Low Code Vs Custom App Development – Which is Best for Your Business?

With the advent of new technologies, startups and businesses are no longer required to hire developers to code from scratch. Instead, with software development tools, any startup can create apps and test its ideas without needing to shed a lot of money, resources, and time to build something that may succeed or fail in the market.

Gartner forecasts that by 2024, almost 65% of all app development will be low-code. It means low-code development will take place for many scenarios, with customer code development being the go-to for big projects. This blog looks at the merits and demerits of using low code development tools and custom code to create products and briefly discusses the factors that help you determine which method suits your business the best.

Low-code or low code no code development is a software development method that uses various development tools to create applications. Most of the time, these tools come with a user-friendly graphical user interface that allows any inexperienced coder to create software instead of hand-coded computer programming.

No code app development platforms are cost-effective and enable drastic changes to the software to help build applications within a short time frame. However, the ease of development comes with advantages and disadvantages, so it's always best to know what lies ahead before the project starts.

1. Much faster development

As the low code app development process uses less code, the development takes less time. But usually, additional customization may take some more time. Nevertheless, such fast development can be a boon for startups who would like to introduce their product as soon as possible in the market.

2. Quickly build fully functional apps

As low-code solutions come with predefined modules, the entire software and its functionalities can be completed quickly.

3. Economical

Low-code solutions are much more economical, as the requirement for the number of developers in such projects is small, and only a small fee is incurred for access to the service needed to build it. However, sometimes a professional software developer is necessary for making certain modifications, but even if such a requirement occurs, no-code development is still cheaper than custom code development.

1. Dependent on the provider

As a service provider or integrator provides the low-code method, it might be challenging to download and move the source code of your final product to another platform or hosting when required.

2. Lacks flexibility and customization

As little to no code is to be written during low-code development and the entire software uses pre-built modules, the low-code development inherently lacks flexibility and customization. This lack of customization may make it difficult to differentiate your product from the competition and stand out in the marketplace.

3. More vulnerable to hackers

Since Low-code depends on the service provider, it doesn't provide you with complete control over the application you built, which can be an undesirable and vulnerable situation. It can also open opportunities for hackers to exploit your product and compromise your product.

Advantages and disadvantages of Low-code development

Custom application development is building software products using the manual hand-coding method. It is a development process that aims to create a product from scratch and offer limitless customization options.

Usually, custom app development is employed when a company wants to create software with a unique set of functionalities and purposes. It aims towards a specific group of users or organisations.

The main idea of using custom mobile app development is to develop reliable, customizable and feature rich software that matches the current business requirements and offers limitless flexibility in building features that meet the expectations of current and future users.

1. Complete control and authority over your product

With customized application software development, you possess complete control over the software you build. You can change any functionality or feature that doesn't go well with your vision. As a result, you are free to decide anything and are less dependent on third-party solutions. Even if you use third-party solutions for frameworks or libraries, the end product you build is your own and, therefore, can be protected, white-label, or even sold as you deem fit.

2. Ensures flexibility and customization

As manual coding is employed to create software functionalities and features are written, and the entire software is made with code written from scratch, custom development ensure complete flexibility and customization. It also enables you to create unique features and functionality that will help you customize your product and makes you stand out in the marketplace.

3. More secure and reliable

Since custom code development is made from scratch and does not depend on an outside service provider, it gives you complete control over your built application. In addition, you can use advanced security solution measures and encryption to secure your product from hackers. Thereby making custom software development one of the safest and most reliable methods to build a software product.

1. Time-consuming

As low code requires writing code from scratch, a lot of planning, designing, and iterations are necessary even before development begins. In addition, each company that wants to develop software has to use a software development life cycle that is apt to the project's scope, which includes activities like weekly meet-ups, demo presentations, and bugs fixes. Sometimes the development may take weeks, months, or years, so there is also a chance the product might become redundant in the market as new technologies are introduced from time to time.

2. Costly affair

Custom code development requires coders to build the product within a time frame. Such a development demands experienced coders who can take up challenges easily when it arrives. Unfortunately, hiring experienced coders can be costly even though it's the best decision to take for the long.

3. Return on investment

As custom code development requires a lot of capital, the return on investment is a crucial factor determining the company's success. Sometimes, the money used for product development might take months or even years to break even and start seeing profits, making custom code development a hard choice for startups with limited funding.

Advantages and disadvantages of Custom App development

Deciding upon whether you want to go with no code or custom development is a matter that depends on various factors.

1. Product-market fit

Any software development endeavour is worth pursuing if there is a well-defined market for it. It is always best to develop products based on accurate market research and understand the scope before investment. However, not every well-researched product might succeed in the market. Thus, a company can use lean methods such as low code to test product-market fit before committing to a full-blown custom code development project.

2. Scope of the project

Not every software product is a lucrative business. Some software falls in the category of nice-to-haves, and customers may not be motivated to pay for it. Identifying such market sentiments can save you from the pitfalls of developing a software product that nobody wants to buy.

3. Time and money

Time and money is one of the crucial factors determining which method is the best for your company. Suppose your company is well funded and houses well-experienced developers. In that case, custom mobile app development is the go-to choice. It enables you to have immense flexibility and customization and enables you to make changes to your product as new ideas arise or differentiate when similar products in the market get introduced, and you may want to include those features to stay relevant in the market.

Both no code and custom code development have their own merits and demerits. An ideal choice of which development process to choose comes with the project's scope, the kind of business outcome you expect from the product, and the return on investment you expect from it. All these factors determine how much money, time, and resources you can allocate for the project at hand.

However, if you're a startup or a business that looks forward to building software from scratch and requires a dedicated team of developers, then you can rely on Toobler.

We are one of the best custom application development companies, providing stellar custom application development services for all our clients around the globe.