What Are No/Low-Code Platforms? Looking Beyond the Hype

In recent years, no-code platforms and low-code platforms have taken the tech world by storm. Tools like Builder.ai, Replica, Bubble, and Adalo promise to democratise app development, reduce costs, and speed up delivery — often targeting startups, non-technical founders and business owners with tight timelines and budgets (and buzzwords).

And while these platforms have their place, there’s a growing gap between the promise and the reality. So before jumping in, it’s worth asking: What are you really getting — and what are you giving up?

What Are No/Low-Code Platforms?

No-code/low-code platforms are tools that allow users to design and deploy apps without writing traditional code. They offer pre-built templates, visual builders, and plug-and-play integrations to help users build apps quickly, often through drag-and-drop interfaces.

• No-code platforms require zero coding knowledge.
• Low-code platforms allow some customisation using small code snippets or logic blocks.

In theory, this sounds great, especially for building MVPs. But in practice, these platforms come with some serious trade-offs.

You Don’t Actually Own the Product

One of the biggest red flags? You often don’t own the code, IP, or infrastructure. Many no-code platforms host your app on their servers and lock you into their proprietary system. If you stop paying, your app may simply disappear and migrating away is rarely straightforward.

At HITORI, we’ve had multiple clients come to us after hitting a wall with no-code tools. They wanted to grow, integrate with other systems, or secure funding — and quickly discovered their app was a black box they didn’t control.

Scalability Hits a Wall

No-code platforms are great for simple prototypes or less important internal tools — but they often struggle when your product grows.

• Need a custom integration with a hospital or enterprise system?
• Want to implement advanced logic or AI features?
• Want to connect to a 3rd-party SDK or API?
• Require security, compliance or fine-grained permissions?
• Want a custom design with nice UX, and UI

You’ll quickly find yourself outgrowing the platform. Worse still, rebuilding everything from scratch — properly — can take just as long as if you’d built it right the first time.

Investor and Acquisition Red Flags

If you’re planning to raise capital or eventually sell your app/platform, owning the IP and infrastructure matters. Most investors or acquirers will want to know:

• Do you own the codebase?
• Is your product technically sound and scalable?
• Can it be extended or improved without reinventing the wheel?

Apps built on proprietary no-code platforms often raise red flags in due diligence, and can limit your exit potential.

Speed Isn’t Everything — Quality Is

Yes, you can build something fast with no-code tools. But fast doesn’t mean future-proof. What’s the point of launching in 4 weeks if you have to rebuild in 4 months?

At HITORI, we focus on building real products — custom-designed, scalable, and fully owned by you. No no-code shortcuts. No technical debt disguised as speed. Just clean, robust technology built for long-term growth.

So, When Do No-Code Tools Make Sense?

To be fair, they’re not all bad. No-code platforms are great for:

• Testing an early idea or proof-of-concept
• Internal dashboards or workflows
• Non-critical tools with limited functionality

But if you’re building a product your businesses operations rely on or you want to scale, monetize, or raise funding for — investing in proper engineering from day one will save you time, money, and headaches down the line.

Looking Beyond the Hype

There’s nothing wrong with exploring new tools — but just like with AI and LLMs the no-code buzz can be misleading. At HITORI, we believe anything worth doing is worth doing right.

That means building platforms:

• With clean architecture and secure infrastructure
• Designed for growth, flexibility, and integration
• That you own and control fully

If you’re ready to move beyond prototypes and build something real, something that lasts, we’d love to help.