Creating an Online No-Code Course

What does it take to create an online course that has something to do with the no-code movement? It takes time, patience, and several other things: 

• Do some research. Explore the popular online course websites like Udemy,  Skillshare, Thinkific, Simplilearn, and Teachable and look for areas of no-code development that aren't well represented (or represented at all). For example, Kintone is a highly-rated no-code/low-code app development platform, but currently there are no English-language courses on Udemy dealing with Kintone. You may also come up with a twist on the usual tutorial courses. There are a number of courses on Mendix on Udemy, but there's also a course that's simple a set of 3 practice tests to help you pass Mendix's "Rapid Developer" certification test.
• Find out what subjects are the most popular before you decide on exactly what your course will cover. Of course you'll want to check on the number of people signing up for similar courses on platforms that host online courses, but don't stop there. Look at books on Amazon related to your course content and see how many reviews those books are getting and how high they rank. Do the same thing with no-code blogs and forums, as well as any no-code Facebook groups.
• Find a niche. Once you have a general idea of what type of course material you want to cover, consider narrowing it down to a more specific area and still attract students. It's somewhat similar to publishing a book on Amazon - if your subject is too general it can get lost in among a lot of other books (or courses in this case) that are covering the same material.
• Make sure what each platform provides. You're going to want a platform that:
• Allows users to access your course on the web, by phone or on their tablet.
• Provides a forum for the people enrolled in your course.
• Offers polls and surveys to provide feedback on how people rate your course, both the content and the presentation.
• The ability to have students upload course materials.
• A built-in mechanism to handle payments and refunds.
• Build the course. Don't be concerned about making the perfect version of your course right way, follow the same procedure that you would when creating a no-code app and start out with a Minimum Viable Product. You can add all the extras once you get some feedback on what your students like and don't like about the course. Here are some additional tips to keep in mind:
• Micro-learning is a popular concept now for a reason. People tend to learn more easily when information is dished out in small bites. Do the same thing with each lesson in your course - keep the lessons short and focused on one specific topic.
• To some extent use the method of "say it, then say it again" (or "show it", then "say it again") to try to emphasize main points in your presentation.
• The majority of people who sign up for an online course never complete the course. Try to gamify things in some way to keep students engaged, maybe offer some special tips or advice for those who reach certain points in the course or points that can be used to purchase additional material.
• Make sure you have a discussion group for students who have questions or feedback or just want to talk about things that sparked their interest.
• Don't let inexperience stop you. If you're not sure how to put together an online course there is (somewhat ironically) a course on Udemy on creating online courses, plus there are a number of websites like Snapcourse that can help you build your presentation (or build it for you for a fee).

Guest Post: Reasons for Becoming a Freelance Coder and How to Succeed in This Competitive Field

Normally we focus on "no code", but it doesn't hurt (and in fact it can help) to have a background as a "coder". Today's post is a guest article from Chelsea Lamb, co-founder and head tech writer at Business Pop. She provides some valuable advice for anyone interested in becoming a freelance software programmer.

Observers of employment trends have noticed an enormous surge in freelancers. Today, freelancers account for approximately 35% of the world's workforce. At the same time, businesses and customers are becoming increasingly connected with technology. Now is the perfect time to establish yourself as an independent programmer. Mastering No-Code shares some essential information about making the leap into coding for a living.

Why Businesses Need Coders

These days, every company needs programmers to thrive. For instance, having a presence on the web is vital no matter what you're selling. Website building services are okay for personal sites, but they can look amateurish. They also limit you in terms of design choices and the implementation of cutting-edge features.

Further, companies are constantly going paperless and doing more virtually. Therefore, having a debugging expert on speed dial has become particularly valuable. If you have the skills to go further, you might be the person that gets hired to implement companywide upgrades.

How to Become a Coder

The first step toward becoming a successful coderpreneur is learning multiple programming languages. Seek out coding schools where you can learn the ones that are the most in-demand. If you lack experience coding professionally, start by contributing to open source projects. Stay current with everything new in coding; read newsletters, join coder forums, and subscribe to the biggest tech-oriented publications.

How to Market Yourself as a Coder

As with any other business, you need to sell your services. Start with creating an online presence that breaks down your skills and shines a spotlight on your achievements. Don't forget to include a prominent, easy way for browsers to email you. Remember that your site needs to appeal to a wide array of customers, so stay away from jargon. Explain every industry term you do use so a general audience can understand your message.

