No-code platforms have gained traction in recent years as they allow developers to create powerful applications with minimal coding requirements. The potential to launch sites, web apps, and mobile apps quickly have made no-code platforms popular with business owners who need a fast and flexible solution.
For users of these platforms, the ability to host their applications efficiently and cost-effectively is paramount. Choosing the right hosting platform can have a huge impact on your overall project success.
Unfortunately, many no-code platforms are designed so that the hosting solution has to be acquired from the vendor itself. This restricts the choice available to clients. In this blog, we understand hosting flexibility and why businesses should look for no-code platforms that offer it.
What is Hosting Flexibility?
Hosting flexibility is the ability to easily upgrade and configure a website’s hosting environment as it grows larger. This includes having the capability to move a web application from a shared hosting environment with limited resources to one with more robust capabilities and capacities like VPS or cloud ones.
Hosting flexibility enables organizations to build better, faster websites for their customers without worrying about moving to a new provider or investing in additional infrastructure too soon. Additionally, many domain hosting and web hosting providers offer feature-rich tools and user-friendly dashboards that make it easy for users to customize their setup according to their needs.
Unfortunately, many no-code vendors include “free hosting” options in their plans. This is not as benign as it sounds. The plans are usually already inflated to include the price of the hosting features. Moreover, it forces users to have to choose only a single hosting facility. In some cases, this might not serve their requirements (as we shall see in the next section).
Here is a list of popular no-code platforms that offer this kind of “included” plan:
- Shopify
- Squarespace
- ClickUp
- Wix
- Bubble
Why Hosting Flexibility is Important For Business
There are many problems that can happen if your business is restricted to a single hosting option.
Firstly locking yourself in with a certain hosting service keeps you at the mercy of their prices. For example, if a no-code provider increases its plan prices over the years, those who have used its services will have to pay up. This would be true even though the cost of hosting has not really increased significantly in the market. In fact, cheaper and better options keep entering the market every year.
Another issue is the lack of upgrades. Sometimes, for no code vendors, hosting is not the most important part of their business. Hence upgrading their hosting business is something they do quite rarely, and as a business, that can be very problematic.
Hosting capability decides how fast your web services and apps run. It also governs the safety and security of your primary customer interfaces. A lack of upgrades in these two critical areas could lead to a poor-performing website and put off customers.
Lastly, if you choose to work with a small no-code vendor, there is always the risk that the company might end up shutting its business. In that case, you might suddenly be left with zero web presence and no touchpoint with your customers.
What Should You Do?
Simple – always opt for a no-code vendor who provides the option to get your hosting done elsewhere. With the rise in the number of no-code solutions out there, there are a few such options already available in the market. For example, the Vahana cloud platform offers hosting flexibility in its plans.
There are a few others, such as Unstack, Framer, and Webflow. It is well worth your while to do the research and choose your no-code solution wisely.
In Summary
Hosting flexibility is important for businesses because it allows them to scale up or down quickly as their needs change. Make sure your no-code website builder offers hosting options so that you can safeguard your business when you create a website. The world of no-code CMS tools and web hosting is changing rapidly, so having options is the best way to protect your online presence.