Ultimate No-Code Guide for Building Lean MVPs
A Brief Overview of No-Code and No-Code Tools
No-code tools make it really easy to test business ideas. These are drag-and-drop tools that allow users to create landing pages, surveys, apps and other tech tools - without needing to know how to code.
They were first created to make front-end developers work easier. Wordpress is said to be one of the first no-code tools - a simple website builder that still over 30% of the internet is built on. But the original no-code tool was the simple spreadsheet. With spreadsheets, people can use a bit of code and calculations to create visual solutions like tables, graphs and templates.
No code tools work in a similar way to spreadsheets. People input data or information they want to arrange and present to customers. Then they build a visual version of their solution with no-code tools. (Read more about the brief history of the no-code industry here.)
Building Lean MVPs
Once founders know which tool can help solve a problem, it often only takes a few hours to create a quick draft of a lean minimum-viable-product (MVP). Learn more about building MVPs with Kate Kendall here.
No-code tools are really powerful and they can create a range of solutions. It all depends on what the mission is.
It’s important to start with the problem and how to test that idea before building something with more features. Even with the best tools in the world, if tehre’s no plan or no clear experiment then the tools won’t be helpful.
At Atto, we encourage founders to focus on the small steps that will take them towards their big ambitions. Starting small with landing pages, forms or surveys, webapps, communities or automated processes are great ways to start small with no-code.
Advantages of No-Code Tools
• Speed: Being able to test your ideas quickly
• DIY: You can (usually) do it yourself
• Cost: Free or quite cheap
• Independence: No need to wait for ‘tech co-founder’ or tech team
• Accessibility: Empowers marketers and designers vs relying on engineering team
• Validation: Useful for both digital and physical product validation
Often people think that no-code tools are really easy to learn, they cost nothing or that there’s no coding at all involved - which isn’t true. Each tool has it’s own features, costs and strengths. Where possible, create a free account for a tool, dive in and start testing.
Ultimate No-Code Guide by Function
Here we’ve pulled together a list of no-code functions and tools that are helpful for startup founders testing ideas or trying new ideas. Each tool has pros and cons, and its own learning curve. The below list is arranged by function because founders need to know what to build before choosing the best tools for the job. Some tools have a steep learning curve, while others allow users can get a draft version live within minutes.
Another thing to remember is that with whatever tool used, listen to customer feedback.
Below is a list of the best no-code tools filtered by the following functions:
Automation
Forms
Websites
Webapps & Apps
Emails
Ecommerce & Payments
Memberships & Community
Marketplaces
1. Automation
Purpose: Save time on repetitive tasks.
What are automation no-code tools?
Automation refers to setting up any process where a repeatable task is now done by software rather than by a humans. It allows businesses to scale without adding additional resources. Examples of automated tasks are automated surveys, emails and processes - like integrating two apps like Social Media to Slack, so that a team is notified when a social media post goes live.
Best automation tool: Zapier
Zapier is known as one the best automation tools allowing users to connect different platforms. It’s such a widely used tool that there are over +4,000 apps available to create connection between. They have plenty of helpful automation examples on their website including a breakdown of how users might use the tool depending on job functions. View Zapier by job function.
Free Zapier version: 5 ‘zaps’ or different automation tasks with a 15 min update time. View Zapier pricing.
Alternative Automation Tools:
Airtable is a great tool for internal automations and many multi-step processes can set-up via Airtable.
2. Forms
Purpose: Create surveys, forms and capture data.
What are no-code forms?
No-code forms are really valuable for customer validation. These tools allow users to create interactive surveys and forms which capture information into spreadsheets - with some branding functionality. It allows users to test ideas in minutes.
Best form tool: Google Forms
Google Forms allows users to create forms and save data to a specified Google Sheet. The forms can include the most comment question types e.g. short and long answers, multiple choice, checkboxes, dates, linear scales and file uploads.
Free Google Forms version: Users need to create a Google Account, then the number of forms users can create depends on the space the Google Account has available.
Alternative Form Tools:
3. Websites
Purpose: Create a landing page for a business idea.
What are no-code websites?
No-code landing pages and websites are just the same as other website online, except when building the website, there’s no need to engage a web-developer as there is no code needed for the website to be created e.g. the website builders use drag-and-drop elements or templates to build each webpage.
When creating a website, users usually have to pay separately for the domain URL, hosting the website information, and the CMS that the website is built on. All-in-one platforms like Carrd and Squarespace have changed this so that users pay one fee for all functionality.
