In the world of online commerce, having a robust, high-performing and unique storefront is crucial. There are various tools and platforms to help businesses achieve this, each with different levels of complexity and customization options. This blog post will spotlight the three main models of frontend development — no-code, low-code and high-code — highlighting their pros and cons.
Additionally, we'll discuss the importance of collaboration between marketing and technology teams in frontend development and introduce commercetools Frontend, the optimal solution for creating powerful digital experiences.
Understanding no-code, low-code, and high-code tools
No-code tools are designed for users with little to no technical knowledge. These platforms utilize visual interfaces and drag-and-drop tools to enable the creation of applications without writing any code. The primary advantage of no-code tools is their accessibility. They allow non-developers, such as marketers or product managers, to build and modify applications quickly.
Low-code platforms require some technical knowledge and offer pre-built components that can be customized with minimal coding. These tools strike a balance between ease of use and flexibility, allowing semi-technical users to create more complex applications than no-code tools permit.
High-code tools, such as frontend frameworks that enable developers to create frontends from scratch, are for those with extensive technical knowledge and involve building applications from scratch using code. This model offers the highest level of customization and scalability, suitable for complex and large-scale applications.
Why collaborative frontend development is vital
Choosing the right frontend solution is more than a technical decision; it involves understanding the needs of various stakeholders and promoting collaboration. Modern businesses cannot afford a one-size-fits-all mindset when designing their digital experiences. Successful web development demands a collaborative approach where both marketing and technology teams work together seamlessly.
When developers are isolated, tasked with handling all aspects of content assembly and delivery, the process becomes time-consuming and stifles innovation. Conversely, when marketing teams are empowered to manage certain aspects of the frontend, such as content updates or UI tweaks, developers can focus on more complex tasks, driving true innovation.
By incorporating no-code capabilities into a high-code environment, businesses can leverage the strengths of both models. This hybrid approach allows marketers to create impactful customer experiences quickly, while developers retain control over the technical aspects, ensuring robustness and scalability.
commercetools Frontend: The best-in-class FEaaS solution
For businesses looking to balance ease of use, flexibility and full customization, commercetools Frontend offers an optimal solution. commercetools Frontend facilitates a collaborative approach to application development, integrating no-code and high-code capabilities.
The new base has brought us miles forward in terms of speed and flexibility. [Developers] can now implement things within a very short time that were previously unthinkable.
HEAD OF DIGITAL, APOLLO-OPTIK
No-code business tooling: Empower digital and marketing teams to craft captivating commerce sites without depending on IT support. With intuitive, no-code Business tools your eCommerce and storefront managers can create, manage and localize entire commerce sites without having to worry about code or depending on developers to get the job done.
High-code customization: Allows developers the flexibility to leverage pre-built components to accelerate delivery or build custom frontend experiences from the ground up, enabling them to design and deliver bespoke digital experiences that adjust to evolving customer expectations and market dynamics.
OOTB SEO-friendly frontend: Ensures superb user experience (UX) with fast-loading, highly performant storefronts across devices.
Accelerated time to market: Reduce development time from months to weeks, enabling quicker deployment of new features and updates.
Maximized flexibility: Offers a blend of prebuilt components and full customization options, giving developers the freedom to innovate.
Industry standards compliance: Adheres to established industry standards, ensuring reliability and compatibility.
Resource efficiency: Utilizes standard components and functionalities, minimizing maintenance efforts and maximizing innovation.
Ready-made integrations: Seamlessly integrates with other API-driven solutions, enhancing overall system functionality.
Comprehensive infrastructure: Includes hosting and support, leading to significant time and cost savings.
Composable, best-of-breed approach: Flexibly change vendors in your frontend tech stack as business needs evolve.
Store launchpads: With Store Launchpads as part of commercetools Foundry, you can develop stunning storefronts with a comprehensive, ready-to-use eCommerce template that leverages the functionalities and features of commercetools Composable Commerce and Frontend. In addition, this store launchpad follows the latest UX and UI best practices, enabling businesses to launch digital storefronts aligned with buyer expectations from the get-go while accelerating time to market.
The right tools for the job
Choosing the right OOTB (out-of-the-box) software for building performant and unique storefronts requires careful consideration of your business' technical capabilities and needs. While no-code, low-code and high-code tools each have their place, catering to specific teams within an organization, the reality is that a hybrid approach that fosters collaboration between business/marketing and technology teams is a winning strategy.
According to Daniela Zbick, Head of Digital at Apollo-Optik, with commercetools Frontend, “It’s now possible to design individual customer journeys that can be optimized at any time.” This is a testament to how this platform stands out as a comprehensive solution that combines the best of all worlds, offering no-code capabilities for rapid, market-responsive changes and high-code options for deep customization and scalability.
Stay tuned for our next article, where we'll dive deeper into the commercetools Frontend architecture, exploring our robust framework, developer tools, workflows, delivery and hosting capabilities. In the meantime, download The Business Leader Guide to Digital Storefront Technology.
Ankita is a product marketing professional at commercetools and is passionate about developing value-based product messaging to communicate the vision and value of their products to the market. She has lived and worked in five different countries and navigated roles in the consulting and financial services industry before transiting into eCommerce post MBA.