Why designers should use no-code?

Imagine being able to design and launch a website or mobile app without writing a single line of code. The emergence of no-code tools is changing the game, enabling you to take control of the entire design-to-launch process with ease. From quickly prototyping ideas to launching them without a single line of code, no-code tools are revolutionizing the way designers work.

1. Laying the foundation- First and foremost, no-code tools help you familiarize yourself with basic coding concepts and terminology. Even if you don't understand advanced coding, understanding the foundation can help you design better. I remember when I first started as a UX designer, I had no idea what the difference was between padding and margin. But using tools like Webflow helped me understand how spacing works, and this helped me create a better design system for digital products.

2. Design handoff- is another area where no-code tools shine. As designers, we often put a lot of thought into our designs, but when it comes time to hand them off to developers, things can get tricky. By using no-code tools, you can understand the system logic and easily communicate your thoughts and concerns to the developers. Instead of adding an additional burden on them, you can work together to optimize the designs.

3. Design systems- are the backbone of any successful digital product. They ensure consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness in the design process. But creating a design system that syncs with the development process can be daunting for designers. That's where no-code tools come in. With their user-friendly interface and intuitive drag-and-drop functionality, no-code tools make it easy for designers to build design systems that align with developer specifications.

4. Designer mental model- No-code tools also shift your mental model. As a designer, you typically think only about user flows, but as a developer, you also need to think about how data flows. No-code tools help bridge that gap and allow you to think about both. When I first, started using Webflow, I realized that the "pixel-perfect screen" is a flawed metaphor.

5. Launch ideas quickly- With no-code tools, you can validate your ideas and perform A/B testing without relying on developers to build a quick prototype. This helps you understand which features are important to roll out and which can take a backseat. You can even build MVPs and test them before finalizing the product for development.

6. No-code + Code- It's also worth noting that no-code tools don't have to be an either/or situation. Many people believe that no-code tools come with limited functionality, but you can use them to build MVPs and then extend their functionality with code. To do this, you'll need to evaluate certain tools and features to understand if it's possible to achieve your product goals through that platform in the long run.

In conclusion, no-code tools are a game changer for designers. They make it easy to familiarize yourself with basic coding concepts, optimize the design handoff process, shift your mental model, launch ideas quickly, and even amalgamate no-code and code to build fully functional products. Even though learning any no-code tool has its own learning curve, it comes with fewer barriers to entry compared to learning to code. Most of the no-code tools have adopted visual mediums to make that learning curve easier. So, designers, it's time to embrace no-code tools and take control of your designs like never before.

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Best,

Ankita Gupta