My Problem with No Code

Hello again IH community,

I noticed that there are many people that use no code on this platform, and I think that the rise of no code has been great for creators to ship products, but there is a stark problem that I see with No Code and I wanted to address it, specifically Bubble.io.

First I will talk about the problem with no code in general and then I will touch on the problem that I see with Bubble.

No Code has Risk.

When you use a no code platform like bubble you are opening yourself up to platform risk. What happens if Bubble shuts down tomorrow? Most likely your app will be lost seeing how many components in Bubble and other no code platforms are dependent the server side code that Bubble has built.

Will Bubble shut down tomorrow? Probably not, but you open yourself up to that risk when deciding to use it or any other no code platform.

No Code is not good for exiting

If your goal is to not get acquired or you never see yourself selling your app then you can ignore this part. Most companies looking to purchase your app will not move forward if you depend on something like bubble or all your automations are done through a 3rd party platform. If you ever have any ounce of thought that you would sell then do not use a 3rd party no code solution.

Bubble is great to validate, create MVPs etc, but you are hurting yourself in my opinion if you choose a no code platform to build your entire app.

Bubble.io's Terms of Service

I was skimming through the terms of service, yes I am a nerd 🤣. I found a couple of interesting things that I think you as a founder should be aware of.

If you have trademarks, when using Bubble you are granting Bubble in their words "a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, sublicensable right to use your trademarks on the platform". As a brand this is nuts, to just give that type of access to your brand is scary because they will not adhere to your guidelines.

They can remove user components at any time for any reason. They say "BUBBLE WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY TO ANY BUYER OR SELLER FOR LOSS OF PAYMENT, LACK OF SUPPORT, REMOVAL OF USER COMPONENTS, OR ANY OTHER CONSEQUENCES ARISING FROM THE TERMINATION OF A BUYER OR SELLER’S BUBBLE ACCOUNT, REMOVAL OF A USER COMPONENT FROM THE BUBBLE MARKETPLACE, OR ANY ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF BUYERS AND SELLERS WITH RESPECT TO THE BUBBLE MARKETPLACE. "

This makes you so vulnerable, in fact I would rather build everything from scratch then use Bubble because for me I am not comfortable using their platform knowing at any time they can remove things.

Before using a low code/no code platform please read their terms so you know what you are getting yourself into.

Conclusion

You may be fine with Bubbles terms and if you are more power to you. You also may be comfortable with the risk and that is fine if you are go out and build. I think it is important to be aware and to be knowledgable of what you are getting yourself into before you make a mistake that you didn't know you were making or weren't aware of.

If you want to stay up to date with me (just some random guy on the internet who has hot takes every no and again) you can find me on x.com/blakerunyon_io.

Thanks for reading ❤️