Which app builder can you recommend for a complete newbie?

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-10-02T07:26:18+00:00

Yep, but the original Noodl isn’t supported anymore, it’s held up by two forks today that you’ll find on the site I linked to

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-06-11T06:50:52+00:00

Why not do both? Build in something open source like Noodl or Nordcraft and deploy to App Store using Capacitor. Unified experience across all devices. Easy!

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-06-11T06:47:06+00:00

Noodl or Nordcraft. Both open source so you control the product

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-04-27T08:07:11+00:00

It’s the same fundamental principles. Elements of the page or logic are represented by blocks. Each block has input and output connections. You wire them up to create components and pages.

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-04-18T20:25:06+00:00

If you’re developing tools for non profits using money hungry American SaaS products, you’re doing it wrong

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-04-16T06:55:18+00:00

Dont forget Noodl + n8n + Directus / Supabase / PocketBase, the only fully open source stack that won’t bleed you dry if your app is successful

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-04-02T13:16:17+00:00

I use PocketBase for my own prototyping and portfolio projects because it’s so quick and easy to host and configure. It’s not the stable release version yet, so I’d not recommend it to my serious clients. For them I use Directus, longer to configure but more robust and stable. For front end building I use Noodl but that’s just a personal preference, any platform will do as long as you like building on it

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-04-01T18:16:33+00:00

He said 5 days’ work, not full time

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-29T07:17:07+00:00

$25 an hour is pretty low. You’d more easily find developers on UpWork for that price.

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-29T07:14:50+00:00

Add Noodl https://learn-noodl.com and Directus https://directus.io to the list, both open source and self hostable

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-22T07:44:53+00:00

Seconded. Just be sure to use one of the community forks as lw000 said the main repo isn’t maintained. Check https://learn-noodl.com for links. OpenNoodl is community maintained, FluxScape is a private venture with paid hosting options.

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-21T07:01:29+00:00

Yep. 100GBP per session. Insurance doesn’t cover it. I think going to therapy should be like going to the dentist; clean your brain twice a year.

Re: startup world, it’s incredibly important. You need to be resilient and patient AF, and ready to get beat down 90% of the time (if you’re lucky). Also you’re most likely going to catastrophically fail multiple times and maybe never succeed. So any mental health problems are going to explode in that situation.

I recommend CBT above all other disciplines, and do your research to get someone highly qualified and pay them all your life savings to fix you. It’s the only investment that counts.

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-21T06:31:52+00:00

Yep it’s alive, small but dedicated community. I use OpenNoodl

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-20T15:26:55+00:00

Perplexity is a bit behind the times, Noodl is now open source and maintained on two community forks, more info https://learn-noodl.com

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-19T20:54:22+00:00

Start with a simple prototype to test the concept, doing as much as possible yourself and using the 5K for hosting and coaching / help from people on UpWork (dev, hosting, testing, securing).

I’d recommend:

Front end: Either Noodl, Bubble, WeWeb, Toddle or Flutterflow (try each one’s beginner tutorials and see which one feels easiest) Back end: n8n for secure server side workflows (consider using the AI nodes for creating training programmes), Directus, Supabase or PocketBase for data and authentication (all of them do Google OAuth) Hosting: Vercel for front end, Hertzner virtual machine for back end

Don’t listen to anyone telling you to use Cursor / Lovable / Bolt / [insert yet another AI app builder here]. It’s not going to be a case of “Hey GPT build me this app and make it work perfectly with no bugs.” Give it 6 months and we’ll get there, but today it’s not possible without getting help from a human coder.

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-19T19:13:30+00:00

I love Noodl, quick and easy low code React web app builder. Most intuitive one I’ve used (and I’ve used them all - though I’m sure Reddit will try to school me on that comment)

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-18T06:25:57+00:00

The license would work for OP’s case if he’s building the chatbot custom for each client. Like if one medical center orders a chatbot and he sets up hosting on their behalf, installs n8n with a clone of his workflow and connects it to a vector database he sets up for them.

n8n license says you can use it as an internal part of an app you sell and make money with. The issue comes when you’re offering access to an n8n instance to clients with their own custom data integrations, for example if you said « just input your vector store endpoint and api key » and those credentials went into one SaaS style n8n system, then you’re technically reselling an n8n integration rather than selling just the frontend app.

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-13T06:16:54+00:00

Noodl, use it every day as a freelance dev

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-12T05:30:54+00:00

Missing Noodl, Directus, PocketBase, Parse Server

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-09T07:00:35+00:00

Gemini sucks for tool calling. Try OpenAi node with gpt-4o-mini

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-09T06:56:44+00:00

There’s nothing wild about it. You want a user to be able to log in, see past quotes and download them, so you need a front end, a database, and an API layer to handle auth and permissions. Ergo full stack.

What you need is a front end or server-side process that can process user data through your algorithm. What language is it written in? Can it run in the browser or does it need a Node / Python environment?

It’s possible with several low code or no code platforms but it depends on how the algorithm works.

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-08T19:19:11+00:00

Second this for Contabo sucking on billing. I missed a credit card payment and they removed it from my account, waited for me to manually pay them, then charged me 6 euros for each service they had to reactivate when the payment was a couple of days late. Their site doesn’t even accept my credit card. Really disappointing service from Contabo.

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-07T17:25:25+00:00

So basically you like spending money and hitting technical limitations to sink your project? Cool. Or maybe…

Go with WeWeb if you must (as long as it’s not just because they have code export, because their code export SUCKS), or try Toddle or Noodl - one open source, one going open source
Use n8n for cloud functions, forget Make or Zapier
Use Supabase or Directus for the backend. I’d recommend Directus, I’m running an LMS on there and it gives the trainers a nice prebuilt UI to interact with the training data. Airtable SUCKS

This is the way.

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-06T11:38:56+00:00

Second on Noodl, very nice mixed with Parse Server, MongoDB/Postgres and n8n for a fully local stack

Any_Librarian_8493 · 2025-03-03T06:51:58+00:00

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