As stated above I am very new to programming and would like to develop an app of medium complexity (user auth, post, comment, connect, share external articles, support video format, payment processing, etc).
I’ve started learning basics HTML and CSS, and while I enjoy the process, I also realised it’s going to take me a long time to get to the point where I could do everything myself. So I am looking into no/low-code builders. Wappler, Flutterflow and Drafbit caught my attention.
The way I think of it is as follows:
I don’t mind getting into the code from time to time if required, but I also don’t want to spend 12 months building my app because the tool is too complex to use, ideally I would like to launch the app in 4-6 months. I want my code to be exportable. And I would like something scalable, meaning that if I later hire developpers, the code should be easily readable / editable by the average dev. Finally for the hosting / backend / security stuff, I don’t mind if I need to make a bit of research to figure it all out and bring all the pieces together, but again would like to avoid it being a complete hassle.
Is Wappler a good pick, with the above in mind? And what would be some objective pros and cons of the platform?
From an outside-in perspective, the tool seems powerful and scalable. I am just a bit afraid that the higher learning curve required compared to other solutions could translate into pushing my launch timeline too far vs. what I have in mind.
The “average dev” will have to use Wappler to modify your app, despite the source-code being open-source. The reason for this is because Wappler apps have to be structured in a certain way so that it’s easy to be read by the Wappler editor program (commonly referred as Wappler UI), such structure is not easily read at the naked eye (script steps are stored as JSON). But, you can always see the source-code, so if something happens to Wappler you do have complete control over your app.
Yes, Wappler is a good pick. If you want to get dirty with HTML and CSS, you definitely can! It uses Bootstrap as front-end framework, which is a commonly used one.
On the back-end you can choose between PHP, NodeJS and some others. Usually, people either stick with PHP or NodeJS. You’ll find most people that know how to code here prefer NodeJS, which would be my suggestion.
You can watch the videos on Wappler’s Youtube channel to learn, independently of the server target (PHP, NodeJS, etc.)
So isn’t it a potential constraint to scalability if the devs have to learn to master wappler to take over the code?
What do you think of my timeline: 4-6 months, to launch a product with the functionalities I mentioned earlier using wappler with no knowledge of the platform. Reasonable or completely unrealistic?
Few cents from my side just to make sure you’re correctly positioning Wappler.
Wappler is not a platform, but an advanced IDE - it doesn’t provide hosting, it doesn’t provide database entries or anything like that.
If you have a basic knowledge about hosting, databases, client-server aka frotned-backend architecture and most important - if you have a real project TO DO - then you won’t have any issues to come up with your project in LIVE in 6 month.
Yep makes sense. I’ll dedicate 6-8h per day on this project and I am overall eager to learn, even though I am 32, not 12, so I probably take more time to learn new things than I used to :).
Thanks for the inputs guys, I’ll sleep on it and will make a decision early next week. Seems like the learning curve here is steeper, but once you master the tool you can do a lot of things.
One thing I didn’t have in mind is that a hired dev would need to work from wappler rather than export the code and work autonomously. Thought I could just export the code and leave the platform if needed but doesn’t seem as easy.
Are you aware if you export the code on any low-code platforms, you may not be able to import it back again?
You make it look like you want to export the code once it’s ready and never work on the low-code platform again. Is this what you’re aiming for? Are you even considering the possibility you might enjoy working with the low-code platform?
The way I think of it is more like, in an ideal scenario, if I build a product which has an audience and needs to scale, the best course of action is probably to raise money, hire a team and keep building in-house. So ideally I build with a solution that allows that
Last but not least, make sure you understand the low-code platforms you’re thinking of, if they’re just front-end or if they also allow you to build the back-end.
If you’re not used to these terms, the front-end communicates with the back-end (e.g.: to register an account, the back-end is the one that actually inserts the user in the database and sends a confirmation e-mail; the front-end is the registration form)
My understanding is that wappler allows for back end development too? But you need to figure out the hosting yourself. Correct me if am wrong, I am new to all of this.
And thanks again for all the answers, appreciate it
