Notes on No-Code Tools/Building

It feels to me like one of the biggest developments/trends in tech entrepreneurship is the emergence of SaaS tools which allow non-coding types to build cool things quickly. As I am largely a non-coding type1 myself, that seems pretty great to me. With that in mind, it felt useful to document a lot of the resources that are out there in the no-code world today.

Makerpad is a pretty neat company which basically exists to teach people how to build things with the no-code tools out there. It was founded by Ben Tossell, and his story is here.

Some examples from Makerpad of people building things with no code:

And a summary of a bunch of the popular no-code tools:

  • Webflow – SaaS platform to design and host websites without using code. Very customizable, free til the site goes live
  • Zapier – easy automation for web apps (e.g. “When I get a new email, ping me in Slack”) using APIs. Described as a “translator between web APIs”
  • Airtable – powerful spreadsheet/database tool that can be used for CRM, task management, inventory tracking, etc. Connects to other sources via Zapier pretty easily.
  • Typeform – very clean, sleek response forms. Like a SurveyMonkey but way better. The ones with the clean ‘hit enter’ and you keep going.
  • Memberstack – Membership platform, integrates with Webflow. Allows you to have user logins (accounts, passwords, gated content)
  • Glide – turns spreadsheets from Google sheets into easy-to-use apps
  • Adalo – creates apps without code using drag-and-drop tools to design app and spreadsheet database in Adalo to backup the app
  • Landbot – No-code chatbot builder for use in customer contact on website
  • Calendly – meeting scheduler / calendar management tool
  • MailerLite – Email marketing platform, makes it very easy to use right away
  • Gumroad – Platform to sell content online, good for subscription-type services and creative/digital content especially
  • Integromat – Similar to Zapier, automates web apps. Seems to be less no-codey, a bit more advanced
  • Bubble – all-in-one platform to build a no-code app, uses visual programming instead of coding
  • Documate – automates document generating process for legal docs

Webflow, Zapier, Airtable, Memberstack – described as the “dominant no-code stack” per Ben Tossell on twitter