No-Code Technology

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So what exactly is no-code?

No-code is simply a name given to specific types of tools that negate the need for custom development. Instead, no-code tools allow individuals and organisations to create solutions & systems at the fraction of a cost of normal development projects. Not to mention at a much faster turnaround time too.

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Categories of No-Code Tools

‍Automation

The wonderkid of no-code tools in my humble opinion. No code tools that fit under this category allow organisations to automate tasks and processes within their workflows - Allowing them to save tens, if not hundreds of hours per month. The benefits of automation can be seen in the following organisation areas:

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1. Accounting & Invoicing

From issuing invoices, to doing online payments. Apps such as Quickbooks and Xero are the perfect automation tools to assist you with your accounting and invoicing. Allowing you to automatically complete certain bookkeeping tasks in a much quicker turn-around than if tasks were to be done manually.

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2. Business Development

Business Development is the backbone of many organisations, so it's understandable why teams spend so long on finance related tasks such as; responding to and tracking potential business opportunities, or updating spreadsheets. So why not make the whole process easier by using a tool such as Apollo or Pipedrive. Both of which include features that make business development easier for their users: From automatically sending messages to specific customers after adding them to a database, to automatically scheduling in meetings with contacts after a set period of time. Both of these business development tools are renown for making the sales cycle more easier and intuitive.

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3. Project Management

Primarily the easiest automation tools to start using are project management tools such as Asana, Basecamp & Notion. Such tools are currently dominating the digital market thanks to their aesthetically pleasing interface and ease of use. They're also perfect for both individual and team use, regardless if you're a productivity nerd like myself, or belong to a team who are trying to be more organised and productive. It's never been easier to find a project management tool to help you get stuff done.

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4. Marketing
As someone who's first ever job was in Marketing and has been marketing from 2015, I can personally attest to the huge increase in the number of marketing tools that allow users to automate marketing specific tasks. One obvious example is email newsletters such as Convertkit and Mailchimp. Social media scheduling tools such as Buffer and Hootsuite have also proven to be massively popular within marketing departments, enabling multiple posts to be posted across numerous platforms on a specified date/time.
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Lastly, for those who don't have a departmental/specific need per se and are just looking to dip their toe into the automation pool, I'd recommend checking out one of the below tools:

1. Integromat
‍ 2. n8n
‍ 3. Zapier

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Website Tools

Given how much we use websites nowadays, it's crazy to think that there used to be a time when only a Developer could make a web page, let alone a website! Oh how times have changed. Nowadays there are no shortage of website builders to help people create fully fledged websites, or even a fundraising landing page. Below are the most well-known ones on the market.

1. Carrd
‍ 2. Squarespace
‍ 3. Webflow
‍ 4. Wordpress
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N.B I'd recommend a good research session before deciding whether or not to use a website builder. As though they make building websites a whole lot easier - Creativity, copywriting and patience are still the secret sauce to the website creation process. So if you're unsure if it's the right option for you/your organisation feel free to give us a shout, to see which solution is best suited for your website needs.

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Workspace Tools

Thanks to the power of tools like Airtable, Coda, Notion & Trello - Making your organisation more productive just got a whole lot easier. Whether you're fed up of faffing with Microsoft Excel (check out Airtable) Or your good ole pen and paper to-do list is letting you down (check out Notion) there are a whole suite of tools on the market that can help you get more done on a day to day basis and operate more effectively.

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Why choose no-code tools?

Despite there being a lot of options on the market, you may be wondering why you should do away with your current tools and ways of working in favour of no-code options. After all it takes time to set up new software and tools. So below I've rounded up the reasons why we think no-code tools are a must-have for any organisation:

1. They're much more cost effective - Allowing organisations to save money on lengthy custom development projects.

2. It's easier to develop new CRMs and systems at a faster pace than if they were to be built from scratch using a developer/development team.

3. The very nature of no-code means you can customise and tweak things as a team instead of relying solely on one developer, or development team. So you can wave goodbye to the days of waiting weeks on end to hear back from a developer about that one typo you wanted removed from your site like yesterday.

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Our take on the no-code movement.

So there we go, I've given you a quick low-down of what the no-code movement is, as well as a plethora of tools you can use to begin your no-code journey. However, if you're still curious about how no-code can help optimise your organisation, get in touch with us here at JMK & Co. Not only have we built our own website using popular no-code tool Webflow, we've helped numerous companies such as CAST, EMS and Thirty Percy to power-up their systems using no-code tools.

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Lastly, for those of you who are already familiar with no-code, let me know what you're favourite no-code tool is over on LinkedIn. As I'm always up for having a chat with people about all things no-code.

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