Since the Internet revolution took over, there’s been a constant demand for quality software developed as fast as possible. That insane demand has led to a lot of good things, low-code technology is one of them.
Low-code promises to speed up development. It’s said to make development easy for everyone, while removing bugs and errors that traditional hand-coding suffers from.
But all this does sound like marketing at its finest. What actually lies behind that shiny coat of paint? What’s the truth about low-code? What parts of the hype shouldn’t you believe?
1. Low-Code Platform is NOT for Everyone
One thing that every low-code vendor will tell you is that low-code is for everyone, and even people without coding knowledge will be able to use it to develop their own applications.
That’s not what low-code does.
Low-code just speeds up existing application development using visual interfaces and APIs to make work that much faster for developers who already know their way around coding.
It does not give layman users the full ability to code their own applications, since there is still a need to code to properly develop an application. It might help a non-coder to build a few blocks, or to learn the system faster, but you still need to be pretty savvy to use a low-code platform.
If you want to develop programs without needing to code at all, it’s not low-code that you’re looking for–it’s no-code, low-code’s baby brother. But that’s another topic for another day.
2. Low-Code Platform is NOT a Code Eliminator
This is another thing that gets muddled in all the hype. Low-code does not eliminate the need for coding. It just reduces it. You will still need code to properly develop an application.
Low-code platforms have visual interfaces that make the process of coding easier. Instead of having to link modules and APIs together through an abstract code, low-code just lets a developer do it through a graphical user interface. But when there are custom implementations to be done, there is a need for coding.
If a vendor is promising that you won’t have to code through low-code, you know they are over-promising. These false promises tempt you to buy first, and worry about fixing later.
3. Low-Code Platforms is NOT Just for Small Apps
Contrary to popular belief, low-code systems isn’t meant only for small apps. Low-code can create applications just as complex and sophisticated as traditional hand coding can.
Complex enterprise-grade applications are being developed on low-code platform.
If large enterprises are willing to trust in low-code platforms for complex implementations, that alone should be enough to prove that low-code isn’t just for simple implementations.
4. Low-Code Platform is NOT Unscalable
There’s very little truth to this myth, if at all. Low-code app development platforms are typically built on the cloud, which means that you can scale up or down as you need.
This might have been true during the early days of low-code, since it was originally limited to how well you can develop. But since the advent of the cloud, that’s no longer the case.
Your vendor can easily help you scale up according to your specific needs.
If someone is trying to convince you that low-code isn’t scalable, then they’re relying on outdated information.
Conclusion
Low-code platforms have a lot of myths swirling around them, mainly because people either don’t understand how they work, or have been exposed to incorrect information. While low-code development isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for all companies, it is worth looking into if you’ve got ideas to develop software with minimal coding. You can check out Kissflow if you’re looking for a flexible low-code system to satisfy your business requirements. It’s got a powerful set of features to develop applications for unique business needs in the workplace.