Advertise your abilities on social media by creating highly shareable posts. Keep in mind that video content has become increasingly popular. Purchasing banner ads is another excellent idea. Never forget about the importance of search engine optimization. 

Follow up with every satisfied customer and request referrals. This technique offers one of the most effective ways of maintaining a steady coding business. Lay off high-pressure techniques and incentivize customers to send people your way by extending a future discount. Remind clients of your availability by leaving business cards or hanging flyers on corporate bulletin boards. Drop off extras for people to distribute with friends and family who might need your high-tech services.

How To Work With Clients as a Coder

Finding success as a coder is about more than excelling as a programmer. You also have to charge the right fee. Decide on your rates before meeting with potential clients. Compare yourself with other coders around the world to figure out how much you should be billing.

How you engage with customers has a massive impact. Take the time to improve your communication skills. Avoid talking in ways that non-coders can't understand. Learning to anticipate client needs is also incredibly important. This skill alone vastly increases how much people want to hire you.

Becoming a freelance coder can be personally satisfying as well as lucrative. Gaining a foothold in this field, however, requires the right approach. Map out a plan that preemptively squashes any bugs you're likely to encounter.

Appian is Adding an Important New Feature

Appian acquired process mining start-up Lana Labs recently, in order to add an important new component to their low-code platform. "Process mining" looks at the work people are doing in an organization and tries to find repeatable processes in that work, processes that can be automated to improve efficiency and accuracy. By adding Lana Labs to their system, Appian offers the ability to determine processes that can be automated and provide the low-code tools to create those automations. 

For anyone looking to provide business automation services Appian is now one possible platform that you can use to identify and build those processes in an integrated environment. The pandemic spurred the move to "digital transformation" of business workflows and systems like Appian's offer an inexpensive and efficient way to help businesses join that movement.

The Ultimate No-Code Platform

Recently I wrote a post about OpenAI's "Codex", which translates natural English language into ready-to-use program code in any number of different programming languages. Codex is currently in beta release and is still in its infant stages, but eventually OpenAI hopes that it can be used to interact with existing program code simply by issuing spoken instructions. That would open up a lot of possibilities - including one that caught my attention over the weekend.

There are still millions of lines of COBOL code out there in the business world, running thousands of major software systems. Converting all those programs to a more modern platform would be a huge task. However, I came across a video this past Saturday about using Codex to automatically translate between Python and COBOL ("Codex translates COBOL to Python", by Mark Ryan, Oct. 3, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTIk2fifO50). As somebody who has done considerable programming in COBOL over the years, I was really interested in whether Codex could manage to actually translate COBOL code into Python program code (and vice versa).

To test the ability to convert back and forth between the two languages, Mark went to the Codex "playground", entered a very basic "hello world" program in Python and had Codex generate the equivalent code in COBOL. Running Codex's generated code in OpenCOBOL's IDE showed that Codex can indeed handle very simple COBOL programs. However, Codex failed to convert a slightly more complex Python program into valid COBOL code - but it did manage to successfully convert the COBOL version of that program into a valid Python program.

That's a really intriguing result, considering the level of interest in translating a lot of COBOL legacy code into Python or some other language that's in common use today. It's probably still a way off into the future, but Codex could eventually turn out to be the answer to modernizing a lot of those COBOL programs that are still running some of our most important business systems.

Making Money with No-Code

 For most of us the question comes up at some point: how can I make some money working with no-code? The answer is there are quite a few ways to monetize your interest in no-code - some with more earnings potential than others, but they can all bring in some extra dollars. Here's a short list of possibilities:

• Create a business-oriented web app and market it to local businesses.
• Create a mobile app focused on social networking and market it to local organizations.
• Create a website for a local business.
• Create an online course on websites like Udemy, Udacity, or Skillshare.
• Offer your services as a tutor for others trying to learn how to use a no-code platform.
• Create a YouTube channel to discuss all things no-code.
• Start a blog about no-code.
• Offer to provide guest posts about no-code programming on other people's blogs.
• Write an e-book about visual programming and no-code platforms.
• Volunteer to help a non-profit develop a no-code app or website to build your portfolio and attract paid jobs.
• Provide assistance to other developers on how to make an app that they can market successfully (including App Store Optimization tips for mobile apps).
• Create an account on Fiverr and market your services, explaining how you as a no-code specialist can create an app much faster and cheaper than a traditional programmer.
• Offer to help local businesses automate their business processes to cut down on duplication of effort and reduce errors.

