Example of the operation of the Webflow programming tool.
The lines of code behind each program and mobile application are incomprehensible to any user who is not familiar with programming languages.
Until a few years ago, web design and development were reserved exclusively for developers.
Now, more and more tools allow anyone to create their own software from scratch without having to know how to write code, although they have certain limitations.
Large technology companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft have launched different tools to facilitate this work for users and companies.
Forbes has already called codeless development the most disruptive trend of 2021.
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Platforms that allow you to develop software without writing code use a visual language.
Users no longer have to write instructions on how they want content to be arranged on their web page.
Instead, they can select different modules that tell the web how it should behave.
In the example in the image, simply drag the characteristics that we want the cat to have and the actions that we want it to perform to the central space.
It is a beginner's option that works simply by dragging and dropping items.
This type of systems based on a visual language are the ones used to initiate children in software development.
Scratch, Code.org, Arduino, and Roblox are just a few examples of child-oriented no-code languages.
They turn programming into a game in which the user can see at the moment how the result changes depending on the instructions he selects.
The so
-
called
no-code
movement
(without code, in Spanish) is focused on users who have no training in programming and who seek to transfer an idea to the virtual world as quickly as possible and without a developer who designs something custom.
This was the case of Diego Matheu, a training consultant from Barcelona, who during the confinement of the first state of alarm developed software for companies on his own.
Matheu had no programming skills, nor did he have a team of developers who could translate his idea into an app.
So he did it on his own.
"The only option is to reinvent and digitize, and today it is much easier than it seems," he says.
The software he developed is designed so that companies and professionals can share their learning processes.
In recent years, big technology companies have continued to take steps to professionalize this way of designing applications and webs.
In mid-2020, Amazon introduced Honeycode, its platform for developing different types of software without writing code.
A few months later, Google followed the same path by introducing Appsheet, which allows you to create an app directly from Google spreadsheets.
As explained by the company at the launch, the tool analyzes the data structure of the spreadsheet and programs a prototype application for the user.
Beyond those created by big technology, there are many tools, some very popular, that bet on this philosophy of making it easy for the user when programming.
One of them is Webflow, which allows you to build pages by selecting and dragging elements, while showing how the code is modified in real time.
It is one of the tools that Abanca uses the most.
"It allows real wonders of pages with a much reduced knowledge and a simplicity and speed not seen until now," says the company in one of its blogs.
The use of these tools within companies helps the technology development team but also makes it easier for employees who do not have this technical background to create their own platforms.
For example, the sales team can create a tool on their own to provide product recommendations to customers.
"These platforms have the potential to make software development up to ten times faster than with traditional methods," says consulting firm Deloitte.
The limitations of programming without code
Technically, you can create an app or a website without being a programmer, although it is necessary to think like one of them.
Cristian del Amor, a
freelance
programmer
, points out that it is important "to understand the logic and the rules behind the design that is being done."
“These platforms can work very well for experts who want to create basic prototypes in a short time, but not so well for someone who knows absolutely nothing about programming and wants to design a page from scratch.
It is very possible that in that case problems arise that you cannot solve because you do not understand what is behind what you are doing ”.
You always need some code, even to program without code.
The developers who created these tools and designed the modules had to do it the traditional way: by writing the code.
It is also necessary to turn to professional programmers if the user needs more elaborate development.
“Of course they are essential when things get complicated.
If you want something very basic maybe you can do it with modules.
As soon as you need something more personalized or exclusive, you will need a programmer, "says Del Amor.
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