How do you know if a no-code solution is right for you?

您怎么知道无码解决方案是否适合您？

No-code is a pretty broad term for point-and-click solutions that let someone with no coding background do things that require code to do.

“无代码”是指点击解决方案的一个相当宽泛的术语，它使没有编码背景的人员可以执行需要执行代码的操作。

I’ve been coding for over 20 years, so I can assure you that no-code is not new. But saying no-code is hot right now is a massive understatement, akin to declaring Bitcoin hot in 2016 or mobile apps hot in 2010.

我从事编码已有20多年了，因此可以向您保证，无编码不是新事物。 但是说现在没有代码很热是一种轻描淡写的说法，类似于宣布比特币在2016年流行或移动应用在2010年流行。

This is the shark-jumping moment for no-code — when we figure out whether the movement goes the way of Bitcoin (trend) or mobile apps (here to stay) — because the no-code use case has evolved from integrating software functions to allowing the creation of entire software applications.

这是无代码的鲨鱼跳跃时刻(当我们确定移动是沿着比特币(趋势)还是移动应用程序发展(此处将继续))时，因为无代码用例已经从集成软件功能演变为允许创建整个软件应用程序。

However, in this post, I don’t want to restrict discussing no-code to just building and deploying apps. I want to talk about creating an entire company and product without writing much, or even any, code.

但是，在本文中，我不想将讨论无代码限制为仅构建和部署应用程序。 我想谈谈创建整个公司和产品而无需编写太多甚至任何代码的情况。

无代码的三种基本类型和三种通用用例族 (Three basic types and three general use-case families for no-code)

There are three broad types of no-code solutions and three basic ways any of those solutions can be used. You can mix and match, and sure, there are outlier types and use cases, but these are the most general.

共有三种类型的无代码解决方案，以及可以使用其中任何一种解决方案的三种基本方式。 您可以混合和匹配，并确保有异常类型和用例，但这是最通用的。

Let’s start with solution types first.

让我们先从解决方案类型开始。

Tier 1: Widget builder: These are simple services that offer cloud-based functionality snippets. For example, if you need a form for data entry, you can use any number of services to create a simple widget that collects and hosts the data in the cloud.

第1层：窗口小部件构建器：这些是提供基于云的功能片段的简单服务。 例如，如果您需要一个用于输入数据的表单，则可以使用任意数量的服务来创建一个简单的小部件，该小部件收集并托管云中的数据。

Tier 2: Webhook builder: This is what Zapier does. It’s a user interface that accesses webhooks in applications to let one application talk to another. It’s like an API, but simpler. A lot of software products even offer built-in access to their own webhooks. For example, Stripe has a webhook you can configure in your Stripe account that will post a message to your Slack account when someone completes a transaction. No code required.

第2层：Webhook构建器：这就是Zapier所做的。 这是一个用户界面，可访问应用程序中的网络钩子，以使一个应用程序与另一个应用程序对话。 它就像一个API，但是更简单。 许多软件产品甚至提供对自己的Webhooks的内置访问。 例如，Stripe有一个Webhook，您可以在Stripe帐户中进行配置，当有人完成交易时，该Webhook将向您的Slack帐户发送消息。 无需代码。

Tier 3: Application builder: Exactly what it sounds like, you can drag and drop your way to a complete web or mobile app. Again, not a new concept by any means, but today’s no-code solutions require a lot less low-level knowledge to be able to provide a lot more functionality.

第3层：应用程序构建器：确切地说，您可以将其拖放到完整的Web或移动应用程序中。 同样，这绝不是一个新概念，但是今天的无代码解决方案需要很少的底层知识才能提供更多的功能。

Now, let’s talk about use cases.

现在，让我们讨论用例。

用例1：使用无代码构建公司 (Use Case 1: Building your company with no-code)

I started building Teaching Startup nine months ago. A month into it, I decided to build it without writing any code. And again, I can code, but I have a million other things to do.

九个月前，我开始建立教学启动。 一个月后，我决定不编写任何代码就构建它。 再说一次，我可以编写代码，但还有100万要做的事情。

And that right there is the justification for building a company with no-code.