Have an Idea for an App but Want to Make Sure it Looks "Professional"?

Maybe you have a great idea for a no-code app but you're not sure you can make it look "professional" enough. One answer is to try starting from an app template. Most no-code platforms offer at least some customizable templates that provide well-designed page layouts and a slick-looking user interface. Bubble for example has dozens of templates available and you can additional samples on Zero Quode (www.zeroquode.com).

Keep in mind, you don't have to find an exact match with the application you're planning. One of my favorite examples is Caspio's "patient portal" template (https://www.caspio.com/apps/patient-portal/).  It's designed as a communications center for doctors and their patients and includes:

• A new patient registration form
• Patient and medical personnel login pages
• A patient profile page
• A patient information page (showing the patient's prior visits along with any doctor's notes and recommendations)
• Message center for exchanging messages between doctors and patients
• A doctor's dashboard showing data such as visits and messages by patient and a chart of patients by medical status
• A patient list page where each doctor can see view details on the status of each of their patients

That same design can be used for other applications though. For instance if you wanted to build an app for a fitness center that offers guided fitness plans for members. You could use the same basic layout except that:

• The new patient form becomes a new member form
• The login pages are for members and fitness center staff members
• The message center allows a member to exchange messages with the personal trainer assigned to them
• The patient (or "member") information page shows each visit to the center by that member and what they did on that visit (what exercises, number of reps, dietary notes, etc.)
• And the doctor's pages become the pages for the center's personal trainers or "fitness counselors".

You can use a similar approach to almost any app, you just need to find a template that covers the same basic functions as the application you want to build. Some of the templates available for no-code projects are free, others may cost a few dollars or a few hundred dollars. In the long run even an expensive template may be worth the investment if it saves you considerable time and effort and provides the professional look you want for your application. Check out a few of the ready-made templates available online and see if one of them can work for your project.

A Quick List of No-Code Pros and Cons

OK, you're debating about whether or not to develop a new app using a "no-code" platform - is it a viable option or not? Well, here are a few "pros and cons" to consider:

• Pro - In almost every case no-code platforms offer a much less expensive way to create a usable application than paying a software firm to build the app. The initial cost involved in hiring traditional programmers can be dozens of times more expensive than with no-code or "visual programming" and there's a tendency in any software project for costs to creeping upward as changes and additions become necessary.
• Pro - If you have someone in your organization build the app (or if you have an independent developer build it and teach one of your people how to do it) you retain complete control over the application. If changes need to be made you can do it yourself.
• Pro - Since a modification to the application is usually as simple as plugging in a different "block" of code, feedback from end users can be almost immediate, reducing the time it takes to complete the app (although the time spent in planning and designing the app is probably about the same whether you're using no-code or traditional programming).
• Con - The app is tied to the platform it was built on. No-code programs aren't transferrable from one platform to another (although the documentation covering the app's design and logic are transferrable). 
• Pro - Apps can be created and tested much faster with no-code because you're simply connecting pre-built "blocks" of code rather than coding the program from scratch. 
• Pro - You're not alone in trying to put your project together. Many no-code platforms have a large and enthusiastic community of users who can provide assistance if needed.
• Con - Since apps are tied to the platform on which they're created, that means (in almost every case) that you're going to have to pay a monthly or annual fee to continue to run your app on that platform. However, there's a considerable range in how much you're going to have to pay - the fee may be $30 a month or $3,000 a month.
• Pro - Most no-code platforms offer "plug-ins" and API connectors that let you extend the capabilities of the platform by "plugging in" chunks of custom code or connecting to outside services like Stripe or Google Maps. 
  
• Pro/Con - Security can be a cause for concern with no-code apps (the same as it is with traditional programming). The fact that the actual program code is hidden makes it difficult to judge how secure the code really is (although there are some software products you can use to scan even a no-code app for vulnerabilities. Plus, creating app on a no-code platform is definitely more secure than having employees creating scripts and macros in an Excel spreadsheet to work with that same data.

OK, there are a few things to consider for anyone contemplating using a no-code app development platform. One last thing to consider though - the number of individuals and organizations using no-code has grown enormously in the last few years and is continuing to grow every day.