And, mainly, those factors come down to cost and approach. It is not cheap to hire a developer to build an app for you, even if you hire someone with less-than-professional experience. And the more complex a mobile app you need, the pricier it will get in the long term. As such, looking for ways to build your own mobile app on your own time might be a sound alternative. Thankfully, software tech is evolving at such a rapid pace that building your mobile app without prior coding knowledge has become a possibility. You might be wondering, though, “Doesn’t this limit my ability to build a dynamic and feature-full mobile application?”. I think there are many answers to this question, so let’s try and break it down.
The evolution of mobile app builders
A few years ago, building mobile apps using builders was not precisely the most reliable route to take. The reason is that you couldn’t build anything more than a static app; without dynamic features. These days, this is no longer the case. This is because the newest generation of mobile app builders allows for extensions, dynamic widgets, and streamlined real-time features. And, for the most part, as a small business owner, you don’t need much more than that. The above example showcases how you can incorporate an entire YouTube channel inside your mobile app. And, rather than adding new videos manually, the app will dynamically update the video list in real time. So, you can apply the same methodology to other areas of your application, too. For example:
Content. Push out new content entries to your app as they happen, whether it’s from your blog, content system, or an eCommerce store.Push notifications. Most modern app builders are now fully capable of providing push notification features to your self-built mobile app.User portals. Want to create a place where your users can all hang out together? Something similar to Instagram or Facebook? With the newest mobile app builders, this is a possibility.eCommerce. I think many people looking to build a mobile app are looking specifically for eCommerce-related features. Well, good news! This article will cover app builders that let you build an entire eCommerce franchise without ever writing a single line of code.
And, of course, there are many other benefits and features you can incorporate. So, to learn more, we’re going to recap the best mobile app builders on the market today. You might be surprised just how capable such builders are and how many millions of people are building mobile apps this way. Let’s take a closer look.
AppMySite
AppMySite’s app creator helps all website owners to build native mobile apps without writing a single line of code. You can build Android and iOS apps within minutes and publish them to the app stores. No matter which CMS or web technology your website is built on, AppMySite can support it. Here’s how AppMySite works:
Connect: Connect your website and app with a few clicks. Doing this will ensure your website’s data is constantly synced with your app.Personalize: Customize your app’s native elements, screens, and menus to fully control how your app looks and works.Publish: When your app is ready, download the app files from AppMySite and submit them to the app stores. Apps built on the platform are carefully constructed for approval on Google Play and Apple App Store.
During the process, you will be able to power your app with a number of premium features. Some of them are:
Chat: Integrate your website’s chat software with the app and chat with your users in real time.Language support: Enable users to select a language of their choice within the app.Push notifications: Send unlimited push notifications to your customers and users to always keep them engaged.Monetization: Connect with Google AdMob and monetize your app by displaying ads.Universal payment support: Get support for any payment gateway active on your website.Universal shipping support: Get support for all shipping methods on your website.
You can also manage your app within AppMySite effortlessly. Features like Analytics, Auto-publish, User management, and more allow you to streamline app maintenance post-launch. You can get started with a free account and upgrade later when you’re ready to publish your app. Paid plans start at $3/month.
AppyPie
AppyPie has helped more than 3 million creators to build a fully functional mobile app with nothing but visual building blocks. On top of support for Android and iOS, AppyPie also offers full-on PWA (Progressive Web Apps) functionality. So, your mobile app will be viewable in a web browser like a regular website. This pretty much solves two issues at the same time. The way AppyPie works is extremely straightforward. You start with your own pre-determined application idea and then turn your focus on the “features” that AppyPie offers. The said features act as the building blocks of whatever application you wish to build. As an example, here are some of the categories in which the features are divided into:
SocialMultimediaeCommerceContactInformation
If you go for Social features, you’ll be able to add Directory listings, Member cards, Form Builders, User folders, and much more. You can customize each feature for different pages of your mobile application. AppyPie offers free assistance for getting your apps published in Google Play or the Apple Store to top it all off. It’s extremely convenient and offers a centralized dashboard to manage all your app needs.
