Ease of use and fast response times make low-code development a tempting offering for all types of businesses. However, are custom-coded apps the best choice?
The popularity of mobile apps has exploded in recent years due to their reliability and convenience. Organizations of all sizes use these solutions to grow their businesses and reach the market like never before.
However, companies that want to create an application for their business must face an important decision before development even begins: whether to opt for a custom application or an application with little or no code. The battle between custom and low-code apps has been going on for a few years now, and the debate is unlikely to end anytime soon. The best way for companies to prepare for such a choice is to take the time to learn exactly what they would get from either option and what it means for the future.
| Custom code (Pro-Code) | Low code | |
|---|---|---|
| Language type | Interpreted and compiled language | Mainly Interpreted Language |
| Typing | Dynamically and statically typed | Mostly dynamically typed |
| Popularity | High and stable ( StackOverflow Survey 2021 ) | Growing Fast ( Google Trends ) |
| Forms | Large-scale enterprise applications, system-level programming | Business process automation, simple web/mobile applications |
| Performance | Better, due to more control over optimization | Not as good as Pro-Code due to abstraction |
| Stability | Stable, due to mature and time-tested technology | Less stable compared to Pro-Code as it is still evolving |
| Learning curve | Steeper, due to the complexity of languages and the need to understand algorithms | Easier due to intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces |
| Community support | Huge (Stackoverflow, GitHub, etc.) | Growing, but not as massive as Pro-Code |
| Development Time | Longer as it requires writing and testing individual lines of code | Shorter, due to the use of pre-built components and automation |
| Main advantages |
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| Main disadvantages |
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| Famous companies that use this technology | Almost all technology companies ( Google , Facebook , Microsoft ) | Growing adoption among enterprises ( Siemens , IN ) |
| Cross-platform support | Depends on the language used (some, like Java, support cross-platform, others, like Swift, are platform-specific) | Generally better, as platforms are designed to be platform independent |
What is Custom Application Development?
Custom app development is a process that requires a high degree of manual coding. It involves building software from scratch for a specific set of users, roles, or organizations.
The Advantages of App Development with Custom Code
Benefits of custom code applications include:
- Highly Customized: A custom app is superior because it requires a team of professionals to build a powerful app from scratch. The customer can work with the development team to build virtually any feature and perform any integration they may need. The final product will be an application specifically designed to meet an organization's specific needs.
- Security concerns: Custom solutions allow companies to have their security integrated into the software. Hackers often find it easier to penetrate low-code applications, but with a custom application, the risks of a data breach decrease dramatically.
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Flexibility: Another benefit of having a custom app is that companies can ask the development team to further enhance the features whenever necessary. Business needs may change from time to time, but they won't have to worry as their team can incorporate these changes easily.
On the other hand, low-code applications are not as flexible as they leave the application at the mercy of the solution provider or platform. The company should expect them to make the kind of changes their business needs on a global scale. -
Ownership rights: With a custom application, the customer and the development team control every part of it. They may need a third-party solution at some point, but the hiring company has full rights to the application, which they can protect and sell as a proprietary tool.
With low-code applications, the customer does not have full control as they must comply with the provider's rules. Failure to do so can lead to sanctions, but this is typically not something to worry about in a custom application as the client owns every part of it. -
Return on Investment: A popular argument against custom software is that it is expensive to build, as it requires hiring a professional team to do the work, but this option offers good returns in the long run. For example, companies will not incur any license costs because they own the software.
Additionally, the customer can rely on support services to quickly fix the problem and get the software up and running if problems arise. On the other hand, support from non-coding website developers is quite limited and generic. - Compatibility: If an organization is using several other tools, it makes sense to opt for a custom application solution so that the development team can easily integrate it into the broader digital ecosystem in which it is deployed. Unfortunately, these functionalities cannot be built into a low-code application.
What is low code application development?
As the name implies, low-code software development refers to the process of using minimal code to build an application. It replaces manual coding with automated code generation so that developers can use drag and drop functionality to define the required choice of features in the application.
Advantages of Low Code Development
Low-code development has several benefits, including:
- Less coding: Low-code development is a big attraction for people with little or no technology experience as they can build their apps with minimal coding. For example, anyone can simply create a user interface by directly dragging graphical elements, such as buttons and text, into a graphical editor. Almost everyone has the ability to build a low-code application using any low-code platform.
- Greater productivity and speed: Another benefit of low-code development is that it makes it simple to quickly translate an idea into an application. Most low-code platforms have the ability to deliver a working application in days, unlike custom applications that take months to build.
- Easy to understand: Traditional codebases are quite difficult for non-development personnel to understand, which means debugging takes a lot of time. Low-code development, on the other hand, is simple and easy to understand for just about anyone. As a result, it is easier to identify errors in the application and correct them.
- Variety of applications: Low-code applications can serve as part of larger enterprises. For example, they can help provide a relational database in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets to manage things like marketing campaigns, projects, events, and so on.
Verdict: Custom App vs Low Code Apps
Both custom and low-code applications have their attractions, and deciding which is the best choice depends on a number of factors that are more or less customer-specific. However, a custom app offers more benefits to any business than a low-code app in the long run.
With a custom app, development teams and customers won't feel tied to one platform when they want to customize their app in the future. Furthermore, businesses should opt for a custom application developed for them if their company deals with sensitive information as they can integrate system security with custom applications. Each option has its pros and cons, which means companies must choose based on the specific and unique requirements at hand.
Source: BairesDev
