In a previous article, we discussed why no/low code solutions are often a great choice for your MVP. The ideals of an MVP -- getting feedback on the core of your idea and iterating rapidly -- are often more quickly accomplished on a no/low code platform and at a lower price point. However, many no/low code solutions have limitations, which we have outlined in our overviews of Bravo and Appgyver. So, today we want to address the question: how do you know if it is time to upgrade your no/low code app to a custom, enterprise app?
1. You need to scale.
Many low-code solutions have issues with scaling. This was a problem when we audited both Bravo and Appgyver. One exception to this problem is one of our favorite low-code platforms, DraftBit. DraftBit circumvents this problem with the option to export your application in ReactNative, which then can be hosted and scaled like any other custom code app.
2. Your usage of the current platform is getting expensive.
Lots of no-code platforms, like Salesforce or Shopify, get expensive at scale. Their annual cost can get as expensive as the one-time cost of investing in your own, perfect-fit solution. But no code isn't alone in this. Low-code platforms can become prohibitively expensive as well. It's time to start planning the move to custom software when the annual cost exceeds half the cost to build your ideal custom app.
3. You need custom features that the platform doesn't support.
No/Low Code has grown a lot over the past few years. Modern platforms can do a lot to enable the fast development of apps and websites. However, they still have limitations. These limitations may be something you can work around when building your MVP and early versions of the app. You may hit a point in the lifecycle of your website where one of the unsupported functionalities becomes essential. Then it will be necessary to move to custom code.
4. You need to upgrade your security.
The security of your app will be whatever the security the no/low-code platform provides. There are some benefits, primarily that since you don't have any control over it, you don't need to manage it and any new updates or patches will be the responsibility of the platform provided. However, depending on the platform, the security may not be good enough. There may be special use cases, such as with certain specialty compliances, that bringing this in-house to be managed by your DevOps team is vastly superior.
5. You want to offer a superior and unique user experience.
Many no/low-code platforms have their own proprietary design suite. However, UX goes far beyond pixels on a screen. Custom animations, automation, and interactions may become core to your application, and most low-code solutions are lacking in these areas. On top of that, integrating the UX experience across a multi-channel brand experience is more challenging without a custom app. This is another great reason to transition to custom development.