Adalo
How do you feel when you hear about designing your own mobile apps without any coding skills? Amazing, isn’t it? Adalo does just that by helping you design new apps and turn them into reality with simple steps. Gone are the days when you needed any developer essentially for designing and development. You will be capable of completely controlling your design by using drag-and-drop components. With Adalo, you have the freedom to add database configuration and interactions automatically. If you have an existing API, then Adalo will integrate with the same. With a single click, you will be able to launch the true version of your mobile apps on the application stores for Android and iOS. Various things you can do with Adalo include:
Choosing a prototype and creating a real app through spreadsheets and databasesDragging and dropping usable building blocks for creating the app’s interfaceLinking all the pages together without missing a beatChoosing your listing from card lists, simple lists, create your own or image gridsAdding forms, calendars, payment options, and a lot more.
Apart from all these, you can design your own dashboard to update each user’s data automatically. In addition, you can add icons to make it easier for customers by using navigation bars. You can use different shapes and sizes for icons, buttons, images, etc., and add text. Furthermore, add push notifications for specific users, user authentication, and also device actions. Besides, you can set relationships between objects and manage users’ data efficiently, and even equations are also possible with Adalo. Last but not least, you can connect multiple apps with a single shared database. Start designing your mobile apps for free, or choose an existing plan starting from $50/month.
Composer Pro
You don’t need to learn coding to design an app. Composer Pro by AppGyver is a professional platform that allows you to easily build applications for any device. Composer Pro never lets you compromise with the quality and design implementation. You will get many style properties that will give you a pixel-perfect experience. With Composer Pro, you can produce highly optimized native apps that have access to every native device. Additionally, you will find hundreds of logic as there is no limit to your thought, whether it is maths, array operations or engineering, UI logic, etc. Composer Pro covers it all. You will get 500 building blocks, and you can also share your own composing components with the community. Their powerful theme engine offers a library of UI components so you can mix & match different components to use them together, and it’s actually powerful. Furthermore, you can integrate any API using their REST integration wizard and also use pre-built integrations. Once you are done with your application, you can ship it with a single click and then release it to make it available for users. Furthermore, you get debugging tools, deployment pipelines, animation engines, plugins, support of multi-language and font, and security. Composer Pro is 100% free that includes publishing apps to Google Playstore or App Store for use on the web, mobile, TV, desktop, and tablet; hosting your site on CDN (if you want), and many more.
GoodBarber
Create an app for mobile devices with GoodBarber with an App builder, making your work more accessible and convenient. GoodBarber uses the best technology that helps you create any app quickly, such as an eCommerce app, content management app, etc. With various design options and capabilities, you can offer a quality experience to your users/audiences. GoodBarber also lets you create a PWA (Progressive Web App) that works on any device. You can allow access to use PWA from any browser with a simple URL. In addition, GoodBarbar offers advanced features like push notifications, offline mode, etc. Coming to the advantages of using App Builder, you can benefit from a single subscription instead of getting a huge invoice amount from developers. Things you can expect out of GoodBarbar include:
iOS native app that is developed in CAndroid app that is developed in JavaPWA is developed in Angular and compatible with every web browserA back-office and simple interface to manageUp-to-date appsExpert support
Furthermore, you get 500+ features, push notifications, CMS (to create an image, video, text, sound, or more), universal links, auto-login, one-click payment, a permanent cart, and many more. Also, you can start your own chat channel to interact with users conveniently. Enjoy the advantage of UGC (User Generated Content), which allows your audience to participate in developing resources in the app. For example, they can send videos, articles, and even images from their phones. Choose your suitable plan and avail yourself of a 30-day free trial without giving out any credit card details.
