from Hacker News

Are no-code website builders worth it?

by ssc23 on 7/19/24, 7:54 PM with 7 comments

I have been noting down ideas to work on as a side project for a while now. Although none of them have seen a day of light. I am thinking instead of debating on the stack, maybe I should just use no-code website builder to get some of theses ideas going.

Has anyone seen success with them? I feel its better to put something out thn nothing at all.

  • by nreece on 7/20/24, 2:28 AM

    Imo, it depends on the nature of the app you're trying to build. It can be a good early-stage approach to build a simple prototype or MVP using no-code builders (combo of Glide and Make is great for CRUD apps with low-complexity workflows).

    Spend as little as two weeks to build the prototype or MVP, and start showing it to potential users/customers. If it solves a real problem for them, they use it daily and commit to pay for it, then you can think about enhancing the no-code app or moving to a hybrid or all-code approach.

    Test the idea first with least time and effort, which is surely possible using no-code builders.

  • by muzani on 7/22/24, 2:31 AM

    I've tried them as a shortcut, and nearly all of them have been slower than just writing code. Think of it as a form of high-interest tech debt. If you're experienced, it's faster to pick up something lower code but not everyone has that luxury. Tech debt is still better than cash debt as long as you can throw away the prototype.

    Don't worry too much about the stack. The basic principle is you'll have to iterate eventually, and so whatever you build will be scrapped once the users touch it anyway.

  • by CM30 on 7/21/24, 9:53 AM

    Depends on what you're building. If it's a marketing/brochure site, then they'll probably work well enough.

    If you're actually planning to build anything remotely complex (like something that offers a service that users will directly interact with), then they're probably not great solutions, especially for anything past the initial trial stage where you're doing everything manually to gauge interest.

  • by farseer on 7/23/24, 9:27 AM

    I built a website using Microsoft PowerApps, oh the horror! It is not at all intuitive, rather a clumsily built product. You are better off learning how to code in a high level language. And the sign up process actively discourages non corporate users.

  • by noashavit on 7/20/24, 4:28 PM

    It really depends on what you are building and who you are building it for. No code builders generally get bad rep, but some of them actually produce highly performant code.

  • by ldjkfkdsjnv on 7/19/24, 10:16 PM

    Try to get users before building, if you cant do that, forget it. If you can, build it for real

  • by bayees2003 on 7/20/24, 9:51 PM

    i have built eazyfolio.com you can check it out