authors are vetted experts in their fields and write on topics in which they have demonstrated experience. All of our content is peer reviewed and validated by Toptal experts in the same field.
Alex is the former COO of WeLoveNoCode, a development services company with a global network of more than 58,000 no-code experts that was acquired by Toptal in 2023. Alex has in-depth experience building products using multiple no-code platforms, including Bubble, Webflow, Airtable, and Zapier.
Perhaps you’re thinking about establishing a startup, or extending your company’s existing digital offerings. It’s likely you have an idea for a product or service, but perhaps you’re not sure if people would use it. Maybe limited resources or a lack of technical skills is holding you back. As the former COO of a startup, I know all about these challenges.
Building a no-code minimum viable product (MVP) can help you overcome them. An MVP is a product version with just enough features to be usable by early customers, who can provide feedback for further product development, enabling you to validate an idea before scaling it up. It’s a quick way to create a version of your product in order to understand whether it will work for your target market—but even MVPs require skilled engineers and months of development time. Or at least they used to.
No-code is a drag-and-drop software development approach that allows founders or small teams to build applications, websites, databases, and other tools without traditional coding or programming skills. Prototyping a new idea or product is the most common reason organizations work with no-code tools, according to Formstack’s 2021 No-code Economy Survey. When asked why they choose to use no-code tools, 71% cited greater speed or ease—key factors for startups launching a new product.
Any MVP should be created quickly and with minimal investment and functionality, focusing only on the must-have features. This allows you to test the hypothesis behind it, after which you can alter the concept or even decommission it entirely depending on the results. Remember, this approach is about testing for relevance and viability, not releasing a fully realized product.
After testing your core assumptions with an MVP, you should have the answers to these fundamental questions:
An MVP saves time and money and facilitates greater optimization during development, but it’s important to remember that it is not the answer to all product development problems. With an MVP, it can be difficult to select the core features, and the scope of the product may be too small to grasp its true earning potential. Additionally, results can be skewed by a lack of early adopters and by flaws in the initial assumptions. Using a no-code approach can help mitigate these risks by further reducing development costs and reducing time to market.
No-code development platforms allow individuals with limited technical expertise to create prototypes using drag-and-drop functionalities. This allows for faster and more flexible hypothesis testing than typical software development and a greatly reduced cost.
There are, however, limitations to the no-code approach:
If these are important factors for your product but you don’t have the necessary technical expertise to build a traditional MVP in-house, consider outsourcing the build.
Creating a new product is always rife with risk, but anticipating the challenges and knowing the pitfalls can go a long way in helping you deal more effectively with problems should they arise. These are the most commonly encountered issues to watch out for:
As with any MVP build, no-code or not, don’t strive for perfection. Building an MVP does not mean building a complete, ready-made solution. It means building a workable solution with a limited feature set. Another important consideration is bias: Stay objective when you evaluate customer feedback. Don’t just look for opinions that confirm the product’s effectiveness, but take critical feedback into account too.
While no-code tools make it easier to create an MVP, the build itself is not the only consideration—many of the steps involved in building an MVP via traditional development methods still apply. Follow these guidelines to maximize the success of your no-code MVP:
Combine the strategic steps above with a no-code approach for a fast, effective build and launch. Here are some valuable tools and platforms to get you started:
Google Sheets is ideal for storing an MVP database. As a free tool, it may be particularly useful for startups with minimal financial resources.
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Airtable offers a more sophisticated database tool, allowing you to build efficient workflows and automated processes.
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Bubble is the only full-stack, no-code development platform available, and it can be used to build a range of high-quality web applications, including SaaS tools, marketplaces, and business management software. Its monthly starter subscription is ideal for building, testing, and launching an MVP.
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Zapier is a tool that simplifies API integrations and automates workflows.
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Webflow is a fairly inexpensive, no-code platform with a range of monthly subscription options. You can use it to develop responsive, SEO-friendly websites quickly.
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Coupler.io allows you to manage and schedule data exports, track data flows, and review real-time reports.
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There are many more digital tools available that can be utilized at various stages of the no-code product life cycle, such as Miro, Figma, MailChimp, and InVision. Many of these tools are expanding their offerings with AI, and as their capabilities grow so does the potential of no-code development.
Business leaders, entrepreneurs, agencies, product managers, and even developers are increasingly recognizing the value of no-code development. By allowing product ideas to be quickly realized and tested without sacrificing quality, no-code development tools are ideal for startups looking to build and launch an MVP.
Remember that the intention of no-code development is to keep it lean—you are looking to assess your idea’s viability, not to launch a perfect product. By using the tools listed above and following the guidelines, you can get accurate, valuable customer feedback faster and with less financial burden.
With the many no-code tools and platforms on offer, a minimum viable product (MVP) does not necessarily have to be built using code. It is now possible to build a quality MVP quickly and at minimal cost without a single line of code.
A no-code MVP is an initial version of a product created using development methods that do not require coding skills. This approach is increasing in popularity as it offers a faster time to market and requires less financial investment, while still allowing businesses to test the validity of their ideas.
To build an MVP without coding, use a visual editing solution that employs drag-and-drop functionality. It is important, however, not to neglect the processes around traditional development methods such as customer research, competitive analysis, prioritization, product roadmap creation, and success criteria identification.
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