Low-code development
Low-code vs. Traditional Development. How to Choose?
Rano Salieva
February 21, 2025
In a nutshell
Since the emergence of software development, companies and developers have tried to maximize dev productivity, lower costs, and reduce resource usage. They did it with the help of various development methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, etc.). They also optimized resources by outsourcing coding to external suppliers or hiring a development team.
Low-code presented an opportunity to develop applications differently.
In this article, we explore low-code vs. high-code, the benefits and challenges of low-code development compared to traditional development, and how to choose the right approach for your team.
What is Low-code Development?
Low-code development is programming that utilizes models at higher levels of abstraction. In other words, low-code development uses drag-and-drop components and a graphical user interface, which requires little to no manual coding.
The main characteristics of low-code development are:
- Visual Programming
The ability to utilize the graphical interface with drag-and-drop components for building apps. - Data Management Layer
Where data can be modeled, manipulated, and presented visually. - Workflow Layer
Where the flow of user interactions and workflow automations are defined. - Integration Layer
Where services are connected via an API. - Deployment Layer
Where applications are deployed in the cloud or on the machine.
For more information on low-code development, read the article “Guide to Low-Code Development: Demystifying Low-Code Application Delivery”
If you like to try low-code development right away, sign up for ondeva - the low-code platform that allows you to develop full-stack web applications in a few days.
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What is Traditional Development?
Traditional development means using programming languages like Python, Java, GO and PHP. In traditional development, the application is developed from scratch using low-level source code.
The main characteristics of traditional development are:
- Reliance on Manual Coding
In traditional development, professional developers are hired to use programming languages like Java or Python and create functions and algorithms through code. - Syntax-specific Language
Programming languages have pre-defined syntax and rules that developers must follow. - Development Environment
Traditional development implies establishing a development environment with the tools for code editing, debugging, etc. - Test, Code Review & Debugging
Testing uncovers problems in software and increases the developer’s confidence in the program’s correctness. Code review is a systematic study of the source code by others. Debugging means localizing a small part of code to debug it or fixing the bugs identified by users after the release. - Vision Control
Programmers use version control to coordinate in a team. Versions can be reverted, compared, pushed or pulled, and merged. - Framework & Libraries
In traditional coding, frameworks and libraries are used to provide pre-written code so that developers don’t have to code from scratch.
Low-code Development vs. Traditional Development: the differences
We will review the differences of low-code vs. traditional development based on five factors:
- The role of developer
- Productivity
- Customization and flexibility
- Security
- Maintainability
The role of developer
Traditional Development
Employs professional developers who play a major role in the process. The developers control and structure the development process, write code, and deploy applications. In a developer-centered environment, user feedback is taken into account, but the development process is conducted under the assumption that the developer knows best.
In user-centered environments, users can plan and coordinate the development process, and collaboration between the users and developers is closer.
Low-code Development
Doesn’t separate the role of a developer and a user. In the component-based paradigm, users combine knowledge of business requirements and limited technical knowledge to produce applications.
The user can build and modify custom applications without the development team involved. However, in that scenario, the user enters a relationship with the low-code platform’s provider who owns the components.
Productivity
Traditional Development
In traditional development, software development productivity is restricted by the productivity and experience of programmers working on the project. Apart from the programmer’s experience, coding requires debugging and testing which increases the time spent on software development. A number of ways are used to increase coding productivity, for example:
- Getting the best of people in terms of productivity via management and incentives
- Developing an integrated project-support environment where processes are more efficient
- Getting rid of rework with better planning and prototyping
- Writing less code by using code generators or context-aware AI code suggestions
Low-code Development
Low-code Development employs programmers with less technical knowledge, and many dev operations are automated. Low-code uses the possibilities of the low-code platform to improve productivity.
Studies show that low-code development increases productivity for both software development and software maintenance tasks. According to experiments where low-code developers and Django/Python programmers were involved, low-code development took 504 minutes (8.4 hours), while code-based technology took 1,369 minutes (22.8 hours) to develop an app. In some cases, the actual time to solve a task with low-code was close to 0 thanks to the availability of ready-made features.
