Navigating the dynamic landscape of software development involves a critical decision: making the right call of low code vs traditional development practices. The choice between these two approaches significantly impacts the outcome of a project. Low-code application development offers a rapid, visual, and user-friendly way to create applications, catering to the need for speed and simplicity. On the other hand, traditional coding provides a deeper level of customization and control, accommodating intricate functionalities and specialized requirements.
As we delve into the considerations surrounding this pivotal decision through this blog, we uncover the scenarios where low-code development and traditional coding each shine, ensuring that the chosen approach aligns seamlessly with the project’s goals, scope, and long-term aspirations.
Low Code vs Traditional Development
Although traditional development-tooling providers rarely present their tools in this way, low-code development functionality is approximated by features like auto-complete for lines of code. Low-code programming also broadly refers to the integration of functionality into an application by external modules or third-party APIs. Even software libraries, which have been a mainstay of application development for years, can be viewed as a form of low-code development because they allow programmers to create complex applications with very little manual code.
In fact, it is predicted that 84% of businesses use low-code development for applications, helping in:
- Easing the load on their IT resources
- Increasing the time to market
- Participating in the creation of digital assets for the company
So, does your project call for low-code development? Or might traditional development be better for your company?
Here is a quick comparison chart of low code vs traditional development before we get into more detail into its advantages and disadvantages.
| Property | Low Code Development | Traditional Development |
| Coding Knowledge | Requires basic coding knowledge. | Developers use programming languages and web frameworks. |
| Speed of Development | Known for rapid development. You can develop a web page page in a span of just 1-3 weeks | Requires hardcore coding, with at least 2-8 months of development. |
| Agility | More agile because changes can be made quickly with errors backtracked and resolved immediately. | Changes made can be slow but traditional web apps can be made agile by following best practices. |
| Quality |
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| Customization | Very limited customizations can be done to web apps. | Web apps can be customized to meet specific needs. |
Why Should Companies Think About Low-Code?
Most businesses simply do not have the resources to invest in traditional app development. Low-code development is a substitute for traditional development that makes the procedure easier to understand and more accessible to companies without the time, resources, or knowledge required for alternative development techniques.
How does it function?
It’s right there in the name: low-code refers to platforms that enable the development and deployment of complex, customized applications in a matter of months while substantially reducing costs, making custom apps a far more viable option for businesses. Since the platform used to create low-code apps functions as a drag-and-drop interface with pre-built common features that can be implemented with ease, low-code development is able to accomplish this.
When to use Low-Code Application Development
As platform capabilities continue to increase, low-code development is emerging as a more and more competitive alternative to traditional coding. While the debate between low code vs traditional development will continue for businesses, both playing their pivotal role in application development, knowing when to use low-code can save businesses time, money and efforts.
-Complexity of User Interface and User Experience Requirements
In order to improve consumer engagement and stand out in a crowded market, many businesses put a lot of effort into their user interface and user experience (UX). These efforts frequently increase the implementation’s complexity to a point where conventional coding techniques may be necessary. Complex and expensive to create UI features might not be supported by low-code development.
Software engineering leaders should collaborate with business and UX stakeholders to identify areas where the UX and UI of their applications can be streamlined and rationalized. Low-code application development platforms may present a chance to standardize and enhance the user experience at a lower cost and quicker time to market.
-Infrastructure and operational flexibility
Platforms for low-code application development rely on the most recent IaaS and PaaS offerings from public cloud providers or, in the case of self-managed on-premises deployments, the most recent operating systems and platforms. Software engineering leaders should make sure that their company is ready to:
- Give the low-code platform maintainers responsibility for I&O; or
- Keep I&O procedures up to the requirements set out by the provider of the low-code platform.
-Data Manipulation Complexity
The complexity of data structures or processing logic is not a particularly challenging issue for the majority of enterprise low code application platforms. Low-code, however, is distinct from conventional coding in determining:
- How costs are distributed for complex business logic; and
- How intricate data structures are operated.
-Information Security Governance and Application Architecture
Organizations must modify their approaches to application design, IT security, and IT standards to account for low-code development, much like they did for the I&O issues. This is particularly important for enterprise low code applications that are hosted on public clouds and that incorporate the platform vendor’s own governance guidelines, application architecture standards, IT security measures, and certifications.
Switching to a business low code application offers software engineering leaders a good chance to modernize and rationalize their IT security procedures and application architectures. Organizations that have current governance requirements for IT security and application architecture should get ready to align those standards with the low-code platform’s implementation.
Rundown!
The decision of low code vs traditional development development coding depends on the unique needs, objectives, and constraints of each project. Low-code platforms offer remarkable speed, accessibility, and ease of use, making them ideal for rapidly delivering straightforward applications, especially when time-to-market is critical. On the other hand, traditional coding provides unmatched flexibility and control, suiting complex and highly customized projects where every aspect of the application must be finely tuned.
Striking the right balance between low code vs traditional development development approaches involves a thoughtful assessment of the project’s complexity, budget, timeline, and long-term scalability goals. In some cases, a hybrid approach might even be the most advantageous solution, leveraging the strengths of both low-code and traditional coding to create a harmonious synergy. Ultimately, the art lies in recognizing the strengths of each method and aligning them with the project’s specific requirements to achieve the most efficient and effective development process.
IT Convergence holds expertise in automation testing, amalgamating the right balance of low code and traditional application development, helping clients maximize their cost investments in the project, with safe, reliable and high-performing solutions to address testing challenges. Our goal is to modernize the business operations, speed up the time-to-market and leverage the full benefits of testing technology.