Several no-code platforms allow solving different problems. Some are more oriented to front-end while others also support back-end as well.

While website builders such as Squarespace, Wordpress or Drupal are very popular, these are template-based, meaning that you can only install pre-built templates and customize them to a certain limit. If you want a truly custom solution you would have to open a text editor and code it yourself!

In this article, we are interested in canvas-based platforms as they allow for more flexibility. If your goal is to build truly unique experiences, canvas-based platforms are the way to go.

The main no-code platforms for building fully customizable websites and web-apps are Webflow, Bubble and Sktch.io. In this article, we are going to cover the main differences, strengths and weaknesses of each platform to provide you with guidance in choosing the tool to use for your next project. Transparency notice: This blog is maintained by Sktch.io's team so we can't say it's totally unbiased!

Webflow

Webflow is a front-end website builder loved by the web designer community. The interface is clean, well thought out and straight to the point. Various elements can be drag-and-dropped to the canvas and then easily customized. All major CSS properties are available.

Pros

• Where Webflow shines is the animation features that it provides for making unique user experiences.
• Another pro of Webflow is the fact that you can export your project as a static HTML website. All resources are bundled so you can easily host it yourself if you want and further customize it through coding.

Cons

• The main limitations of Webflow are on the back-end side of things. Webflow recently added a very basic CMS feature allowing you to dynamically generate pages from a database, but that feature is still extremely limited.
• No possibility to natively do simple stuff like adding a comment section or have private member areas. For this kind of simple features, you'll have to embed code to your pages and rely on external plugins.

In summary, webflow is great for making beautiful landing pages or portfolios, but you won't be able to build data-driven and functional websites/apps with it.

Bubble

For very long, bubble was the only platform that truly allowed building the backend without writing code. The platform is great for building MVPs (Minimal Viable Product) and test out an idea before hiring developers to build the real thing!

Pros

• Possibility to create workflows and build dynamic websites.
• Bubble gives you access to a wide range of plugins and integrations. You can use these to quickly build something.

Cons

• Bubble is super slow (Google it and you'll see)! This usually happens if you use complex database queries or simply if you rely on too many external plugins/apis.
• Very steep learning curve! The goal of No-Code is to be able to develop software faster and more intuitively. Although all software needs some kind of training to be used effectively, for Bubble, you need a LOT of training which goes in contradiction with the whole concept.
• Workflows are very limited and the main reason is that they are linear. You cannot easily do things like loops for example, or just filter out the elements in a list.
• Doesn't provide a way to export projects and self-host them.

Sktch.io

Sktch.io is by far the best platform out there, it only has pros and no cons (told you, we're a little biased)! But seriously, Sktch.io is a newcomer and is inspired from both Webflow and Bubble. It combines the friendly user experience offered by Webflow on the front-end with back-end capabilities that exceed what is possible with Bubble. In two words, Sktch.io is easy-to-use and flexible!

Pros

• Clean user interface. Easy to use. Everything is done visually.
• Full Back-end capabilities. You can really do anything you want with Sktch.io's unique visual programming tool. You are not limited to linear workflows, you can add modules and connect them to build any logic you can think of. Create loops, conditions, database requests...

Cons

• New platform -> smaller community. (but that also mean that if you need help you can reach out more easily)
• Doesn't provide a way to export projects and self-host them. (this feature is in our roadmap though)