You can raise enough funds to build a piece of software, but there’s a limit to shortening its timeline if you need to write tons of code. No-code is a software development technology that does away with manual coding, and Bubble is at its pinnacle.
Bubble is arguably the most powerful and pioneering no-code platform. At the moment of writing, more than 1.6 million users have signed up with Bubble, and this speaks highly of its dynamic features, templates, marketplace integrations, and scalable infrastructure. Scores of successful startups and enterprises use Bubble to build, test and scale their cloud-based platforms.
For example, Beelango, an e-learning platform for more than 100,000 users, was built with Bubble. Bubble-built applications are secure, reliable, scalable, and inspire investors’ confidence. This is reflected by Dividend Finance, another Bubble-powered platform, which recently raised $365 million in venture capitalist funding.
So, what can Bubble do for your project? Are there any limits to what this revolutionary no-code tool could do?
What is Bubble?
Bubble is the most advanced no-code web development platform that allows you to build complex web apps up to 10 times faster and more affordably. A Bubble is a perfect option for building functional websites, internal tools, and web apps, event mobile apps. It offers speed, efficiency, security, flexibility, reliability, and simplicity.
Bubble takes software development to uncharted yet promising territory and leaves the burden of heavy coding. Instead, users build applications with visual tools, where they can drag, drop and interlace various programming elements to provide functionalities to the app.
It goes beyond replacing coding with intuitive visual programming elements. Bubble has a complete ecosystem that provides users with every feature, tool, plugin, and integration imaginable to push a functional app to the market. It makes it possible to build an app like Airbnb or Facebook.
Modern consumers demand intuitive, visually appealing software interfaces, and this is where Bubble excels. With its array of design features, builders can design responsive and dynamic content that looks great on mobile and desktop browsers.
App deployment involves infrastructure provisioning, database setup, cloud storage, security, and more, which can take a toll on a startup’s resources. Bubble abstracts all the backend processes and automates deployment to secure cloud-hosted servers. This allows you to focus on app functionalities and other parts of your business.
With its extensive marketplace and plugins, you can integrate the Bubble app with external services to track, monitor, and grow your user base. For example, Bubble allows you to set SEO meta that helps your web app rank better on Google. It also provides email integration that lets you improve customer engagement and conversion.
Bubble not only spares you the worry of messing up program codes but also allows collaborative efforts for ongoing projects. It supports dozens of collaborators, which is good for a rapidly growing startup. Team members are updated on project changes in real-time, which improves efficiency.
Why we build on Bubble
We have tried several no-code platforms, and we've decided to stick with Bubble for our client's projects. These are the reasons that we based our choice on.
Cooperation and control
Some no-code tools are restrictive in their usage, but not Bubble. With Bubble, we have complete control of every functionality, visual, integration, database, and software component.
Bubble is versatile in the sense that it could replicate the flexibility of coding with visual elements. Despite its slight learning curve, Bubble has allowed us to take on projects of different natures and complexities with ease.
Pixel-perfect visuals
Bubble offers unmatched finesse when creating visually appealing interfaces that impress even seasoned UI/UX professionals. Its pre-designed templates allow us to quickly set up the web app's UI framework. With its host of design tools, we could make slight adjustments along the way or try different layouts without messing up the underlying logic.
Highly extensible
Despite being a comprehensive no-code solution, Bubble is by no way isolated from 3rd party ecosystems. Thanks to its API (Application Programming Interface) connector tool, we can enhance an app with new functionalities, such as adding a Stripe payment gateway. Or we could write a custom plugin and connect it to the Bubble project we're working on.
Scalability and Security
Bubble runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and inherits the latter's scalability and security. Instead of paying for unused resources, Bubble allows us to monitor app usage metrics and scale compute resources accordingly. This translates into significant savings for our clients.
Apps built on Bubble also enjoy top-notch cloud security granted by AWS, including AES-256 encryption for stored data, continuous monitoring, and recovery points. Such features allow us to develop fault-tolerant and robust web applications.
Pre-designed templates
Rather than spending precious resources on visuals, we choose from Bubble's 800+ free and paid pre-designed templates. There's an extensive selection that covers popular market segments, including gaming, CRM, on-demand services, and marketplaces. These templates help our clients to visualize ideas and present them professionally to investors. At Sommo, we develop our own templates (Real Estate Agency, Client Service Marketplace, TikTok Collab Marketplace) to empower creators with Bubble tools.
A growing number of plugins
We use plugins to enrich our client's app with new functionalities, and Bubble has an extensive list of plugins that more than serve our purpose. Whether it's video conferencing, data analytics, or email autoresponder, we're likely to find a plugin within Bubble's official or community list. And if we don't, we can build one and publish it to Bubble's marketplace. Here are some plugins, developed by Sommo:
- Natively - iOS/Android App Wrapper
- AI Avatar Generator (free)
- Avatar Generator (free)
- Freshdesk (free)
- Browser Fingerprint (free)
- Amplitude (free)
- Crisp API / Crisp.chat (free)
- Avatar Cropper
- Stripe Express (free)
Shared and dedicated servers
You have the flexibility to host your Bubble app on shared or dedicated servers. For testing or a newly-launched MVP (Minimal Viable Product), it makes sense to host the app on shared servers. As the app usage grows, you have the choice to upgrade to a plan with higher compute capacity or migrate to a dedicated AWS cluster.
