Why Tools Like ‘App Builder’ With Code Generation Shape the Future of Web Development
The future of web development with the use of no-code tools
For several years, there has been a trend toward using “no-code” tools for web development.
This trend is the result of a confluence of factors. The web development process has become significantly more complex. The rise of the agile software development methodologies has made web development teams more virtual than ever.
And the level of competition for skilled developers has caused employers to be very selective in their hires. All of these things have made it necessary for web developers to look for better ways to build software.
You’ve probably heard about “no-code” or “low-code” app development tools by now. No-code is a popular term that refers to the use of tools and services that allow us to create websites, apps, and other software applications without having to write code. And in some cases writing very minimal code.
In this article, we will see how tools like App Builder are changing the traditional way how products are built and problems are solved.
What are no-code and low-code tools?
No-code vs Low-code:
No-Code tools are software that allows non-developers (such as designers, project managers, or marketers) to make changes to a website or web app without ever opening up a text editor.
Whereas, Low-code is a software development approach that requires little to no coding in order to build applications and processes.
Building a web application is not an easy affair, especially when you are trying to build using the latest and most advanced technologies.
Using open source technologies is a good enough solution for most developers because it allows them to build applications faster and use the relevant code in the relevant places.
But low-code tools like App Builder, Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress are making it easier for everyone (not just developers) to quickly build applications without knowing how to code.
And with the addition of the ability to add custom code via plugins, they’re getting ever closer to what can be done with a traditional CMS.
Why are no-code tools so powerful?
No-code tools are powerful because they allow non-technical users to create a visual representation of their ideas quickly and easily. No-code tools are rapidly growing in popularity for web development.
They allow you to get something up on the internet with very little technical knowledge. Developers don’t have to be involved in building these applications.
While they are not as powerful as full-scale development tools, they can still help you get an idea off the ground.
When you start a company you need to build internal tools and dashboards to manage the business side of things that are not customer-facing.
Companies used to build these internal tools similar to customer-facing products by writing code in the past. But with the advent of no-code tools, they can just drag and drop components and build these internal tools in a matter of minutes.
You might still need to write back-end endpoints that are consumed by these front-end apps in certain cases. But they are definitely eliminating a large chunk of the work that was needed.
Introduction to App Builder
App Builder is a brand-new cloud-based WYSIWYG drag & drop tool that eliminates the complexity of user interface design and development that helps companies design and build complete business apps 80% faster than ever before.
It is a unified platform for product managers, designers, and developers. It is a low-code tool producing brilliant Angular, Blazor, and Web Components code from your Sketch designs or Figma files.
Using App Builder, you can start your app from scratch or choose from a library of pre-built app templates or responsive screen layouts and then customize it with a toolbox of 60+ UI controls to kick-start your next digital product design!
How is App Builder revolutionizing the way web applications are built?
If you’re a non-technical entrepreneur and want to build a startup, the traditional way was to hire developers and build the MVP version.
Then get the funding and build a large team to take your idea forward and scale your product and business.
But the no-code tools are changing the way this is done. Anyone can use these tools and build an end-to-end application to start a business.
The tools provide everything you need from the UI/UX design templates, payments integration, CMS and data stores, monitoring tools, etc to build a business application.
There are people who have built and still running 6 figure businesses online without writing a single line of code. All this is possible because of no-code and low-code tools.
The game-changing features from App Builder:
1. Product Ready Code:
Everything you design results in production-ready HTML, TypeScript & CSS for Angular and Razor, and SCSS for Blazor (with React and Web Components coming soon). You can see it in real-time as you create, or download a complete zip file of the app.
2. Eliminate the Boring Tasks
Focus on what is important, not the boring, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks. With a rich layout system and complete toolbox of components, create screens and full apps in minutes instead of hours!
3. Limitless Themes and Styling
Use pre-built themes and typography (Material, Bootstrap & Fluent) or customize them to match your own app theme and corporate branding on a per-control, per-screen, or per-app basis.
4. Import Sketch and Figma Designs
With one click, take your static designs and get interactive, responsive apps with real UI components and styling. Import designs from the design system into a real, component-based app.
5. Bind To Real Data
You don’t have to settle for building apps that have empty data grids or input screens — connect to any REST data source and light up your app design with data that matters, all the way through to code generation!
With App Builder, your team gets a single working environment. Managers, designers, and developers are not forced to use multiple tools to manage the single source of truth during the design process.
Eliminating silos and reducing friction, miscommunication, and expensive errors that usually occur in handoffs.
What Does the Future of Web Development Look Like With Tools Like App Builder?
The internet has changed a lot of things in our world; it has also allowed for newer trends to emerge.
It is safe to say that low-code/no-code tools are going to have a big impact on our future. It may be viewed in a positive or negative light, but it is here to stay.
Writing commands was the sole way to control the earliest computers. As a result, they’d never be used by non-technical people.
Companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe changed this in the 1990s by introducing graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that made computers accessible to everyone. They created programs like Word, Excel, and Photoshop to make computers accessible to everyone.
Today, you have the opportunity to create great web apps without the need to learn a complicated programming language and write even a single line of code.
Best of all, even experienced coders are finding these no-code tools to be indispensable in terms of time and work productivity.
A new breed of no-code tools is also emerging in the market, which also helps in building web applications faster. These tools allow the users to use drag-and-drop techniques to build web applications and sites.
Conclusion
As the web becomes more and more dynamic, tooling and development practices must change. The rise of no-code tools and frameworks has changed the way we do web development.
The no-code revolution in software development continues to accelerate with never-before-seen speed.
Most developers and IT professionals would agree that the number of business solutions and applications created without the help of a software engineer is currently at an all-time high.
The list of no-code or low-code platforms and tools continues to grow with many new products and solutions being released in 2022.