In software maintenance, low-code showed 2.5 times faster results compared to programming with 233 minutes (3.88 hours) as opposed to 573 minutes (9.55 hours).
Customization and Flexibility
Traditional Development
In traditional development, programmers have full control over all aspects of code such as architecture, data workflows, and more.
Low-code Development
Low-code platforms utilize pre-built components, so their customization options are limited. Some low-code platforms offer the possibility to input a custom code.
Security
Traditional Development
In traditional coding, security means following common secure coding practices, for example, CWE/SANS Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Errors or OWASP Top 10 most critical web application security risks.
Security in coding includes:
- Identifying vulnerabilities through manual code review, static analysis tools, or the OWASP code review guide
- Prioritizing vulnerabilities through the CVSS score calculator
- Mitigating coding errors
- Documenting decisions and errors through secure coding review templates
In traditional coding, the development team alone is fully responsible for security.
Low-code Development
In low-code development, security is handled on the side of the platform, which raises concerns about security and data protection regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA. Data is also stored on the side of a supplier. However, according to Forrester, these concerns might be unfounded. In particular, low-code development platforms can be more secure than traditional coding, as low-code providers handle security measures on their “own” clouds.
Additionally, low-code providers must think deeply about security measures as the low-code environments are reused for many applications; these kinds of security measures are hard to implement for a single coding project. Applications deployed on customer data centers can be less secure because, in this case, customers take responsibility for configuring security settings.
Maintainability
Traditional Development
To achieve maintainability, in traditional coding, code is evaluated by a human or with the help of automation. Several aspects are considered:
- Cyclomatic complexity - a metric that indicates the complexity of a program by counting the number of linearly independent paths through code.
- Maintainability index - a metric that provides a score indicating the maintainability of the code base based on cyclomatic complexity, lines of code, and code documentation.
- Code duplication assesses the number of identical code segments in the codebase. High levels of code duplication can lead to lower maintainability.
- Depth of inheritance tree - a metric that measures the inheritance hierarchy for a class. Limiting the depth of the inheritance tree can increase the system’s maintainability.
And many other aspects.
Low-code Development
Maintaining the interface in the low-code environment is pretty straightforward, the developer edits the existing components or adds new ones by choosing a module and connecting it to the database. Low-code applications are lighter in code compared to traditional coding so don’t require much effort to maintain.
The maintainability of low-code applications is often challenged. According to 2023 KPMG data, 43% of enterprises are concerned about the maintainability of low-code applications.
The low-code platform can go through changes, with some components being updated or deleted on the vendor side and replaced by new components. This creates extra effort in maintaining the low-code projects.
Citizen developers are not concerned about maintainability and prefer a short-term perspective to release the app quickly. This can lead to chaos and affect maintainability.
Surveys of IT experts point out that documentation is important for maintenance in low-code and if “.....components are well documented and designed for easy maintenance over a long lifecycle….” - it can improve the maintainability.
Pros and Cons of Each Approach: Low-code vs. Traditional development
Here are the pros and cons of each approach:
Pros
Cons
Low-Code
Development
- Fast application development
With visual modeling tools and automation of most dev tasks, low-code reduces the time needed to develop, test, and deploy applications.
- Reduced costs
Low costs come from the reduced need for developers, efficient use of resources, and a shorter learning curve compared to learning coding from scratch.
- Business and market responsiveness
Low-code makes it possible to prototype fast with quick iterations and constant user feedback.
- Better collaboration between dev and business
Business stakeholders have the same access and ability to build applications as professional developers, which streamlines communication and requirements checking between the departments.
- Less time spent on training
There is less time required to learn low-code compared to obtaining a computer science degree.
- Elimination of the Shadow IT
Shadow IT are unsanctioned tools and programs that business users often employ in building applications. With low-code, the risks of shadow IT can be reduced.
- Less tedious programming
A range of programming tasks are automated in low-code, making it easier for programmers to focus on more strategic and creative endeavors.
