7 types of NoCode tools - launch your startup's MVP without Code!

Having experienced the power of NoCode tools and built the stack at Flexiple, I wanted to share how you can leverage it to build almost every aspect of your startup's requirements.

24th November 2021
4 min read

In the past couple of decades, a majority of startups are on the internet. Inevitably they need tech to run or support them. That's not going to change in the future - if anything, it is only going to increase.

This has made us see developers as magicians. They are the messiahs who can make our entrepreneurial dream a reality. Well, not anymore (not for everything anyway). Enter No-code - the ability to build products and power processes without writing code.

This movement has been in the works for a few years now. I also caught onto this a bit late and ended up building complex tech with code when we had all but ZERO dollars in revenue. Not smart.

$3 million revenue runs on a $60/month NoCode stack

Then we started powering our startup, Flexiple, with NoCode. Our annual revenue has crossed $3 million and our stack is still fully NoCode that costs us $60/month:

  1. Marketing website: Unicorn Platform ($10)
  2. Product: Airtable ($0 - on credits) & Bubble ($25)
  3. Scale & side projects: Webflow ($25)

Building tech has not only become more easy and accessible, it isn't astronomically costly anymore!

7 types of NoCode tools for all your startup needs

Having experienced the power of NoCode tools and built the stack at Flexiple, I wanted to share how you can leverage it to build almost every aspect of your startup's requirements.

So, in this article I cover 7 types of NoCode tools along with:
A. Names of tools
B. Specific use case each solves
C. Real implementation examples
D. Alternatives

1. Marketing websites

A) Tools: Unicorn platform, Umso

B) Use cases

  • You can simply drag & drop elements onto a page
  • Build a marketing website in less than 60 mins
  • Easily edit your marketing copy & communication to customers


C) Example

  • We built our entire website of http://flexiple.com containing over 100+ pages on Unicorn platform


D) Alternatives

2. Database storage and information websites

A) Tool: Airtable

B) Use cases

  • Advanced and more UI-friendly excel
  • Easily collect data using an intuitive form
  • Neatly present the data on your website in intuitive layouts


C) Example



D) Alternatives

  • Tools like Sheet2site, Table2site work well with Airtable to make quick websites

3. Beautiful info & e-commerce websites

A) Tool: Webflow, Softr

B) Use cases

  • Build beautiful custom layouts without Code
  • Leverage its "CMS" to make numerous automated pages
  • Use particularly if you are a designer and want to implement custom design to pixel perfection


C) Examples



D) Alternative

  • Bubble: However, if the focus is pixel perfect design, Webflow is much better.

4. Automate workflows

A) Tools: Zapier, Integromat

B) Use cases

  • Automate recurring manual effort
  • Store data in CRM, send automated mails, integrate tools, etc.
  • Zapier is more intuitive but costly, Integromat has a steeper learning curve but handles complex cases

C) Example

  • Almost all our dynamic flows were handled by Zapier or Integromat. User signup -> storing their data in our db -> sending them a mail
nocode tools

D) Alternatives:

5. Login & membership systems

A) Tools: Memberstack, MemberSpace

B) Use cases

  • To convert your static website to have signups/logins and to also manage SAAS memberships
  • Restrict content or pages to only paid users

C) Example

  • We built a dashboard for new projects viewing, sharing invoices, etc. using the above set of tools:

D) Alternative:

  • Bubble offers an in-built authentication system but doesn't manage subscriptions

6. Any complex web-based product

A) Tool: Bubble

B) Use cases

  • Job-boards, marketplaces, internal tools => build varied applications using its "workflows" & database
  • Quite self-sufficient and removes the need to depend on other tools
  • Responsive design is not the best

C) Example

  • Our internal tool is entirely built on top of Bubble and saves ~160 human hours per month (has sensitive data, so can't share video)

D) Alternatives:

  • Adalo, Glide: More suited for mobile apps (discussed next)

7. Mobile apps

A) Tools: Glide, Adalo

B) Use cases

  • Build complex mobile apps with a simple drag & drop functionality
  • Automate user actions with in-built workflows
  • Use their own DB or even GoogleSheets to store data


C) Example

  • Not used these products myself, but a really cool example is of the apps made to help organize & share COVID resources with people: covidresource.glideapp.io

D) Alternatives

  • No credible alternatives that I know of
bulb

Unless it solves a business bottleneck, DON'T buildd it.

NoCode has made building a startup more accessible

Is NoCode going to replace code? My bet - definitely not. Even if the extremely unlikely event happens, it is surely a couple of decades away.

However, the days of making costly MVPs are over for a majority of industries. So, here’s your broad 7-step playbook to launch your startup:

  1. Choose an idea or space
  2. Make a landing page on a NoCode builder
  3. Start writing about it - as a blog and on social media (background process)
  4. Build a MVP on NoCode
  5. Make money - only focus
  6. Earn enough to hire a developer to take the product to the next level
  7. Make more money
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How did No-code platform Webflow go from bankruptcy to a $4B valuation on their 4th try?

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