I built a NoCode Visual App Builder that passes the turing test. AMA
How I started with shipr?
I had been freelancing for a few different projects in 2020 when I noticed a similarity in most of the web projects. They were all primarily just crud apps with a different UI per app. I was doing most of the same work among different projects, so that's when I realised I could automate a lot of it, and that's when I decided to build shipr.dev
The project
Shipr.dev is basically a NoCode Visual App Builder, that allows you to create Web Apps in React, based on NextJS. Since my primary focus with the app is to have it be super friendly with devs, It supports ui libraries like tailwindui or tailblocks, and plugins like mongo or firebase, with support for more coming soon. And the best part is there's no vendor lock in, so you could either deploy it anywhere, or export the source code and manually ship it. You can learn more about the project on the site.
Why is it better than other existing NoCode builders
- There's no vendor lock in, You can export the source code and host your project wherever you like.
- You get super clean code, that has passed the turing test, meaning it's indistinguishable from code written by a dev.
- You can use developer grade tools in your project, like mongodb without having to learn to code
- Scaling is much easier. Since you can choose the provider for everything, you won't be locked in to super high pricing.
So by using Shipr, You get all the pros of code, and no cons of using nocode. You can build a project yourself with developer grade code quality without having to learn to code yourself.
I'd love to get your feedback on what are your thoughts about the project, or if you have any questions for me, AMA
https://shipr.dev
P.S. I'm currently looking for beta testers for Shipr, So if you want to build a NoCode project, or are a react dev, DM me on twitter.
This is one of the most crowded space. How do you plan on differentiating yourself from hundreds of others?
You should probably be charging 10x what you're charging, at least.
I agree. I'm gonna be changing the pricing to around 5x soon, and then double that later on. Currently it's low cause I'm trying to get more users to sign up and use the app.
I purposely didn't sign up because I assumed the prices would go up and that added uncertainty.
Are you grandfathering OG users, or something? Would me signing up at this early stage and perhaps giving you feedback/testimonials be of any value to you?
Yeah, Initial users would be allowed to keep the old prices. The main reason the prices are this low right now is that I'm looking for feedback on shipr, and working closely with users to add new features as needed.
This looks interesting. We are building the no-code tool to build scalable backend systems at vadelabs.com. I am wondering how would you integrate it with backend APIs, is it something you are considering?
One can either use something like axios to add a custom backend, or choose to use an existing npm module that they can drop in and have everything else just work automatically. I'd open to adding support for your backend once it's V1, Ping me on Telegram/Twitter at yhdesai
Hey Yash! I just saw this pop up on WIP. It looks really interesting and I would be happy to be a BETA tester for one of my projects but when I say I’m No-code, I mean none. Zero. Will I still be able to figure out my way around things?
Rich
If you have used webflow before, You'd easily be able to use the starter plan.
About the professional plan, I'm gonna be introducing a new feature next week that would make it using that plan easier too without having to code
Do you need to learn HTML and CSS to use your platform?
It's not required, You could just use the existing components too. slight css skills would be needed only if you want to build a custom design yourself.
That is impressive and this sounds promising.
I’d be interested in seeing what your platform looks like in action. :)
I’ve tinkered with Webflow but haven’t built anything in it yet. I have a real basic understanding of HTML and CSS but haven’t used it. I had planned to build my next couple of projects on Softr but will likely work towards Webflow or similar for more customisation.