From static and minimalistic websites back in the day to modern and dynamic web applications today, it was a long coming for web app development. We are surrounded by technologies to a great extent and the exciting thing about technologies is that they kept on evolving and getting better.
The same is the case with web applications, they have remained the top business choice over a decade or so and today, they add so much to a brand/company’s reputation and credibility. No matter if you are a startup or a large enterprise, if you don’t have a dynamic and modern-look web application, you are surely lagging behind the competition and vice versa.
There’s a long going debate regarding the utility and functionality of custom web applications and off-the-shelf web application solutions. And today, I am going to add my opinion to this debate as well. In this piece, I would compare both on different points, making it easier for you to take an informed and calculated decision based on the pros and cons of both development solutions.
So, let the debate started.
- No Code Web Development:
No code or off-the-shelf software solutions were primarily launched in the form of Excel back in the 1980s which aimed at performing complex data analysis tasks and other complicated tasks related to data collection and presentation.
This trend went viral in 2003 with the launch of Shopify and WordPress that allowed the development of websites without having the coding ability. These two platforms aimed at solving a problem that many of us face and that is coding a website. So, what they did is, they came up with an alternative to coding and that is to create partially-custom websites using simple drag and drop.
As of 2020, these two platforms are home to more than a million websites on the internet and with time they have improved their processes, added more features and functionalities for their users. There are many other CMS exist such as Wix, Jimdo, Webnode, and Carrd but WordPress and Shopify are the most famous out of them.
So, here are some key stats about WordPress and Shopify development.
WordPress:
63.5% of all CMS users prefer WordPress for websites, making it the best-known solution on the market by far. It has 7,707+ free official themes, 11,000+ premium themes in Themeforest, and 56.884+ free official plugins, not to mention the possibility of creating a custom WordPress theme.
The creation of a website for WordPress is also the most likely option for start-ups than other CMS. Security risks are however often the strongest, other CMS are much safer and quick.
Shopify:
Shopify is the leading and most famous e-commerce CMS in the world with more than 820k startups and mid-size businesses have chosen Shopify for their e-commerce website and theme development worldwide. The prime reason why startups and mid-size businesses with tight budgets prefer Shopify is, it’s not costly and it’s super-easy as it requires no coding expertise to set up an e-commerce store.
A reputable Shopify e-commerce development can help your business develop a functional e-commerce store that can help your business reach more audiences and capture some social eyes.
Perks of No Code Web App Development:
Require No Coding Expertise: By following simple drag and drop processes, you can develop a website on your own and it doesn’t require any coding skills. This is by far the best advantage of off-the-shelf web development solutions. And if you dig into it more, it saves you not only the money but also the time it takes to develop a custom web application.
Easy Learning: As there’s no coding expertise involved, getting your hands on off-the-shelf web development platforms is easy. You can find hundreds of thousands of tutorials and online courses to master the art of developing WordPress and Shopify-based stores.
Free Resources: As mentioned earlier, you can have the access to thousands of free themes and plugins on both WordPress and Shopify. This is again a cost-cut solution for you and with this saved-cost, you can utilize it somewhere else which is more important for your business. Also, the paid resources are not much expensive. For example, a paid theme on Themeforest starts from $15-$20.
Cons of No Code Web App Development Solutions:
- They are for general use and do not target a specific business problem
- They are less preferable for large enterprises
- Customization is very limited
- They are vulnerable to cyber-attacks and security threats.
- Custom Web Development:
There are many ways to interpret custom web app development. A custom web app is a program that is designed, developed, architecture, and implemented considering and focusing on a specific business need/challenge. Business needs and challenges can differ from business to business and given that not every company functions in the same industry and their approach towards solving that problem can be different as well.
So, a custom web app is developed keeping in mind a specific business challenge. It can be a single page or progressive web app or both. A company can place its human resources to perform more functional tasks that are more concerned with the core of a company. At any time, a company can up or downscale a custom web app due to its scalable nature.
Following are a few pros and cons of getting a custom web app developed for your business.
Perks of Custom Web App Development:
Helps in Knocking out Your Exact Business Challenges: This is the biggest plus of custom software that helps a business to meet its exact problems and challenges. The development of custom software is focused on helping a business tackle a particular problem, and because the factor of scalability is right there, a business can get it up or downscale.
It’s Futuristic: The way companies are adapting digital trends, there’s no doubt that almost every business in the world will reconsider its IT resources. And given the fact that the tendency of businesses to rely more on IT products, it will soon become the center point for businesses to compete with each other.
It Eliminates the Complications: One good thing about custom solutions is that they not only help you gain your goals more effectively and promptly, they also eliminate the complexities that are involved in various business processes.
Cons:
- Requires considerable development time and efforts
- They are expensive and businesses with budget-constraints cannot afford them
- Proper staff training is mandatory
Conclusion:
You will decide on the best option for you by describing your goals, your costs, your business objectives, and your organization as part of your potential competition. Taking into account the advantages and drawbacks of both software solutions, you will decide how your organization can rely on one such solution.
In case, if you are in search of availing custom web development services in New York, SoftCircles is a US-based software development firm that helps businesses by developing futuristic and reliable web applications.
