What is a low-code website?

I get asked more and more these days, “what exactly is a low-code website? In this article I would like to answer this question and tell you when you can use it and what the advantages and disadvantages are. In a nutshell, low-code is having a website created that involves very little code, yet is highly unique. Low-code is a solution where you can go live much faster because one of the big tasks, namely web-development is reduced considerably in hours.

What do low code (and no code) mean?

Low-code is a term that is getting bigger and better known – and with good reason. There are companies that can create very complex applications and interfaces using the low-code philosophy such as Bizzomate, for example. With low-code, you can iterate very smoothly and click together an application, so to speak. The software being used then writes the code or uses pre-developed components. Last comes a little customization to tie everything together. It’s an extremely good example of “not reinventing the wheel.

No-code goes a lot further and means, as the name suggests, that code does not apply at all. This is a solution that allows you to make a lot of choices in a survey format through a (often) simple setup widget. After this, a final product is put together by the no-code application.

Is this AI?

The short answer: no. Low-code tools have been around for a long time and although these tools use very smart computer algorithms for some things, it is not the AI as you see it everywhere now. Well the advent of AI is interesting for low- and no-code development tools because it makes the workload even lower.

What exactly does a low-code website entail?

Now that you know what low-code and no-code mean, the translation to websites may be quick. A low-code website is a website that is often built using pre-built components, this saves a lot of time in developing a website. Instead of developing every component from scratch, you can now start with a foundation that is already well put together.

On top of this low-code base, you can then go all out with unique components if you want, there is time for that now. Many agencies will start working on their own libraries of modules in the coming years in order to build websites easier and faster. This will make websites more affordable.

What does a no-code website entail?

So a low-code website is often a combination of basic components/elements topped with a unique layer of design and functionality. But a no-code website goes a lot further. It is an option where you make all the choices through a setup and then can go live with your website immediately. This makes it a “WaaS solution” (a website-as-a-service solution). You probably know them: Shopify, Wix and Squarespace are this type of solution. You choose a template, desired modules and click ‘Live’.

In this field, there are also new “AI solutions” that promise to let an AI engine create a unique website. In practice, the AI chooses its own combination from a library of created items and complements it with colors, texts from ChatGPT and images from DALL-E (both based on Open AI by the way)

What are the benefits of a low-code website?

The great thing is that the development of the components has already been done and that provides a lot of benefit:

• It greatly reduces the turnaround time of a website. Where it could take weeks to create a website, it can now often be done in a week.
• It also saves a lot of money because the development time is reduced significantly.
• The number of choices to be made is one less, which is pleasant for many customers.

It also has some drawbacks, that’s part of it:

• Creative freedom is limited because you start from the existing components. With a custom website, you have plenty of room to be creative and make choices that make the website truly special.
• Components that have not been thought of will still have to be made which will affect the cost/time to market. This time is already factored into a make-work website and does not come as a surprise.

When do you choose a low-code website?

There are a number of reasons for choosing a low-code Web site. The first reason is because you would like to go live with your website quickly. The lead time for a low-code website is often several weeks, while a custom website can often take up to three months (if you don’t delay).

A second reason to go for a low-code website is the cost savings. You will save at least ¾ of the cost compared to a custom website. Of course, this depends on the agency you go to.

If you don’t want the most unique website, but you do want a decent website that is decently put together on the back end in addition to the front end. Then a low-code website can be the perfect solution.

Does Brendly offer low-code websites?

We certainly do, for a fixed price of 2500 we will get your website live in 4 weeks. Together we determine the site map and the basic components of the website. After this, our designer will work with you to make the choices for imagery, colors, fonts and photography. After this, we build the website in a two-week period and give you access to the website to post content. All this on a WordPress base that you can easily understand. After completion, there are no ongoing costs associated with the website. The only thing to consider is web hosting – you will always have that if you want a website online.

Contact us for the possibilities!