What is the best nocode frontend compliment to xano

Chad Lewis

Hey all just want to draw on the knowledge of giants that have come before me and ask what is the best frontend tool to compliment a xano backend.
Obviously xano provides so much power in the backend side of things without using code, but do any of the frontend tools provide enough power to keep up.
I’m a bubble expert but obviously there is well documented shortfalls, somewhat biasely I think bubble is at the forefront when it comes to a front and backend combination. However it also falls short of the best in either category. At this stage it feels likes it’s still the best option as a no code frontend even if the api calls can be a little slow at times.
I’d love to hear others experiences linking xano to alternate no code frontend technology and the pros and cons they have experienced.

Unknown

I came from Bubble and I agree that it’s easy to use for simple applications as it offers both frontend and backend but pushing it a little will show that they start to struggle to keep up. One of the biggest gripes I have (and also among the community) with them is the uncertainty and fluctuations when it comes to api calls and backend processes where processes can timeout for no reason.

Right now I use webflow and I’m super happy with it. The only thing is that I need to code the front end javascript which isn’t crazy difficult with the help of google and stackoverflow. Combining it with Xano, I get a frontend UI that I can put together very quickly and a backend that is reliable, stable, secure, and has quick responses. For me, Webflow + Xano is the winning combo.

Riaan Backer

we moved to weweb.io and is working brilliantly. check it out

Chris Coleman

Hi, Chad. Great question. The cool thing about Xano is that we are essentially "frontend agnostic", so if the frontend you're using now isn't quite meeting your use case, you can move to another and continue to use Xano as your backend. If you end up having any specific problems, we're here to help!

Brett Lewis

I am a Xano noob and in the process of looking around for front-end apps , primarily for internal systems for my small business.

I've looked at a few... 
• weweb.io looks very interesting for public-facing apps - to me it looked like a better bet than webflow (caveat : I have very limited experience with both).
• uibakery is looking like my top choice for internal app front ends, though I am keeping an eye on frontly and budibase (caveat : again my experience with all of these is low).

I'd love to hear other perspectives...

Tim Tyler

Recently we’ve been looking into AppMaster because like Xano it is completely no-code with definable logic flow. Still putting it through the paces though. 

Very interested in what everyone has tried. 

We’ve looked at Webflow, Bubble, Bildr, WeWeb, AppGyver, and several others. Our problem is that we need to build SaaS style apps for business process but want to work 100% no-code. 

Lachlan McPherson

 you might be interested in checking out - https://www.wized.io/  for your webflow coding & workflows. 
There is a xano user  who is using Wized + Xano and is even making some courses for it now. 

Lachlan McPherson

Hi 

We're in the same boat at the moment. We've narrowed the list down to Bubble, WeWeb, Bildr in terms of building a SaaS style app. I've still got Bubble as the most proficient, but I think with WeWeb / Bildrs focus on frontend they will be catching up soon enough. We're sticking with bubble for the time being. 

We've yet to start work on our mobile app, but will be using a different platform for that, perhaps:

Appgyver
Adalo
FlutterFlow. 

Unknown

Wow Wized looks like a great tool to speed up development even more. Thanks for pointing that out to me! Gonna go fiddle around with it.

Lachlan McPherson

 feel free to update me with how you go, I'm not a webflow user but have been looking into switching from WordPress. If wized proves to be a useful tool, I think this would do enough to make me switch. 

Tim Tyler

 We are looking for that high speed tool that allows us flexibility but doesn’t require us to build from the empty page. Translative not prescriptive yet prebuilt common components. I recently spent a lot of time looking into Bubble Canvas template but even then there was a huge learning curve on where to add the backend calls. I’m looking for that front end equivalent to Xano. These guys just made a great tool!

Tim Tyler

I’m wondering which front-end tools people have found are best for passing the user’s authentication instead of an app key to Xano? I like that I can manage tennant filtering with the Xano token.  I don’t like managing users within the front end tool and then calling Xano with a single key. Or worse yet, the tools that allow you to role base the user as a user of their tool. App edit permissions, etc. 

Chad Lewis

Side question does anyone with experience around these app builders know if they are able to do background location requests. Use case is for a uber style app where I would like to track a driver even if the app is not onscreen

Riaan Backer

 - when it comes to SAAS systems, your biggest decision is how you architect your system and customer data segregation, not so much tooling anymore

Tim Tyler

 I hear you. For us the front end tool is important because we need to move quickly. So the tool is a matter of speed. Architecture and design is usually the same regardless because we are using the same backend. The only difference out there on architecture that I have seen is AppMaster with true business logic abstracted to a middle tier. 

