Zoho CRM, etc.).

• My choices for platforms you would use to build native mobile apps include:

• Glide - If you need a fairly simple app and need it in a hurry, Glide is great option. There are a number of basic templates available that you can use as a starting point and end up with a nice-looking, easy-to-use app. Performance used to be a bit of a problem at times since Glide's only data source was Google Sheets - however, Glide now has its own database system in place, allowing for faster response time in storing and retrieving data.

• Appy Pie - Appy Pie is similar to Glide in that you can whip together a native mobile app in a hurry (and get it published to the App Store or to Google Play Store). However, you're pretty much restricted to picking a template, adding some pre-designed pages, and picking a particular theme. Anything more complicated usually requires integration with a third party application.

• GoodBarber - Building an app with GoodBarber often starts with selecting one of their 50 or more templates, the same as with Glide. However GoodBarber's templates are generally more polished, plus they provide more access to the native features on mobile devices - functions like beacons and geofences. In addition, you can build PWA's (Progressive Web Apps) with GoodBarber to provide users with an optimized mobile web application (which can also make use of certain native features of the mobile device, such as the camera or GPS).

• AppGyver - If you're determined to find a platform where you can take your app's source code with you if you leave, AppGyver (which is now part of software giant SAP) is probably your only option. You can actually take an Android app created on AppGyver with you as an APK file that can be imported directly into Android Studio. There are also at least two other unique features about AppGyver: 1) The platform is free for anyone or any organization with annual revenue under 10 million dollars and 2) You can even make an app for TV. 

Please leave a comment or email me if you have a favorite platform that I failed to include here.