A quick starting point for no-code developers
As a bunch of friends started migrating from other areas into technology and a partner asked me to write a quick text about “how to be successful as a no-code developer” I’ve decided to post this here.
Do the sets, do the reps.
Daniel Pink separates drive (in other words, motivation) into three pillars: autonomy, mastery, and relatedness. I would risk saying that you won’t be able to reach the other two if you don’t have some level of mastery, and for that you need practice.
As Chris Do would say, sticking with something long enough for success to show up is a fundamental requirement for achieving extraordinary results. Do the courses, read the documentation, ask for help, talk to your colleagues, try it from another angle, make mistakes, get up and do it again and again.
Discern problems from solutions.
Is my client bringing me a problem or a solution? At some point, every client will jump to precipitated conclusions, but they are working with all they know. Separating a problem from a solution is not just a skill, but our responsibility.
Features are the way technology symbolically addresses problems. In other words, they are solutions, but for each problem, there’s a solution and we must be aware of it so that we don’t use guns to change bulbs.
Not all tasks are entitled to be automated.
“We need a comments section. That means we should have a ‘like’ button, a reply feature, aaahm…. What else does Instagram do? ah yeah, and definitely emojis, emojis everywhere.”
After a long time of designing, discussing, and developing, we launch the comments section and after two weeks we decide to delete it. As a new no-coder, delivering features might come faster than you think, but still, we need to be wary that early optimization is a thing and a task must earn the right to be delegated to technology.
When the destination is clear, we don’t mind the bumps on the road.
Stakeholders are much more comprehensive with our work than we expect once they know the scope and what are the priorities. They will only be open to understanding the challenges and unknown risks of the project once they can see the map and how it is prioritized.
Sometimes there’s no right and wrong.
The tough questions we face are not about what is right and wrong, those are the easy ones. The real questions are about what is more right, or what is less wrong. There’s so much about building a digital product that is intangible and we must trust the process of doing it, again and again, learning and adapting along the way.
Learn how to sell and negotiate.
The first “language” every no-code developer must know is sales. That means actively listening to people and being of service. Listen to discover, not as a means to say whatever is on your mind. Don’t pitch, ask questions. Marketing, sales, negotiation… They are the art of bringing forth to the world your best work.
5 highly valuable books for a new no-code developer
Highly recommend reading them in order.
The Goal — Eli Goldratt
This is Marketing — Seth Godin
SCRUM — Jeff and JJ Sutherland
Never split the difference — Chris Voss
Shape up! — Ryan Singer
Highly valuable people/profiles to follow
CrashCourse101 for Webflow theory
PixelGeek for Webflow practice
CharliMarieTV for Figma
thefutur for Design and Career
Flux for Webdesign and Career