Enhanced Mobile App Experience
Bubble has limitations in building native mobile apps, but it could build web apps that deliver native experience on mobile devices. In projects that require uploading the Bubble app to app stores, we use various tools to customize the app's appearance for mobile. Then, wrap the app into either a progressive web app or a native app (or you can do it with web-to-app converter Natively).
Affordability
Using Bubble spares us from paying costly license fees for software development tools, servers, databases, and hosting. Bubble offers a free plan to get started with the platform and different tiers of paid subscriptions with relatable compute resources.
What You Can Build with Bubble
Bubble’s flexibility and extensive features allow you to build various apps.
CRUD apps
CRUD is the acronym for create, read, update and delete. Most of the apps that you’ve encountered are CRUD apps. These apps allow users to manipulate data in the database, have a visual interface, and use API to integrate with other services. Facebook, Trello, and Amazon are examples of CRUD apps.
Progressive Web Apps
Progressive web apps (PWAs) are built with web technologies, such as HTML, CSS, and Javascript. However, they look indistinguishable from their native counterparts. You can install PWAs on the home screen and use the apps offline. Spotify, Uber, and Pinterest are famous examples of progressive web apps.
Real-time apps
These apps facilitate information exchange, either in text, audio, video, or remote sharing in real-time. For example, Zoom, TeamViewer, and Discord are apps that support real-time communication.
Responsive apps
Responsive apps automatically realign themselves when loaded on mobile, tablet, and desktop screens. They provide optimal user experience regardless of device.
API-Connected app
Thanks to Bubble’s integration-friendly platform, you can build an app that leverages the functionality of 3rd-party plugins. For example, you can use the Stripe API instead of building one. Or you could create a custom Bubble API and make it available to its community.
What You Can’t Build with Bubble
These are existing limitations for Bubble users.
Native apps
Bubble has yet to include support for iOS and Android native apps, although there are indications that it will do so in the future. It does, however, offer a workaround by wrapping your Bubble apps to a PWA or native app with tools like Jasonette and BDK. However, this is not the ideal solution if the app needs to access native functionalities such as cameras and low-level hardware.
Games
Bubble is not the best tool to build visually complex or 3D games. With that said, you can use Bubble to create simple games that can be interactive and engaging.
Bubble Success stories
Bubble’s meteoric rise in the low-code landscape has also brought success to scores of startups and entrepreneurial ventures. These are some inspirational examples.
Beelango
Built with Bubble, Beelango is a language education platform that makes learning fun, interactive and engaging. Beelango’s founders turn printed textbooks into fun-filled online courses and enjoyable side activities. More than 100,000 users have signed up with Beelango and embarked on cultural-centric language experiences.
Treepoints
Treepoints is an environmentally-conscious app that allows companies to manage their carbon footprint and support high-impact green initiatives. By using Bubble’s integration tool, the app derives data from the World Bank, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and the University of California, Berkeley to estimate the user’s carbon footprint. Users can sign up for its various plans and earn rewards while contributing to environmental protection projects.
Bubble Apps by Sommo
At Sommo, we have our fair share of success stories, where we help clients build various apps quickly and affordably.
Upside
We spent $12,500 and 2.5 months building this SaaS app that helps companies set up and manage employee benefit programs.
Rozmova
It took us 2 months and $10,000 to build Rozmova. Rozmova is a mental health app that connects people with psychotherapists. Users can get matched with qualified psychotherapists by answering interactive questions or searching for one with specific keywords.
Curri
The Curri case is about creating two internal business apps for a logistics company in the USA - a mobile app for drivers and a web admin panel for warehouse managers. We designed and developed the apps for Curri really fast. But as a measure of success, we have determined that Curri drivers and managers never come back to paper cooperation.
Explore more Bubble-based projects built by our team.
Summary
Without a doubt, Bubble is the most favored no-code development platform by software experts and founders alike. It is powerful, agile, and offers the possibility to build a limitless range of applications. Be it a marketplace, trading app, or social media platform like Instagram, Bubble is capable of turning your ideas into reality.
Bubble simplifies the entire app development process. You can leverage its ready-made templates to pin down your visions and expand its functionalities. Building an MVP on Bubble takes significantly less time and cost than conventional development practices. Because it’s a no-code platform, you don’t have to maintain a large support team after releasing the app.
Bubble also spares you from the technicality of infrastructure provisioning, scaling, and backend management.
Get in touch and explore limitless possibilities with Sommo now.