- Need for some logical thinking or coding background
Citizen developers may need more technical expertise to build adequate solutions. While the visual interface is easy, the workflow and data layers might present a challenge, with the potential inability to create, maintain, or troubleshoot the software application.
- Small room for creativity and innovation
Low-code software development is sometimes dubbed as a "Lego-block" way of developing solutions where the majority of the things are already preset for the user which could hinder the motivation to look for innovative dev solutions.
- Vendor lock-in and data ownership
Changing a low-code vendor is quite expensive because there are big costs associated with the asset transfer and the necessity to learn a new platform. Additionally, there are concerns about data privacy, security, and GDPR compliance.
- Limited customization
With low-code development, a high level of customization may be difficult to achieve. Non-skilled users may struggle to come up with complex business processes or outstanding design features.
Traditional
Development
- Customization
Variations and customizations are easy to achieve with traditional coding and there are almost no limits.
- Control
You have full control over every aspect of the application, including the development tools, environment, and technologies used.
- Not for re-architecting legacy systems.
- Time and cost investments
Traditional development requires more advanced coding skills and more time and resources to code, test, and deploy.
- Lack of collaboration
Collaboration needs to be instilled and monitored to ensure it works, as opposed to low-code where collaboration happens naturally.
- Slowness and rigidity
Every development task needs to be worked on from scratch with extensive coding and testing cycles, which slows down development and can lead to missed opportunities.
Low-Code Development
✓ Pros
- Fast application development
With visual modeling tools and automation of most dev tasks, low-code reduces the time needed to develop, test, and deploy applications.
- Reduced costs
Low costs come from the reduced need for developers, efficient use of resources, and a shorter learning curve compared to learning coding from scratch.
- Business and market responsiveness
Low-code makes it possible to prototype fast with quick iterations and constant user feedback.
- Better collaboration between dev and business
Business stakeholders have the same access and ability to build applications as professional developers, which streamlines communication and requirements checking between the departments.
- Less time spent on training
There is less time required to learn low-code compared to obtaining a computer science degree.
- Elimination of the Shadow IT
Shadow IT are unsanctioned tools and programs that business users often employ in building applications. With low-code, the risks of shadow IT can be reduced.
- Less tedious programming
A range of programming tasks are automated in low-code, making it easier for programmers to focus on more strategic and creative endeavors.
✕ Cons
- Need for some logical thinking or coding background
Citizen developers may need more technical expertise to build adequate solutions. While the visual interface is easy, the workflow and data layers might present a challenge, with the potential inability to create, maintain, or troubleshoot the software application.
- Small room for creativity and innovation
Low-code software development is sometimes dubbed as a "Lego-block" way of developing solutions where the majority of the things are already preset for the user which could hinder the motivation to look for innovative dev solutions.
- Vendor lock-in and data ownership
Changing a low-code vendor is quite expensive because there are big costs associated with the asset transfer and the necessity to learn a new platform. Additionally, there are concerns about data privacy, security, and GDPR compliance.
- Limited customization
With low-code development, a high level of customization may be difficult to achieve. Non-skilled users may struggle to come up with complex business processes or outstanding design features.
Traditional Development
✓ Pros
- Customization
Variations and customizations are easy to achieve with traditional coding and there are almost no limits.
- Control
You have full control over every aspect of the application, including the development tools, environment, and technologies used.
- Not for re-architecting legacy systems.
✕ Cons
- Time and cost investments
Traditional development requires more advanced coding skills and more time and resources to code, test, and deploy.
- Lack of collaboration
Collaboration needs to be instilled and monitored to ensure it works, as opposed to low-code where collaboration happens naturally.
- Slowness and rigidity
Every development task needs to be worked on from scratch with extensive coding and testing cycles, which slows down development and can lead to missed opportunities.
In which use cases to choose a low-code platform vs. traditional development?
Some use cases can benefit from low-code development, while others are better off with traditional development.
