Chris Wanstrath, ex-CEO of GitHub, once famously said - “The future of coding is no coding at all.”

If tech evangelists are to be believed, No-Code holds a promising future. This means businesses relying on technology will save a lot of effort and budget in the days to come - by leveraging the benefits of No-Code. 

We earlier wrote on the benefits and use-cases of No-Code, and believe with the right set of tools, building up a No Code stack is probably the easiest thing one can do. 

A few basics before we begin. 

What is No-Code?

Unlike a traditional approach to developing software, No-Code Platforms help developers and non-developers alike to build applications through easy-to-use GUIs instead of writing a single line of code. Though such platforms were earlier considered perfect for businesses that lacked technical workforce, it is now increasingly getting mainstream even for organizations with decent tech skills. Advantage being productivity improvement  and bugs-free code

In this article today, we explore how you can leverage various available tools to form a No-Code Stack for building a mobile or web application.

Building a No-Code Stack

A no-code stack functions just like any other application development framework with essential components that work synchronously to help an application function as intended. The only difference of such a stack from traditional development frameworks is that anyone can build such a platform without requiring a developer with core technical skills.

Here are the different layers and proposed tools of the no code stack -

Frontend Layer

Commonly referred as the presentation layer, this layer consists of the main functionalities and services of the application that are offered through a user-interface. This layer is what’s seen by the user in the form of web pages or smarphone apps. Such functionalities and services form the majority of application logic that takes inputs from the user and then passes it on to the underlying layers for further processing.

Listed below are a few powerful no code tools that allow users to build applications in a few simple steps without coding:

1. Web Apps

• Webflow - Possibly one of the most popular platforms in the no-code world, Webflow is known to offer a feature-rich development platform for building applications. Webflow empowers web designers to build professional, responsive, and custom websites in a completely visual canvas through an easy-to-use visual interface.
• WordPress - It is known that roughly 75 million sites are currently hosted on WordPress. This highlights the popularity of WordPress which is mainly for the fact it offers an open-source, no-frills, simple, yet extremely powerful tool through which you can develop your websites in less than an hour.
• Some other no code tools for building web applications include - Squarespace, AppGyver, Wix, Carrd.

     2. Mobile Apps

• Adalo - One of the most popular no code platforms for building powerful mobile applications that can include features including payments, notifications, and more.
• Glide - This tool helps you turn spreadsheets into beautiful, easy-to-use applications, without writing code. Glide lets you start developing an app by choosing a template, customize it for your needs, and then roll it to production for general use.

Based on the app owner’s requirement, one of the above platforms can be chosen to build the frontend layer of the application. While some of these platforms offer free services, some also offer Freemium services by including focused features that are considered useful for niche domains.

Backend Layer

Backend in applications are also used to search, filter, sort, and return information based on user requests received on the application layer. Just like the presentation layer, the backend layer forms a crucial part of an application architecture that handles and processes information flow between the frontend and the database.

For our proposed no-code tech stack, we are considering Byteline as the backend platform that acts as the intermediate layer between the frontend and database. Through its Simple HTTP built-in support and multiple out-of-the-box app-to-app integrations, Byteline offers a no-code service for backend flow that connects several commonly used applications. As an added advantage, Byteline also offers Concierge Assistance to help you pick a no-code tech stack of your choice.

Database Layer

The layer is responsible for storing and retrieving data. This data can be related to user information, business logic, application code, or platform-related configuration files

To build a no-code tech stack, one can avail any of the following no-code database platforms:

• Airtable - Airtable is a cloud-based No Code Database platform that lets you get a database ready without spending hours setting up tables, defining a schema, and standing up the underlying infrastructure. With its intuitive UX interface, Airtable can help you store, slice, and dice important data critical to an organization's daily operation.
• Google Sheets - This is a cloud-based spreadsheet platform that lets you use it even as a database for small applications or websites. With many of its out-of-the-box capabilities, Google Sheets not only acts as a straightforward application data store, but also connects to multiple platforms for retrieving or feeding data through an easy-to-use API

With these platforms, one can get a database ready without spending hours setting up tables, defining a schema, and standing up the underlying infrastructure. More so, such no code database also take away most of the redundant administration tasks of writing codes for optimization or maintaining data sanity.

Authentication Layer

Also known as the Authorization Layer, this layer sits on top of the application layer that adds the initial layer of security for the application. While most legacy systems had authentication integrated with the application logic, a shift in provisioning security separate from the application code is increasingly becoming a best practice. This allows Authentication & Authorization to be treated and coded separately while allowing ease of making changes without impacting core business logic or database changes.

For our proposed No-Code Tech Stack, while there are a number of other options, the following are two of the most popular authentication platforms that one may use -

• Memberstack - Another popular no-code authentication and membership platform that lets you build websites, dashboards, web apps, and intranets with your favorite web design tools.
• Firebase Auth - Developed by Google, this platform makes it easy to administer secure logins. It must be noted that developing secure logins from scratch is astonishingly complex to implement on your own. Firebase also enables a Federated Login by allowing users to choose one from any of the identity providers, including - Facebook, Twitter, Google, or GitHub.

Adhoc SaaS Services

With the growth of SaaS-based services, it’s now much easier to opt for on-demand services and plug into an application’s functionality. This lets the app owner to focus on the core growth of the application rather than spending time and effort in writing lines of code to develop a service functionality from scratch.

While there can be numerous use cases of such services that mostly differ for application types, some of the following listed SaaS services are the most popularly used -

• Mailchimp
• Notion
• Zoom
• Google Workspace

Besides these, there are also service platforms like Zapier or Integromart that offer integration services to connect two or more apps by automating repetitive tasks without coding or relying on software developers to build an integration from scratch.

Benefits of the No-Code Tech Stack

Here are few benefits of such a tech stack -

1. No coding required - even non-tech application owners can pretty much start from scratch and get the entire stack ready
2. Choose your own platform or service for each of the tiers that fit into your business case and application logic.
3. No boundation of getting tied up with specific tools for life.
4. Not limited to any specific use case - can be applied to building applications of varying complexities.

Building Web or Mobile Applications, along with its underlying integrations, traditionally engaged software developers with core technical skills. With the general availability of No Code Platforms now, one can build his own no-code stack, develop apps, leverage out-of-the-box integrations, and affect automation without writing a single line of code.

Through this article, we touched upon various platforms, tools, and services that can be used to build an entire No Code Stack within a day. While doing so, it is of utmost importance that you select the right platforms for the various crucial layers that support your application requirement.

At Byteline, we champion the cause of a No-Code world. And we sincerely believe that developing applications shouldn’t be as painful and complex as in the traditional model. Contact us today to avail Byteline’s 1:1 Concierge Service where we guide you to build your no-code tech stack from scratch.