Best website tool: Carrd
Carrd is a very affordable, easy to use builder for one-page, good-looking websites. The cheapest tier allows users to build up of 3 sites per account from $9/year which includes custom domains, forms, Google Analytics, and no Carrd branding. View 20 examples of Carrd website designs.
Alternative Website Tools:
Webflow - used by more than 3.5 million designers and teams to create, collaborate and scale beautiful websites. +1,000 Webflow templates.
4. Webapps & Apps
Purpose: Create webapps and apps from spreadsheets and dag-and-drop features.
What are webapp and app no-code tools?
Webapps and apps are simple software that operate through web browsers like Chrome, FireFox or Explorer. That means anyone with a device, an internet connection, and the webapp address or app download can access the information on the app. Learn more about webapps here.
Best webapp tool: Glide apps
Glide allows users to create apps from spreadsheets. This tool is great for apps that use data displays e.g. directories, inventory, education, conferences, and other CRMs. Over 500,000 people have made over a million apps with Glide and they have plenty of templates for reuse. Read Glide’s eight business use cases.
Free Glide account: Allows users to create up to 3 apps with 500 rows from either Google Sheets, Excel, Airtable. View all Glide pricing.
Alternative App Tools:
5. Emails
Purpose: Send emails to an audience.
What are email no-code tools?
Email marketing is still one of the most valuable marketing channels. When someone opts-in to your newsletter list, that gives you permission for you to appear in their inbox with information and offers. It’s powerful. Creating well presented emails
Best email tool: Mailchimp
Mailchimp is known as one of the best emailing tools available. Over 13 million business use Mailchimp to send emails to their communities. Other platforms can offer more functionality and design aspects, but Mailchimp does Users can also choose from 100+ free Mailchimp templates
Free Mailchimp version: The free version of Mailchimp allows you to send up to 10,000 emails every month to up to 2,000 contacts categorised as one audience.
Alternative Email Tools:
6. E-commerce & Payments
Purpose: Create a website and earn money for your products or services.
What are ecommerce and payment no-code tools?
Almost everyone with a smart phone shops online now. If you’ve got products or services to sell, it’s a great idea to offer them online through an ecommerce store or payment portal. Almost all of these platforms have charges for transactions or they have monthly fees.
Best payment tools: Stripe & PayPal
Stripe and PayPal are known as the best payment processing tools online. They can be integrated into website builders and each have different fees depending on transactions.
Alternative E-commerce & Payment Tools:
Square for selling in person and online
Shopify - one of the most powerful and easy to use e-commerce builders.
Wordpress & WooCommerce for adding a shopping cart to an existing WordPress site
BigCommerce for large-volume sellers
7. Memberships & Communities
Purpose: Create a ‘member-only’ community.
What are membership no-code tools?
Creating custom online communities gives people access to experts, online content or community. These platforms have features for communities to host online courses, public posts, and private messages. Some of the platforms have their own apps to accompany the platform logins while others are only accessible via a web browser. Learn more from Mighty Networks on how to build a membership site. Read Atto’s 5 no-code tools to create a membership site here.
Best Tool: Memberstack
Free Memberstack version: Memberstack’s free version allows you to create authentication access, optimise for payments and manage users.
Alternative Membership Tools:
8. Marketplaces
Purpose: Create a two-sided online market with buyers and sellers.
What are marketplace no-code tools?
Marketplaces are connecting two parties - one offering something and the other looking to purchase that something. With a huge volume of sales going online, there’s big opportunities to create communities and connect buyers and sellers through marketplaces. Marketplaces like Esty, eBay, Fiverr and Shutterstock usually earn revenue by charging a percentage of each transaction.
It depends on the level of functionality you need to get your marketplace started. If you’re at the beginning pages, perhaps you could use a Facebook Group, Trello board or spreadsheet to manage buyers and sellers manually. Once you’ve proven that there is a market need for your idea, then you could try out some of the no-code tools below which allow you to create something more customised e.g. buyer and seller profiles, creating multiple vendors, and utilising templates like travel or event management marketplaces.
There are many options to create a no-code marketplace. Some founders like to use a combo of no-code tools e.g. Webflow, Airtable and Zapier. While others prefer to use an all-in-one tool like Sharetribe. There’s no perfect way to build a marketplace and each option has it’s pros and cons. Read this example of someone creating a marketplace in a weekend. Read what you need to know before starting a marketplace from Sharetribe.
Alternative Marketplace Tools: