With a degree in economics and a master's from a business school, I can tell you I was far from imagining that I would become a developer* ! No-code*.
At the beginning of 2021, I couldn't code, and I had absolutely no idea how HTML and CSS work.
Early 2021 wasn't that long ago... And yet now people say about me:
Florian? He's become a "geek"!
(Implying that he knows how to create websites, sitting behind a computer)
In this article, I will share my personal experience with no-code tools, the discovery of coding, and the web in general.
So how did I go from a business education to becoming → a web developer using no-code tools?
1. What software should I use to create a website?
End-of-study internship, January 2021.
Together with Thomas, we decided to replace our end-of-study internship with an entrepreneurial "project." "Project" in quotes because it's still common for us to be asked the infamous question...
"So where’s the project at?"
When we wanted to launch a business, after 5 years of studying sales, we were ready! Ready to sell. All we needed was a tool to enhance our credibility: a website.
So we sought out a tool to help us quickly sell our groundbreaking offer. A fantastic service, unlike anything seen before! (At the time, we were preparing for a true revolution: energy, business costs, HR; we thought we could do a lot, a lot of things... 😂). Anyway, we’ve reassessed since, but that's not the topic today!
1.1 Discovery of no-code tools
While searching for a tool to create a website and preparing our market attack strategy, we discovered one no-code tool after another. Wow. Wow. Wow. (It was a refreshing change from PowerPoint, I assure you). Right away, we felt a huge potential that was especially untapped in most French companies. In short, with all these tools, we now had to make a choice.
1.2 How to choose a no-code tool?
To make our choice, we, of course, compared prices and features, read various blog articles, and watched YouTube videos. In hindsight, I would say the two most important points when choosing a no-code tool are:
- The amount of resources available for learning the tool for free online (tutorials, videos, training, etc.)
- The community supporting the tool (forums, Slack channels, etc.)
In short, we searched so much that our business plan had time to change. Now we were going to curate selections of no-code tools (a no-code stack for experts) and integrate them into small and medium-sized businesses in France.
1.3 Webflow, an obvious choice for me.
Now that we were going to sell tool stacks to "boost your business" (that's what was Headings 1 on our homepage, which is partly where the name Digidop came from), we started creating our website. Our version 1. (A year later and we're between version 3 or 4 already? Haha).
The more time we spent creating this site on Webflow, the more we thought that this tool was a revolution. Today we still sell a selection of tools, but centered around Webflow.
2. Why No Code?
The question might seem obvious, but I can't code. (Maybe a bit more now). But at the start, it wasn’t even a question. Even today, I don't question it.
- I don't have time to code; there are better things to do and focusing on your clients, right?
- There are developers who are way better than me at this, so I prefer to let them code perfectly for us, the no-code makers
2.1 I can't code
The answer is simple; I can't code. So the question of creating an application or developing a website didn't arise. We needed no-code tools. We had understood drag & drop with PowerPoint during all those years of study, we were armed.
2.2 Create quickly
Oh yes, and above all, it's incredibly fast. The "automatic" code editing with drag & drop allowed us to create and launch our first MVP on Webflow in just 5 days. Yes, just 5 days, about the time of a design sprint.
2.3 Hiring a Web Developer?
We didn’t have any money. With €500 in capital, that’s tight. We would have sunk right after the kick-off
3. What’s the difference between No Code and Low Code?
Webflow is a visual code editor. The drag & drop system allowed me to focus on learning about "blocks" and web structures step by step. By building in no-code, we learn little by little the functioning system of CSS and HTML on the web. Especially in Webflow, with the system of classes and combo classes.
3.1 Want to go further?
The no-code still (for not much longer in my opinion) has limitations. When we started working with large companies, very specific client requests arose. Yes, the famous clients who push you to the next level! To respond successfully, we had to... learn to code!
Learning yes and learning quickly to solve tool blockages on client projects. This methodology, with the problem right in front of me, helped me quickly learn HTML and CSS. Is it survival instinct or the desire to unlock the next level of the game? Who knows? In any case, learning coding through real examples with specific cases has greatly benefited me in terms of industry knowledge. Projects that were once "difficult" have now become "easy" for me.
To summarize, developing in low-code allows me today to have no-code products with more features and, most importantly, to find solutions for clients stuck on a project.
3.2 Understanding the basics to become a better no-coder
Our goal is to make Digidop the French reference in no-code development on Webflow. By learning the technical basics of web construction (HTML and CSS), I've made huge technical progress regarding the quality of my no-code creations, which I can now share with our entire team. Very useful when we sell web platforms on Webflow.
4. How to learn coding?
So how? Hehe, I’ll share three ways that helped me a lot
4.1 No-code tool forums!
Forums are filled, filled, filled with code! Already written for you! It’s the best resource for learning. Ask Google, look at the scripts, try to understand them, copy/paste them, and test!
4.2 Google Developers website
Google explains everything. You just need to search.
4.3 Test snippets of code on sample projects!
Test → fail → retest → succeed
