Why No-Code Will Not Be Leaving Anytime Soon

One of my favorite breakfast items is your standard pre-made package of pancakes.

It’s a staple food in our home for this one reason: it saves us time and sanity.

They’re deliciously reliable. 

We don’t have to take out a plethora of measuring cups at 5 in the morning, nor do we have to be “brilliant” chefs to make them. An added bonus? Less dirty dishes to contend with while trying to feed a pack of hungry kids.

But these time-saving ready-mix packages didn’t always exist.

They first appeared back in 1889 in Missouri, and have since won their way into homes (and stomachs) everywhere. 

All of this is to say, it seems unimaginable to think of a time when they weren’t made available to us.

Why has something so mundane come to matter so much? 

Because it makes our lives easier.

That’s why no-code is here to stay. 

Because progress never goes backwards.

As Ryan Hoover explains:

“These tools are reducing the amount of time and coding expertise required to translate an idea into something people can use. You no longer need to become a programmer to build things on the internet, empowering a new wave of makers from different backgrounds and perspectives.”

Here are 3 more reasons I believe no-code won’t be leaving any time soon.

No-code offers the spark of innovation

I like to offer my experience as a parent as an example. 

When my kids were small, I assumed their happiness came down to getting them what I call “purposeful toys” — you know the ones — toy cars or trucks that have a specific function. You can move them around any way you want, but that’s it.

Unsurprisingly, my kids tired fast of these toys. 

Of course, I figured their short attention spans were to blame.

But then one day, my wife brought home a large selection of brightly colored play doh and cutters. I saw my kids’ eyes light up from all the possibilities — of designing their own cars and trucks and everything else you can imagine.

That was a turning point for me as a parent, and as an entrepreneur.

I realized we are all still very much childlike in this sense. 

With the barriers removed, what can’t we do?

The impact of no-code platforms makes it so that we can easily explore new opportunities, whether those be new projects or partnerships. 

We also don’t have to feel tied down to just one idea. We can try out a solo venture and work on a new startup with a friend. It’s no longer an “either/or” dilemma.

Since you can keep costs low by using no-code tools, the sky’s the limit.

No code is bigger than us

It’s not just the act of creating that excites me about this movement. No-code also gives us more opportunity for collaboration.

It’s a philosophy I kept in mind when developing our latest product, Tables: collaboration doesn’t have to be a drag — it should be a seamless process.

We built Tables with the idea that teams can quickly work together with colleagues and clients in one same workspace. This leaves room for people from diverse backgrounds to collaborate on a shared project effortlessly.

Other no-code products like Airtable, Asana, Basecamp, and Trello were all built with a similar intent.

No-code fosters something essential

We are a species that likes to evolve. You see this across every industry; we are constantly pushing the bounds of our creativity and imagination. In previous chapters, we’ve looked at how democratizing other mediums has been so impactful, and why the no code movement is now doing the same with software.

But here’s what you really need to know. 

As humans, we are wired for connection.

I’ve seen this repeatedly as CEO of Jotform. People build forms for myriads of reasons, but they all share this in common: the need to create in order to connect. It’s something essential to who we are. 

Whether we are building a business or a website to showcase our art, we are creating as a way of connecting with the world around us. And this in turn, also creates meaning.

This is what I believe to be the biggest reason why no-code won’t be leaving anytime soon.

It’s giving us a way in — all of us.