BuildFire
It’s fair to be skeptical of the potential of certain mobile app builders. A team of developers generally builds the most dynamic and interactive apps. So, naturally, one has to question the potential of a mobile app-building service. Fortunately, BuildFire is not only extremely capable but also fully transparent about its features and available tools. The main feature of BuildFire is its plugin system. Every mobile app you build with this platform will start through a selection of plugins and widgets. The plugins cover all major areas of functionality and tooling for specific mobile applications. E.g., If you want to build an eCommerce app, you can choose between Shopify, Square, PayPal, and other integrations. The app-building interface is extremely flexible. You can start by designing the Home page and then work your way up to additional pages and content. Down the line, you will be able to add real-time features like blog content, user profiles, push notifications, and much more. Furthermore, BuildFire customers can choose one of more than a dozen templates to accelerate the application building process drastically. Every feature is explained either through a video tutorial or a written blog post. Also, BuildFire frequently hosts live Webinars to help its customers learn more about the types of apps you can build. It’s an extremely customer-friendly brand. Lastly, there’s the question of pricing. The Basic plan starts at $89 per month and is sufficient for basic business needs. The Professional plan goes up to $149 per month and offers additional features like in-app purchases and push notifications. And finally, you have the Enterprise plan at $499 per month, including all of BuildFire’s features. All apps you create with BuildFire are fully compatible with iOS and Android devices.
Thunkable
If you have ever tried to learn to program, you’ve likely heard of the platform Scratch before. The platform uses a “blocks-based” interface for building apps and learning to program along the way. Thunkable seems to have inspired itself a lot from the approach of Scratch, as their main interface for building mobile apps is remarkably similar. This gives you access not only to building mobile apps quickly but also helps you learn new tricks along the way. Basic applications are not as hard to build as one might think. That said, Thunkable is still a visual mobile app builder and offers a smooth Design interface. The above image shows the interface you’ll be working with most of the time. The Blocks selection will show you how your app interacts with objects, similar to that in Scratch style. Very useful if you plan to learn mobile app programming yourself eventually. Last but not least, the pricing is also extremely appealing. Anyone can use Thunkable to build mobile apps for free. The premium plan ($21 per month) will give you more storage space, as well as personalized branding options.
AppInstitute
AppInstitute has grown from a hopeful startup to a full-fledged brand serving more than 150,000 customers worldwide. Their intuitive mobile app builder services are tailored specifically for small business owners. If you’re a busy business owner, don’t know much about code, and need a mobile app – AppInstitute has plenty of enticing features to help you out. One of AppInstitute’s successes is how easy it makes to build a mobile app for your business needs. The entire process is condensed into four short steps while giving you plenty of opportunity for customization.
Choose a template. – You can bootstrap a fully functional application from a pre-built template. AppInstitute covers areas like events, sports, restaurants, service-business, and more.Add branding elements. – Once you have a template, you can go all out with adding branding elements. E.g., A custom logo, social media links, photos, and much more.Customize content. – Edit everything from page order to text. All changes can be added from a custom app builder interface.Publish instantly. – Apps are ready whenever you need them. As such, you can also publish your apps in the most popular mobile stores with a single click.
Last but not least, AppInstitute doesn’t charge you until you decide to publish your newly created application. The premium pricing starts at roughly $40 per month for the least expensive plan.
Andromo
If you’re looking to build mobile apps and make money simultaneously, look no further than Andromo. This Android-only mobile app-building platform is one of the best in the world at what it does. Their seamless app-building interface provides a straightforward process for creating personal or business apps on the fly. One of the reasons why Andromo is so successful is because of its native integration with socially-oriented design elements. It’s one thing to build an app that provides resources, but entirely another when your community can interact with those resources in real-time. Whether you’re building a music library or a travel directory – Andromo strives to give you the necessary tools to do so. All without needing to write a single line of code. On top of that, each mobile application you create with Andromo is generated in the Native Android code. And can be published on the Google Play store without much hassle at all. Lastly, Andromo is known for its making-money features. Everyone knows how popular the mobile market is these days. And as such, there is plenty of opportunity for earning money while publishing new apps. Andromo helps you in this department through its own advertising network and that of AdMob.
Building mobile apps without code
Can you build functional mobile apps without knowing how to code? Absolutely. The apps listed here in this post exemplify that sentiment perfectly. And, the great news is that this technology is going to continue evolving. Expect more and more mobile app builders to support third-party integrations, which will make it more useful to create dynamic apps.
Conclusion
In conclusion, know what features you’re looking for in your mobile application. This will help you narrow down the platforms which can best serve your needs. And, likewise, understand your budget options for the foreseeable future. While some platforms can be costly, you have to remember that custom mobile app development can cost upwards of $50,000 or more.
