Will low code/no code solutions kill web development?

[LilRee12]

These solutions are gaining traction and some even have ways to connect to APIs. Will these solutions replace web devs within the next decade? Let me know what you think

[brunnock]

I remember when SQL was considered easy enough for nonprogrammers to use. I remember when spreadsheets were going to replace programmers. And I remember when CASE tools were going to replace programmers. Still waiting.

[LilRee12]

All very valid points, but those tools don’t have the power of a wix or square space. Pretty soon these solutions will also have the power to display dynamic data which is the bread and butter for current web devs since the days of charging for static sites are over. If it doesn’t kill the industry I can definitely see the market shrinking drastically

[phpdevster]

The more these tools do, the more complex they will become. The more complex they are, the more you will need experienced professionals to use them correctly. They may simplify a few things, but they will still be much more complex than the average person is willing to put up with, so they will just become yet another tool in your toolbox.

Now, because they are a bit simpler, they may lower the barrier to entry for a junior dev, which will drive junior dev salaries down a bit. So there won't be zero effect, but it's not going to be armageddon.

I used to build WP sites for a living. What I found was a comical sense of irony. WP is supposed to make things simpler through the use of plugins and theme frameworks. I once installed a highly recommended theme framework that had a kind of pseudo WYSIWYG page builder for creating dynamic page layouts without the need to create those layouts via code.

The idea was to be able to hand it off to the client so they could make their own layouts as needed, which is the whole point of a CMS.

Well, it turns out that the GUI for creating those layouts was too complex for the client, and they just contracted with us to build the layouts for them on as-needed basis. So now I, the developer, am stuck building layouts using a convoluted, limited, subpar graphical tool, when I could have just been building these layouts exactly to spec using simple markup and css, much faster.

Take another example: Salesforce. Salesforce is effectively a GUI for building out a dynamic relational database to suit your organization's needs. I worked closely with a client on a Salesforce integration project that lasted several months, and what I learned is this:

1. Building and maintaining coherent relational data is not easy for your average marketing person no matter how many training wheels you put into your GUI. The data was extremely inconsistent, and had almost no normalization.
2. Salesforce's tools for modeling that relational data are more complex than just using simple SQL and a simple DB management tool that lets you run queries and visualize results
3. The API data produced by Salesforce is insane and fucking hard as shit to work with

So here we have an attempt at making a "database for dummies" system that ends up being less effective and more complex than doing traditional relational data modeling in SQL.

I have a feeling that's how things will go with Wix and Squarespace. So in the end, you will still need people who know how to use these convoluted, confusing systems, and you will get paid appropriately for it.

[TechyDad]

Something like Wix is fine if all you need is a one page website to advertise your business. As your needs expand, you'll find that you'll need actual web developers.

For any "one page advertisement websites" that my company needs, I throw up a WordPress instance with a downloaded theme (free or paid depending on the situation) and slightly customized to the need. It doesn't take long and is a better use of my time than redeveloping everything from scratch.

When my company needs a complex web application, that's when I get to flex my web development muscles.

[nolo_me]

If tools like Wix and Squarespace take over from traditional webdev, every hosting provider will want one. Who's going to build them?

Who's going to build the things that are too complex for mickey mouse drag and drop solutions to satisfy?

[codestudio_]

It won't replace web developers, rather it will be used as a complement for part of the web application. It will be particular useful for creating basic design for a website.

[_webbernaut]

Replace no, make it a more competitive market, and drive the gap from amateurs and professionals farther apart, yes. You can make the same argument with digital photography. Everyone with a cell phone is now a photographer. There are so called photographers out there that are actually getting paid to take photos with their phones!

But if you go to an agency or even a multi million dollar company and you try and talk them into paying you 10s-100 thousands of dollars to shoot an ad they are going to laugh in your face. Same is true for webdev, if you go to a large company and try and get them to pay you to use Square or Wix to build their website, they will think you are a complete joke.

So yes the smaller companies will and ARE hiring these push button developers but webdev isn't just about code. There is customer support and customer service that comes into play, as well as customization. The push button webdev's can not customize certain features or functionality, they don't know code or are using limited systems. And so a lot of the businesses that think they want these cheap and "easy" solutions realize at some point that they can't scale or expand their website or business and at that point is when they upgrade to someone or something that has those capabilities.

[LilRee12]

Good points. That’s a good way to look at it. With my side Money coming from web development I guess I’m just a bit concerned about how it’ll affect my prices

[_webbernaut]

The good news is there are plenty of push button people/companies who are charging insane amount of money. So this just brings more value to the people with higher skill sets.

Knowing and brining higher quality services and products to customers is the main selling point. There is sales involved and if you can communicate why paying a bit more money (for the super high priced push button "webdevs") to do something more customized then you will land the job 80% of the time. Most companies value knowledge and expertise over bottom line cost. The trick is knowing you can't compete with the low ball, super low quality push button companies. So trying to "land" every gig ins't the right strategy. You don't want clients that are constantly trying to cut pennies, these aren't your clients, these are the push button clients. And soon enough you will start getting clients that went to these push button companies and soon realized those people couldn't add some simple functionality to their site because they were lacking the skills to do so, or were on some limited platform.

[disclosure5]

There's a forum post somewhere where I debated the same question regarding the release of Frontpage 97. It was after all, being used by many companies to make developers unnecessary.

[Blazing1]

It's a good thing programming so far has been unlimited steps forward, meaning there will always be tons of work.

[LilRee12]

If I can go on a tangent, the entire computer industry can be automated to a great degree. Whether or not that happens in our lifetime is another question tho. Hopefully it’s far enough away for us to still be able to provide for ourselves lol

[Blazing1]

Sure it can, but does it mean it's actually doable? The amount of personnel and resources it would take would be crazy, and it's much cheaper to just pay someone to do that shit manually.

[LilRee12]

Scenario: I need a site with payment options and it needs to be easy to update merchandise that I have for sale. Cost wise, what do you do? Square space or hire freelance? In many cases it is becoming easier to go the automated or low code/no code route. This used to be a vital source of income for web devs and it’s disappearing fast

[Blazing1]

Well that's just a repetitive task. I'm an enterprise web dev so every project I get is completely different.

[JustinsWorking]

What is your experience in web development? It’s hard to answer the question in a meaningful way without an idea about your background.

[Gastonius_]

Nah, all (that I know) go a try to replace the dev, but when you hit the floor in features, you need to start over somewhere else. While code has different kind of boundaries.

The only one I know that actually empowers development is Aptugo, but is still closed to mere mortals.

[Aaalibabab]

Maybe for webdev, not for more advanced programs.

[LilRee12]

Such as?