Bringing your vision to life doesn’t have to be overly complicated. We rounded up five no-code tools that will get you started on the road to success.
If you’re a lean team, like many startups and small businesses are, you likely don’t have the money or resources to invest in complex tools. Especially true for startups, you never stop moving – whether you’re launching a product, building brand awareness, or venturing on a new round of funding. The easier your processes are, the more efficient you and your team will become. In fact, more complex isn’t always better; there are many no-code tools that will get the job done and save your team time.
In the spirit of saving you time, we’ve rounded up the top five no-code tools that will benefit your startup or small business. These tools will help you with time management, project management, workflows, and building out your apps. Let’s take a look at how Zapier, Bubble, Retool, Airtable, and Adalo will transform your workday.
Airtable
Airtable is a popular tool that many teams use for organizing projects. As they say on their site, “Part spreadsheet, part database, and entirely flexible.” Airtable makes it easy for your team to organize projects and collaborate in real-time, across any device – they have a very easy to use mobile app so you can check in on your projects on the go!
Airtable is extremely versatile in its capabilities. From something so simple as a content calendar for your marketing team, sprint planning for your product team, or even a bug tracker for your new software – Airtable can help you manage it all. You can start from scratch with AirTable, or they have a template library where you can choose from a number of templates to help you get the job done.
Additionally, AirTable is affordable for any sized team. The free tier of their product goes a long way, and even if you decide that you need even more from the tool, their highest advertised tier is only $20/month.
Zapier
Zapier will completely transform your work process. Being a part of a small and scrappy team probably means that you’re using a handful of tools to get your job done. Zapier allows all of your software to speak to one another, share data, and use a simple workflow to get the data you need delivered to the destination of your choice through a tiny process referred to as a “zap.”
Zapier integrates with over 2,000 apps, including two others on this list, AirTable and Adalo! With over 2,000 options to choose from, you can more likely than not create the workflow that works for you. You simply select the app you want to start with, then you select a trigger, and select an action or actions. Zapier will “zap” the data where it needs to go!
Here’s an example of a simple, though highly useful, workflow you could create in Zapier.
Having applications that speak to one another will cut time out of your workday, eliminating manual processes. You will be able to work on the projects that matter to you and your team while a tool like Zapier works in the background, delivering you the information you need for continued success.
Zapier is affordable – technically, it’s free forever. Their free tier will allow you to set up simple workflows to automate your most basic tasks. If you need to get a bit more granular with your workflows, or integrate Zapier with the apps you’re building, they offer a premium plan, starting at $20/month.
Adalo
Adalo is a software where you can build your app, without needing to code it. Adalo is especially handy if you’re a startup, with a lean or potentially even a non-existent back-end or full-stack engineering team. Having fewer resources shouldn’t limit you from bringing your app to life, which is why tools like Adalo exist – to make your app possible.
The coolest part about Adalo is that all you need to do is drag and drop the elements you want into the interface, and you’re creating an app. You’re able to integrate data, create workflows within your app, and you can customize the design so that everything is personalized and on-brand for your company – and none of it needs to be coded. You’re able to have a version of your app for every platform, which oftentimes, even for apps being coded by a whole team of developers, isn’t immediately available. With the Adalo platform, you can design your app, and the backend of Adalo will make it compatible with ios, google play, and more.
Bonus: As we already mentioned, Adalo integrates with Zapier, so the possibilities for your app are nearly endless, because you can integrate with many additional programs.
Like many of these apps, there is a free tier that will get you started with building your app. However, once you’re past the sandbox stage, you’ve got to invest a bit more. Once you’re ready to launch, you’ll likely need to upgrade, costing you $50/month. Beyond that, Adalo costs $200/month. It’s definitely a good tool to start designing and bringing your app to life before you invest.
Bubble.io
Bubble.io is another drag and drop app builder that will allow you to build beautiful, easy-to-use apps, with no coding required. With Bubble, you have the ability to start small and scale with the program. With a reliable host, robust analytics, and a wide range of design options, as your company scales, you can continue to build out your app with the features you need. Plus, as your app grows, your company will likely grow, and Bubble allows you to have up to 40 coworkers to collaborate on your app.
One great feature of Bubble, with an emphasis on growth, is their analytics. With integrations with many of the most popular analytics tools, you can track everything from app usage and behavior, Google Analytics, and you can optimize your platform for SEO.
A potential drawback with Bubble, is that it’s slightly more expensive than Adalo. Like most, it starts with a free tier; however, as your company scales, the price of Bubble increases. This software can cost you up to $529 a month at the high-end, but the capabilities of Bubble will take your business to new heights.
Retool
Last but not least on our list is Retool. Retool will allow you to build unique internal apps that will help you transform the way your business is run. Retool focuses solely on the frontend, so, without the complications of backend coding, you’re able to use a drag and drop editor to build the tools that you need. Retool even says on their site that it takes on average, 10 minutes to learn the tool, and around an hour to feel natural building on Retool.
Retool has a template library, which gives you easy starting points for any process you’re trying to build. Some of the most popular and useful ones that you may want to take advantage of are their custom CRM, Slack Notifier, and Inventory Management.
As for the pricing of Retool, you can remain on a free account forever. Of course, the price will increase the more features you’re looking for in Retool, costing you upwards of $50/month.
These five tools are our top choices because of their easy design elements, ease of use, and affordable prices. Not only are these great tools when you don’t have the time or resources to invest in coding, but these are extremely affordable for any startup or small business. As you grow, these tools will grow with you, and you’ll be able to see your idea transform into the app you imagined.
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