那就是建立无代码公司的正当理由。

There are functions all across a company that can either be done manually, which is a huge time-suck as you grow, or they can be automated, which requires a huge investment to get started.

公司中的所有功能都可以手动完成，随着您的成长，这是一个巨大的时间浪费，或者可以自动化，这需要大量的投资才能开始。

These functions exist at every point in the company from the tangential to the critical. For example, part of my product is a paid email, so I needed a bulk emailer with all sorts of customization options, and I needed credit card processing.

从切向到关键，这些功能存在于公司的每个环节。 例如，我的产品的一部分是付费电子邮件，因此我需要具有各种自定义选项的批量电子邮件发送程序，并且需要信用卡处理。

When I founded ExitEvent back in 2010, I needed almost the exact same thing. So I built it, and it took weeks, and it broke a lot. Plus, every time I needed a small change, I needed to build that and test it, which took time away from everything else I was doing.

当我在2010年创立ExitEvent时，我几乎需要完全相同的东西。 所以我建造了它，花了数周的时间，而且它破裂了很多。 另外，每当我需要一个小的更改时，我都需要构建并测试它，这使我花了很多时间去做其他事情。

On the other end of the spectrum, I could have used a third-party combined service to handle both of those functions for me, but those services were expensive and also limited. What’s more is the cost to integrate those services into the framework of my product was another upfront expense and another ongoing expense.

在另一方面，我本可以使用第三方组合服务来为我处理这两个功能，但是这些服务既昂贵又有限。 而且，将这些服务集成到我的产品框架中的成本是另一笔前期费用和另一笔持续费用。

Instead, I chose a full-service email provider and a full-service credit card processor, and I used Zapier and several widgets to bind them together and integrate them into my product framework. This allowed me to do exactly what I needed to do for my use case, which the combined service provider could not, and was also 60% less expensive than the full-service provider.

取而代之的是，我选择了一家提供全方位服务的电子邮件提供商和一家提供全方位服务的信用卡处理器，并使用Zapier和几个小部件将它们绑定在一起并将其集成到我的产品框架中。 这使我能够准确地完成我的用例需要做的事情，这是联合服务提供商无法做到的，而且比全服务提供商便宜60％。

The email provider does email very well. The credit card processor does credit cards very well. Zapier makes sure they talk to each other. They all do their thing better than the “full” service provider and are more robust than anything I could code in a couple weeks.

电子邮件提供商的电子邮件效果很好。 信用卡处理器可以很好地处理信用卡。 Zapier确保他们互相交谈。 他们都比“完整”的服务提供商做得更好，并且比我在几周内可以编写的任何代码都更强大。

Now, there are indeed limitations, but here’s the thing. Those limitations are forcing me to stop thinking about all the options and pricing and packaging I want to do and just prove that the customer will pay for the product.

现在，确实存在局限性，但这就是问题。 这些局限性迫使我停止考虑我想做的所有选择，定价和包装，而只是证明客户将为产品付款。

用例2：无代码和MVP (Use Case 2: No code and MVP)

The reason it took me a month to decide to build a company without any code is because I originally intended to just build my Minimum Viable Product without any code. Once the MVP was finished, I realized that if I replaced the no-code solutions, I’d be replacing wheels that didn’t need replacing.

我花了一个月的时间才决定建立没有任何代码的公司，是因为我最初打算只建立没有任何代码的最低可行产品。 MVP完成后，我意识到如果我更换了无代码解决方案，我将更换不需要更换的车轮。

Yet.

然而。

No-code solutions are a perfect way to build infrastructure around an MVP to go out and determine product viability. If you don’t have to think about the viability of the integration of your core product with the components around that product, including other product functionality that might not be core, you can spend more time building a better core product.

无代码解决方案是围绕MVP构建基础架构以确定产品可行性的理想方法。 如果您不必考虑核心产品与该产品周围组件的集成的可行性，包括可能不是核心的其他产品功能，则可以花费更多时间来构建更好的核心产品。

I’ve said this a million times: The goal of an MVP is to test the viability of the core functionality of the product. The problem is that to get to that test, the machine that markets, sells, fulfills, and maintains that product has to work. If any of the components in that machine fail, you get noise in your test.

