Developing Health Apps: No Code vs Custom-Made

FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPinterest

Healthcare apps are now more popular than ever. If you're a business owner, this particular trend can be an opportune moment to develop your own health app. However, app development isn't as simple as you think.

You have to consider various things, such as the features to include, the appearance you want it to have, and most importantly, the strategy you'll use for app development. For that, you usually need to decide whether you'll use the no-code approach or custom-made approach, but if you don't know what these are, you're bound to get confused. On that note, you might want to continue reading as this guide explains the difference between these two strategies.

What Are No-Code Development Platforms? 

As the name implies, no-code development platforms (NCDPs) are tools that allow the user to develop applications without coding. Instead, you'll have a graphical user interface with numerous elements, all of which can be used to aid in app development. To build a website, you simply have to drag various elements to where you want them to be, and the platform will do the coding automatically. If you want to build a no-code app, that's basically how NCDPs work.

What Is Custom App Development? 

Custom app development is the opposite of no-code development.  Unlike no-code apps, where you can easily copy the format if you're using the same NCDP as the developer, custom app development requires a great deal of coding, and the final output is often unique.

Furthermore, most custom-made apps are designed to accommodate the needs of a specific group of people. So, for example, you want to develop a healthcare app for your employees' needs, a custom app will be the best choice. In that case, here's a detailed guide on developing a healthcare app. But for now, you might want to know first how these two strategies differ.

Difficulty 

It's difficult to judge which is easier to develop between a no-code app or a custom-made app. First of all, if you want a custom health app, you simply have to hire a skillful programmer, or if it's a complex app, a team of programmers.

Regardless, you don't have to do anything. Perhaps you'll need to pitch some ideas here and there, but that's it. The same goes for no-code applications.

You can hire programmers to do the job for you. But if you want to save money, you can just do it yourself. After all, it doesn't require much skill to use NCDPs. Either way, you don't have to spend your own time or effort to develop the app, so there's no clear winner this time.

Development Costs 

If you intend to build a custom healthcare app, you're looking at an app development cost of around USD$50,000. This, however, will vary depending on the complexity of the app. It can go as low as USD$10,000 or as high as USD$500,000. On the other hand, if you want to build a no-code app, you need to first look for a no-code development platform.

Most NCDPs cost around USD$20 a month, and some are even free. So, if you don't want to spend too much on a health app, the no-code approach is the better choice.

Reliability 

When it comes to reliability, it's safe to say that custom health apps are much more reliable. For starters, if your programmer built the app from scratch, they should know how it works. Therefore debugging and maintenance will be a piece of cake. Any other issue occurring within the app is also relatively easy to handle. However, if you use a no-code development platform, you won't know much about the coding, so you're bound to face struggles if there's an issue.

Profitability 

If you can craft a custom-made health app using a unique idea, then there's a huge chance you can reap the benefits in the future. But, there's also the risk of losing money, especially if you spent a fortune on the development.

Contrarily, if you create a no-code app, there's only a slim chance to gain profits. Especially since it'll be like everyone else's health app, but you don't have much to lose. Simply put, custom-made apps have high risks and high rewards, while no-code apps boast low risks and low rewards. So, according to these factors, which is better?

Final Verdict 

If you don't have much time, and you think your idea is unique and it'll become popular regardless of its appearance, then a no-code application would be your best bet. However, if you have money to spare and you simply want to develop a health app for your employees, having a custom-made app is the best choice. At the end of the day, it depends on your employees and your situation.