Felipe Letelier

I use weweb and bubble, to keep it simple, Bubble offers you speed and ease of use, but integrating external data sources is a little bit painful and I hate how repeating groups render. Weweb.io on the other hand, is a bit slower in therms of productivity, but it makes you feel that your external data sources are natively included in your app (as Bubble with their data bases and workflows). The UX it offers is also great! If you setup everything correctly, you could feel like you are working with Bubble 2.0 and the UI/UX is much better.

From my point of view, Weweb.io has the potential of becoming the Webflow of web apps, which is a lot to say as there are literally a lot of people trying to hack their way through to use webflow as their front end.

Felipe Letelier

 any platform that allows you to use code should be able to do this by using the Geolocation API, it is not hard to integrate: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Geolocation_API

PD: Just noticed the background requirement, for this type of apps I would look at mobile apps builders, like Draftbit, Appgyver and Flutterflow. These offer native apps, so you can get access directly to the phone functionalities without having to depend on the fragile cache of your users browsers.

Felipe Letelier

 I believe any builder that has natively incorporated API calls which you can configure are able to do this. Bubble for instance, you can pass the user token and use this to handle the tenancy, Weweb, draftbit, flutterflow and many other also can do this. The trick is where do you store the token once your users authenticate themselves.

Tim Tyler

 Exactly! That seems to be the wall we hit often. 1st to be able to bypass their authentication and second store the token safely. 

Felipe Letelier

 Weweb solved this integrating Xano natively, I suggest you to take a look at it 🙂!

Paul

 and Tim Tyler, we might be facing the same challenges, how are you guys getting on with your SAAS research/build?
 
I own an existing Niche market web app .net MVC5, MSSQL, on Azure/Azure storage. It, in the freelance/talent management space. I am looking to make the code base a more general SAAS platform, with a strong PWA based front end if possible and a shift NO CODE if at all possible to break free of developer reliance/dependency to a greater degree.

Tim Tyler

We've been stalled on the SaaS development due to other projects. I've been looking into the various front ends and talking to some of the teams behind each.  Each seems to have their benefits and drawbacks right now.  I'm not sure which is best.  That said, I'm working with Azure on a different project and have worked with MSSQL for decades.  I will hands down say Xano is way better and easier than dealing with the hosted Azure servers. So at least for us, we have a backend winner.  Now to find the Goldilocks front-end for us.

Paul

 yes Tim, it's a new emerging and increasingly packed area. and for a non techie like me confusing. I guess my problem largely is around lack of tech understanding leading to a desire to break free of the tech/code, so no code appeals. But that is made tough by my lack of tech understanding, viscous circle. Plus the fact I have investment so much time effort and money in building my current web app/code base, it's not a small product, but it's restricted in terms of growth in being a one app niche market product. So do i try to port it to no code, adapt what i have to a wide reach SAAS model, or start again nocode? Either way I can see the obvious perceived upside of xano or a.nother over my traditional code/.NETASPMVC5/MASSL AZURE, but how do i make the jump, quickly and easily? and what front end/business model? 

Kevin Wasie

I love WeWeb. I tried using Bubble before, but could not stand it. It just felt horrible to me to use and a steep learning curve. I'm 90% through an MVP on WeWeb and have loved learning it that I'm going to keep developing with it other projects.

Lachlan McPherson

Hi All, 

Speaking with WeWeb they will be soon removing the ability to pre-render pages and moving towards a single page application like bubble. This will detract from SEO but will improve functionality for SaaS style apps. So I think their future as a saas front end in particular is looking even brighter.

Inayet Hadi

Hi   I would say what do you want to achieve and then find a frontend solution that helps do that with ease, make sure they have an awesome community. I use goHighLevel and I view it as SaaS mean they provide the app and support it, and I can then add as many sub-accounts without any additional costs. However, if you want to build your self something that can scale enterprise wide like Xano can for the backend, I think FlutterFlow can do the same for the frontend.

Update: I tried FlutterFlow and unfortunately it seemed they were hell-bent on making sure that I used their choice of backend ie, Google's firebase, and I said no thank you.

For me and my needs goHighLevel as a frontend works for me is because I can just use it with their open APIs as I see fit, since I am a one-human team, frontend is not my preference that is why GHL appeals to me.

Warning, FlutterFlow because based on Google's Flutter tries you to use Firebase, my personal preference is Xano because at the foundation Postgres database is being used, with best in class orchestration services Kubernetes , docker the reliable container services. 

In the end you have to have trust that what frontend or backend service you use you have to trust the top leadership they are continously improving and making better the services you are using, and has an active community. I feel that way about Xano for my backend, and hope that FlutterFlow does the same on the frontend.   

What is right for one person/company might not be for you, as everyone has different needs. 😀