5 best no-code tools for developers
Tags: webdev, javascript, programming, startup
Published: 2021-01-26 16:27:57

No-code tools have been really taking off lately, and for good reason. They can majorly boost productivity and team collaboration, simplifying and automating what used to be a very time consuming and tedious process.

In the past, no-code tools weren't easily extensible by code and APIs. This meant they were limited in what you could achieve. But fortunately for us developers this is no longer the case.

These are my 5 top recommendations every developer should take a look at for your next or current projects:

### 1. [Airtable](https://airtable.com/)

![Mask Group-1](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/gg9o4a1dsrk3u3y9wqfg.png)

Airtable is a powerful tool for creating databases with no code that non developers can edit and manage. You can also connect to it via APIs to read and write data as well.

As opposed to a typical spreadsheet, Airtable is structured like a relational database. This makes it easy to plug into and power typical developer workflows, while still being fully collaborative.


### 2. [Zapier](https://zapier.com/)

![Mask Group-2](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/4yumdopi7y6yvuvqr5yj.png)

Zapier allows you to create backend workflows with no code. Compared to setting up your own backend infrastructure, logic, and connections - Zapier is a breeze.

Additionally, creating [custom integrations](https://github.com/zapier/zapier-platform/tree/master/example-apps) into Zapier is simple and easy.

### 3. [Figma](https://www.builder.io/)

![Mask Group-4](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/2mz1uvqsykavmeabur3l.png)

Figma is a fantastic collaborative design tool. It has great support for design systems, as will as grabbing code snippets for styles used on any element.

You can also use [HTML to Figma](https://github.com/BuilderIO/html-figma) to convert your code to Figma designs, and [JSX Lite](https://github.com/builderio/jsx-lite) to convert Figma designs to code of your framework of choice.

### 4. [Builder.io](https://github.com/builderio/builder)

![builder](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/apz4ttyzpeuscbgttx1e.png)

Builder.io plugs into any site or app and allows you and your teammates to drag and drop to build content and pages with no code.

It even supports bringing your own [code components](https://github.com/builderio/builder) (React, etc) into the visual editor. This means you still get to build and control the code, but also get instant drag and drop support for the rest of the team.

It works with any tech stack, and is fast and incredibly customizable.

_Disclosure: I work at Builder.io, so I most certainly believe (from experience!) this is a huge help to developers and teams._


### 5. [Retool](https://retool.com/)

![Mask Group](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/gmdq6ojekbxfdxiq6elz.png)

If you are making custom internal tools, take a peek at Retool. It has a ton of integrations for popular databases, and makes it very easy to make powerful custom read/write apps for internal purposes quickly.

Retool can also be easily extended with custom code and components as well.

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