You can choose low-code in the following use cases:
- Optimising Developer Workflows
According to a study from the University of Maribor, Slovenia, saving time is the number one use case developers would choose a low-code platform for. Productivity gains from low-code are derived from the integrated environment which requires less effort to synchronize previously developed work. - Extending existing legacy systems
Improvement of the company’s agility is the second most popular use case of low-code development. For example, legacy systems, built on outdated software, can be extended with custom apps without having to rewrite the existing code. - Automating repetitive development tasks
The third most popular use case of low-code platforms is eliminating repetitive tasks, such as input forms development, GUI design, O-R mapping, MVC implementation, and deployment in different environments. - Increasing collaboration within the team
This is the fourth most popular use case. The low-code approach reduces dependency on developers. Business users can create apps without much effort. Citizen developers and app developers can work together, sharing business requirements and technical knowledge. - Building an MVP for investors
With low-code, you can prototype and build a first MVP and show it to investors. You can test your idea early and secure investments before spending significant financial and time resources.
The best way to decide if low-code is for you is to evaluate project requirements. Get acquainted with the low-code platform before making a decision. Most of the low-code platforms have a free tier where you can build a full-stack web application up to a certain number of pages for free. If you feel like your use case might benefit from low-code development, you can sign up for ondeva below to test if it is right for you.
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As a low-code platform built by developers, ondeva helps you focus on creative tasks.
Start for free. Pay only after 100 monthly page views.
Sign-up and get building in seconds - no payment, credit card, or demo required.
You can choose traditional coding in the following use cases:
Building mission-critical or complex applications
Most developers agree that low-code is not suitable for mission-critical systems that might affect business and society when they fail, for example, electronic power systems, or aircraft operating systems. The same goes for complex specialized applications.
Maintenance of several products is required
If a large portfolio of apps needs to be maintained or large datasets and complex operations are envisioned, traditional development may be better suited to handle these needs. Additionally, traditional development is more suitable for building apps for different platforms, mobile, web, or various operating systems.
Conclusion and how to choose the right approach
There is no definitive answer to whether low-code is better or worse than traditional development. Ultimately, it comes down to available resources and the application areas. For projects where rapid application development and productivity are crucial, low-code development is the best route, especially if there is a lack of dev resources. With projects on a tight deadline or of limited complexity, low-code can also be a good choice. Traditional development shows the best results when creating complex, mission-critical systems where customization, prolonged maintenance, and control are required.
When choosing between low-code and traditional development, consider the needs, goals, and constraints of each project. In some cases, a hybrid approach might be the answer.
Lastly, the question of innovation and creativity remains. It is not clear whether low-code promotes more innovation compared to traditional development. Low-code components, as found by research, are not innovative in their core and have been provided by vendors in one way or another for a long time. So, there is no significant technical innovation going on within the low-code platforms.
However, innovative ideas can be tested and implemented using low-code platforms in a short amount of time. Traditional development, on the other hand, allows for more exploration and improvisation but requires more time.
As we continue to explore the landscape of low-code development, stay tuned for updates on the blog!
FAQ
Traditional development requires writing a lot of code from the ground up. You need a thorough grasp of coding languages and frameworks. It allows full customization but takes a long time and uses many resources. Low-code development makes this process easier. It offers a visual setup with ready-made templates and a drag-and-drop interface. This reduces the time and resources needed to write code by hand.
Low-code platforms work best when you need to move fast and get things done. They're great for creating test versions or letting people who aren't tech experts build apps. These platforms also come in handy when you're short on skilled coders. Companies find them useful for projects that need lots of changes or updates.
Low-code doesn’t meet complex or unique business needs and customization requirements. Low-code apps might not run as well as those built in the traditional way, which affects performance. Sticking to one platform can trap you with a vendor making it hard to switch or connect with other systems later on. Some low-code platforms also own your data.
To start with low-code development, gather project requirements and choose the low-code platform, for example, ondeva. Learn the basics of the platform through documentation and tutorials. Start prototyping your first app using a visual interface, define workflows, and create data tables, if needed. Preview your project and share it with users for feedback, then refine and deploy.
