Should You Use Code or No-Code?
Tags: webdev, podcast
Published: 2022-09-02 12:52:40

{% spotify spotify:episode:2wZop4ANK4oeBcxK8PsXo7 %}

## What is HTML All The Things?

HTML All The Things is a [web development podcast](https://www.htmlallthethings.com/) and [discord community](https://discord.com/invite/jweMCx9) which was started by Matt and Mike, developers based in Ontario, Canada. 

The podcast speaks to web development topics as well as running a small business, self-employment and time management. You can join them for both their successes and their struggles as they try to manage expanding their Web Development business without stretching themselves too thin.

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## What's This One About?

This week, Matt and Mike discussed the difficult decision on whether you should use a no-code platform or code up a custom solution. The duo go over the differences between custom code and no-code, comparing project types and where they'd create these projects.

## Topics and Timestamps

Choosing whether or not you should code up a completely custom code solution for a project versus using a no-code tool to quickly spin it up can be a major roadblock for project managers and freelancers alike. This week we discussed the difference between code and no-code solutions and how those differences lend themselves to different types of projects.

### To Code or No-Code: Analysis Paralysis

-   **Introduction: code versus no-code | 00:01:41**
    - Custom code can be used to create virtually anything you want - limited mostly by skill, budget, and time
    - Coding is hard to learn and can take a long time to get even a basic project off the ground
    - No-code solutions are typically more expensive than coding up a project yourself due to hosting/usage fees
    - No-code solutions offer a way for non-coders to quickly spin-up "basic projects" like blogs, marketing sites, and landing pages

### When To Use Code

-   **Common scenarios that require a custom coded solution | 00:07:45**
    - When making something completely unique, like a cutting-edge web app that has never been made before (ie very advanced photo editor)
    - Performance heavy applications may require the use of custom coded solutions to manage their heavy compute load on hosting servers and/or client machines
    - If you need an extreme amount of control over your app, custom code is the only way to control almost every facet of what you're building
    - Sometimes you need to manage the budget down to the dollar, self-hosted solutions are often cheaper than the hosted solutions that many no-code platforms offer
    - Security conscious projects may require self-hosted options (ie intranet site)
    - When you need to really dial-in your project on all sides (scaling features & hosting, developing only features you need & cutting what you don't, manage technical debt)
-   **Is there a technical debt crisis? | 00:25:48
    **- Dialing-in your project responsibly can help you save your developer's time on maintenance and refactoring**
    **- Hashnode article: [A Technical Debt Crisis Is Brewing in the Land of Software -- And Here's Why (hashnode.dev)
    ](https://rubenscheedler.hashnode.dev/a-technical-debt-crisis-is-brewing-in-the-land-of-software-and-heres-why)

### When To Use No-Code

-   **Common scenarios that are ripe for a no-code solution | 00:44:48**\
    - Projects that need to be spun up fast, beyond all else\
    - Standard websites (ie blog, landing pages, marketing sites)\
    - Projects that need maintenance, but the budget doesn't allow for it\
    - Testing if an idea is viable before diving in on a massive custom solution\
    - Projects that will not scale out of a no-code tier that you have the budget for (ie a local event website will primarily get traffic from local sources)

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