The Difference Between Low Code and No Code. What are the Trade-offs?‍

A lot of people use the terms “low code” and “no code” interchangeably, which creates a lot of confusion because they are not the same thing.

The simplest way to explain the difference between low code and no code is by describing the primary purpose of each technology:

     👉 No-code platforms enable a person that is not a software developer (aka a “citizen developer”) to build software

     👉 Low-code platforms are all about enhancing the productivity of professional developers

Generally speaking, these are both great objectives, especially in a world where there's a shortage of software developers.

No-code platforms are generally good for very specific use cases, maybe a proof-of-concept for a startup or a simple, straightforward internal tool. But a general purpose no-code platform often fails to address the complexity of many software use-cases and can’t really be scaled to a large number of users.

Low-code platforms are all about providing a more "uninhibited development" environment for professional developers, where you're abstracting away a lot of the common, rote-task work that would otherwise take a lot of their time. 

With low code, essentially you’re eliminating some of the coding that is non-differentiating: you want to make those parts configurable, without coding. You’re allowing professional developers to focus on the code that really matters to the key objective or problem that they're trying to solve.

Watch the series of video shorts:

Who should consider low-code platforms versus no-code platforms?

What is "uninhibited development" and how do low-code tools enable it?

How can low-code tools increase productivity?

What is "radical productivity" when it comes to software development?

What's different about 8base’s approach to building a low-code platform?

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8base is redefining the way software is built.  If a conversation about this is interesting to you, we'd love to chat and help you think through your approach. Contact us.