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Ask HN: Using no-code tools to prototype faster in a startup? (e.g. Flutterflow)

9 points by Fasaiph 3y ago

I’m a software engineer who has not done much mobile dev, and Flutterflow (no-code tool for mobile dev) makes mobile app dev + deployment so easy: https://flutterflow.io However, it costs quite a lot ($70/month), and I heard the Dart code it generates is not easily extendable. In the early stages of a startup, it’s way more important to iterate quickly and not worry about scalability, so I’m wondering if anyone has successfully used no-code tools and is willing to share experiences with them!

nivertech 3y ago
Are there any NoCode/LowCode tools/services for building a mobile app (iOS and/or Android) for existing GraphQL backends?
dumbdevengineer 3y ago
We used no-code tools(Retool) to build our Admin interface to administrate our App, e.g manage users, products etc. But for anything novel and complex no-code tools simply don't suffice, you can start with them for an MVP or example app but you'll very quickly have to move to coding it up fully custom(in my experience atleast). When you go from no-code -> MVP you will likely have to throw away most of the no-code version and rebuild from scratch, so it is a question of how far can no-code get you and does it make sense for your use case? So, it depends, what are you building?
- Fasaiph 3y ago
  Thanks for sharing! I’m building an iOS app. I have no experience with Swift or React, so I thought Flutterflow would be a good place to start to get something out there. From the comments on this thread, I’m getting the idea that no-code is not enough for an extensive Mobile app and the MVP probably have to be rewritten if the idea works. I think it’s okay tho - most ideas change so much since ideation and it’s more important to get feedback early. I’ll start with a no-code tool just to test out the concept and get early feedback, and then learn UI dev once I encounter a limitation or there is a need to actually rewrite.
  - dumbdevengineer 3y ago
    Yeah totally, agreed. No-code tools should get you atleast 50% of the way there and by that point you should have a more complete list of any problems you are going to encounter and a more accurate vision of what the application should look like. Definitely if you can do the no-code app in a way you can extend later that is more ideal than rebuilding it completely.
muzani 3y ago
Flutterflow wasn't good enough for me. Bubble has a lot of nice features for prototyping, but the problem with all these low code stuff is you have to deal with the bugs in the program itself as well. If you know how to code, coding is fastest these days, especially with a framework. Code is shorthand for communicating with a machine, after all.
- Fasaiph 3y ago
  Got it, so it is still worth trying to learn basic front-end programming. What’s the front end dev framework you recommend learning to be most flexible? Is React still the best one to learn, or is Flutter becoming just as good?
  - muzani 3y ago
    React is probably the best in terms of balance of pros and cons. Not React Native. Flutter was faster to figure out than Flutterflow for me. Should be far easier now that you can just ask ChatGPT. Native Android works really well for me, especially with Jetpack Compose. I love making MVPs and making MVPs is practically a full time job now. Downside is it's one platform. But often it's enough to just gauge the market. Flutter is easy and better documented though, so just use Flutter.
harshalachavan7 3y ago
I have used Bubble in 2020 for merrative.com (which is now a revenue generating business). For today's distractions, I use Softr - it took me 30 mins to launch directory websites (tools.merrative.com) and a blog - founderleverage.com
- Fasaiph 3y ago
  Wow that’s awesome! Congrats on launching a revenue generating business it seems like low/no code tools are good enough now to build and iterate on websites, but not yet mobile apps.

9 points by Fasaiph 3y ago

nivertech 3y ago

Are there any NoCode/LowCode tools/services for building a mobile app (iOS and/or Android) for existing GraphQL backends?

dumbdevengineer 3y ago

We used no-code tools(Retool) to build our Admin interface to administrate our App, e.g manage users, products etc. But for anything novel and complex no-code tools simply don't suffice, you can start with them for an MVP or example app but you'll very quickly have to move to coding it up fully custom(in my experience atleast). When you go from no-code -> MVP you will likely have to throw away most of the no-code version and rebuild from scratch, so it is a question of how far can no-code get you and does it make sense for your use case? So, it depends, what are you building?

Fasaiph 3y ago
Thanks for sharing! I’m building an iOS app. I have no experience with Swift or React, so I thought Flutterflow would be a good place to start to get something out there. From the comments on this thread, I’m getting the idea that no-code is not enough for an extensive Mobile app and the MVP probably have to be rewritten if the idea works. I think it’s okay tho - most ideas change so much since ideation and it’s more important to get feedback early. I’ll start with a no-code tool just to test out the concept and get early feedback, and then learn UI dev once I encounter a limitation or there is a need to actually rewrite.
- dumbdevengineer 3y ago
  Yeah totally, agreed. No-code tools should get you atleast 50% of the way there and by that point you should have a more complete list of any problems you are going to encounter and a more accurate vision of what the application should look like. Definitely if you can do the no-code app in a way you can extend later that is more ideal than rebuilding it completely.

muzani 3y ago

Flutterflow wasn't good enough for me. Bubble has a lot of nice features for prototyping, but the problem with all these low code stuff is you have to deal with the bugs in the program itself as well. If you know how to code, coding is fastest these days, especially with a framework. Code is shorthand for communicating with a machine, after all.

Fasaiph 3y ago
Got it, so it is still worth trying to learn basic front-end programming. What’s the front end dev framework you recommend learning to be most flexible? Is React still the best one to learn, or is Flutter becoming just as good?
- muzani 3y ago
  React is probably the best in terms of balance of pros and cons. Not React Native. Flutter was faster to figure out than Flutterflow for me. Should be far easier now that you can just ask ChatGPT. Native Android works really well for me, especially with Jetpack Compose. I love making MVPs and making MVPs is practically a full time job now. Downside is it's one platform. But often it's enough to just gauge the market. Flutter is easy and better documented though, so just use Flutter.

harshalachavan7 3y ago

I have used Bubble in 2020 for merrative.com (which is now a revenue generating business). For today's distractions, I use Softr - it took me 30 mins to launch directory websites (tools.merrative.com) and a blog - founderleverage.com

Fasaiph 3y ago
Wow that’s awesome! Congrats on launching a revenue generating business it seems like low/no code tools are good enough now to build and iterate on websites, but not yet mobile apps.