我已经说了一百万遍了：MVP的目标是测试产品核心功能的可行性。 问题是要进行测试，销售，销售，履行和维护该产品的机器必须正常工作。 如果该计算机中的任何组件发生故障，则测试中会产生噪音。

Furthermore, that machine is always expensive to build, so why waste thousands of dollars building the perfect infrastructure around a product with untested viability in the market?

此外，该机器的制造总是昂贵的，那么，为什么要浪费数千美元围绕具有未经测试的市场可行性的产品构建完善的基础架构呢？

用例3：无代码和产品 (Use Case 3: No code and product)

The next steps for me will be to build all the extra functionality I want to build into something more than an email, which is already starting to bend under the weight of the functionality I’ve already thrown on top of it.

对我而言，下一步将是将我想构建的所有其他功能构建到除电子邮件之外的其他功能上，而电子邮件已经开始在我已经置于其之上的功能的负担下弯曲。

Again, I could code all this. I kind of want to. But then I kind of don’t. Because I need to spend my time creating more value for the customer.

同样，我可以编写所有这些代码。 我有点想。 但是我有点不喜欢。 因为我需要花时间为客户创造更多价值。

And that right there is the justification for building a product with no-code.

正确的做法是构建无代码产品是有道理的。

There is a ton functionality on my product roadmap that I can’t wait to get to. I just don’t know if my customers want that functionality.

我的产品路线图上有很多功能迫在眉睫。 我只是不知道我的客户是否想要该功能。

Yet.

然而。

I have an idea of what I think they want. So what if I could just try it out and prove the viability of that functionality like I proved the viability of my product?

我对他们想要的东西有所了解。 那么，如果我可以尝试一下并证明该功能的可行性，就像证明产品的可行性那样，该怎么办？

Existing businesses have been using no-code solutions for years to offer custom functionality to their business users without adding technical debt. Today’s no-code application-builder solution lets us cut the middle-tier out of the equation, and offer the same kind of critical functionality directly to our customers, quickly, and without much expense or technical debt.

多年来，现有企业一直在使用无代码解决方案来向其业务用户提供自定义功能，而不会增加技术负担。 如今，无代码的应用程序构建器解决方案使我们能够摆脱中间层的束缚，并快速，快速地为客户提供相同类型的关键功能，而无需付出太多费用或技术负担。

Yes, there will be limitations. Yes, that functionality will probably need to be replaced with a “real” solution at some point.

是的，会有限制。 是的，在某个时候可能需要用“真实”解决方案代替该功能。

But those are the same caveats I went into my MVP with nine months ago. I saved myself a bunch of money and time just delaying replacing my no-code components, maybe indefinitely. I spent that money and time building a better core product.

但是，这些与我九个月前加入我的MVP时一样。 我为自己节省了很多金钱和时间，只是无限期地延迟了更换无代码组件的时间。 我花了很多时间和金钱来开发更好的核心产品。

结束语：无代码vs产品过载 (Epilogue: No code vs product overload)

I get this question a lot: Will the no-code trend produce an overload of crap products once anyone can build and deploy one?

我有很多问题：一旦任何人都可以构建和部署一个产品，无代码趋势是否会产生大量废话？

Will there be crap products? Absolutely. Are there crap products out there today being built by lifelong coders and highly-touted IT departments? You bet. Will that turn into an overload?

会有垃圾产品吗？ 绝对。 如今，终身的编码人员和吹捧的IT部门正在构建废话产品吗？ 你打赌 那会变成过载吗？

Probably not.

可能不是。

There will be an increase in non-viable products on the market, sure. But we as consumers don’t buy the market, we buy the product. The benefits we will get in terms of allowing new creativity to solve old problems with different solutions, that will far outweigh the downside.

当然，市场上不可行的产品将会增加。 但是我们作为消费者不购买市场，我们购买产品。 我们将获得的好处是，允许新的创造力以不同的解决方案解决旧问题，这将大大超过不利之处。

And that right there is the justification for no-code as more than just a trend.

没错，没有代码的理由不只是一种趋势。

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