No-Code Development and Why You Need to Know How to Code

Basics are important and web development and design are no exception. Everyone can create a website nowadays, but that doesn’t mean it will be neither good nor user-friendly. But how can we fix this?

How limited are your abilities?

I have heard so many times: “I design it myself I just need a bit of help”, “I am a graphic designer, just need some instruction nothing more” or “I am a developer myself, just don’t have time building websites myself” and similar. If you are also trying to create a website for your use, there is nothing wrong with that; it is quite a doable task. But if you want to build websites for others you need to know more than just reusing other website builder’s templates.

Would I learn how to code again if I had the chance to start over? Absolutely.

Funny enough, I realised I wanted to enter no-code development after getting my bachelor’s in Informatics because I already knew I didn’t want to become a back-end developer. But then signed up for a master's in Mobile and Web technologies because I wanted to niche down in front-end development and see what is out there. By the time I went on my second Erasmus in Croatia and studied game development and robotics at Algebra University College, my interests in other areas already shifted.

What is out there?

So learning programming languages like C++, C#, Java, Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery and frameworks like .NET, and Ruby on Rails (extracurricular activity) helped me understand on a deeper level how not only how websites work but also apps and games. I am also so thankful for having this foundation to see the bigger picture when something doesn’t work as smoothly as expected. Of course, multiple lessons are learned exclusively through practice and real-life projects, but knowing the basics can be extremely beneficial when troubleshooting.

If you want to familiarize yourself with any programming language or framework, highly recommend you check out this website. It has great chunk-size lessons with a browser code editor! The test after each module is also a great way to track your progress and understanding.

No-code development and conclusion

Programming makes you stronger, and patient and enhances your problem-solving skills. While no-code development pairs those with creativity, finding alternative (sometimes even lazy) functional solutions. And because no-code development uses a lot of drag-and-drop interface and pre-build templates, knowing how to manipulate those with code is essential if you need and want somewhat a custom solution to your business problem. Knowing HTML and how websites are built and structured in my opinion is the bare minimum to call yourself a designer. That’s the alphabet in our industry.

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