Developing in Betty Blocks
This section covers the fundamental features of Betty Blocks’ no-code platform that enable business and professional developers to build applications far quicker and easier than with traditional coding methods. Here you will also find a brief overview of the different types of applications you can build with Betty Blocks plus some guidelines for the various developer roles.
Platform architecture
100% cloud-based
The Betty Blocks platform is a 100% cloud-based development platform. That means no downloads or software patches on your side (ever) as maintenance actions are deployed from our server straight to you. It also means that you’re working in a real-time environment making all of your changes and updates visible immediately in both production and testing environments.
Hosting applications in one of our available cloud-servers makes Betty Blocks solutions lightweight, low-impact, and easy to implement within existing enterprise ecosystems.
Versioning
Thanks to cloud hosting, the hard work is done for you. Updates and new versions of the platform — along with the latest security, performance, and scalability features — are installed automatically as soon as they’re released. You can rest assured that every user is developing in the most up-to-date version.
Container deployment
Betty Blocks runs on Kubernetes — a platform for managing containerized workloads and services. It’s scalable and allows for continuous and instant deployment, automated rollouts and rollbacks, and easy management of storage systems.
Multi-user (branching system)
The improved branching system is a safeguarding measure. It will allow multiple developers to work on the same modules simultaneously, with the most correct change ultimately overwriting all others.
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Modular design
Applications in Betty Blocks are built primarily using pre-fabricated components in the platform which cover actions, data models, UI templates, and integrations. These components, built by our professional developers, are available in a drag-and-drop environment which allows platform users to create applications without a strict need for code or coding knowledge.
If you’re familiar with programming, the way that a no-code platform like Betty Blocks works is like the processes of abstraction and encapsulation. This process hides all but the most important data of a coded object in order to decrease complexity, increase efficiency, and speed up development.
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Developer roles
Betty Blocks is designed as a Rapid Application Development platform for multiple developer profiles. From professional programmers to tech-savvy business users who want to actively take part in the digital transformation process. Since these types of developers will have very different skill sets, the platform includes tools catered to each and their role in the software development life cycle. The table below is an example of what those roles should look like when starting with no-code.
Citizen developers
Citizen developers are a new generation of innovators who's business knowledge can be directly used to support an organization’s growing software gap. At their core, citizen developers are users who create business-focused applications to accelerate, automate, and optimize workflows. Within a no-code strategy, their role is to focus on creating the foundations of applications that are highly relevant to the end-users. Often this will mean they focus on interfaces, data collection, and basic actions rather than complex features.
In all cases, citizen developers should be onboarded, trained, and overseen by IT departments to ensure their progress and interaction with existing systems can be monitored.
No-coders
No-code developers are the middle ground between a professional or citizen developer. With more technical knowledge of coding languages or programming best practices, their function is to build more complex features of applications than a citizen developer might be able to. For example, using HTML to customize UI pages or Javascript to create dynamic forms for a customer portal.
Pro-coders
With comprehensive knowledge of traditional development and programming languages, your pro-coders are central to any no-code strategy. Their primary role is in governing active users in the platform to monitor projects, their progress, and ensuring security guidelines are followed. Outside of a project management function, their coding knowledge will be required for fully customizing UI pages or creating brand new modules.
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Requirements
Web browsers
By nature of web-based platforms like Betty Blocks, all modern browsers are suitable for running our development environment. In certain scenarios, you may want to carefully consider which one you use for various purposes. For example, HTML 5 functionality can be built into custom components but can only be utilized or tested through Google Chrome. Certain browsers such as Firefox offer better performance overall as well.
In most scenarios, developers will have the freedom to use whichever browser suits them best but for larger projects, IT should dictate a specific browser if needed.
Operating system
Part of the cloud package is that there are no strict requirements to run the My Betty Blocks development environment with regard to local operating systems. However, in all cases, project leaders should be aware that certain features or modules may be impossible to test accurately without using a specific OS.
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What can you build with Betty Blocks
If you’re an experienced developer or IT professional who wants to build software faster and more efficiently. Or, you’re on the business-side and you need the ability to be involved in the software development process so that you can drive innovation within your organization. In both cases, you can do that with no-code. For the purposes of enterprise-level digital transformation, there are three main types of applications you can build using Betty Blocks:
Back-office applications
Back-office applications are entirely built for internal use and will only be accessed by employees. This means software projects for purely back-end solutions have minimal design requirements making the project scope much easier to understand and complete within tight deadlines.
To reduce development times even further, Betty Blocks automatically creates a standard back-office template in all applications. Overall, back-office solutions are most effective when optimizing internal processes to save time and reduce operating costs.
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Web applications
Web applications are how organizations interact with their customers. They come in many forms, but the goal should always be the same: to create the best customer experience possible. After all, what’s the point in having awesome back-office applications to run your business, if all your customers leave due to old fashioned, time-consuming, costly, or non-existent customer service?
Customizability and functionality are the name of the game when it comes to designing web applications. The aim is to create an online space that represents your brand, service, and product effectively. No-code is especially powerful here thanks to the pre-built connections between modules, allowing you to focus on your service and brand identity.
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Mobile applications
According to Social Media Today, in 2018, mobile apps accounted for nearly 50% of internet traffic worldwide. With around 175 billion apps downloaded yearly, that percentage is only set to grow. More people than ever before are using mobile applications and it’s all about customer expectations. Betty Blocks does not cater to native mobile development but enables responsive web applications to be deployed into mobile app stores or be made available as an APK download.
To build a mobile application through Betty Blocks you need to create a web application as your base to provide full access to all elements of a web browser. Then you are completely free to create any mobile page you want in HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. With your base web application connected, all your back office features will automatically shine through.
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Multi-channel development
In order to help enterprise organizations engage target audiences across any device, Betty Blocks’ no-code platform provides developers with the technology to create multi-channel applications. Powered by React Native and advanced HTML, CSS, and JavaScript capabilities, platform users are capable of building both responsive and progressive web applications (PWAs) which can be served to any device or screen type with modern browser access.
Using no-code to power your multi-channel strategy means you’re only ever required to develop an application once to reach your maximum audience potential. Thanks to React Native, powerful PWAs with access to native mobile functionality (like GPS, voice, video, and more) are extremely quick and easy to deploy despite their expansive functionality. Betty Blocks’ reusable component system – the Block Store – ensures developers can reuse, extend upon, and iterate on applications with just a few clicks.
Since you’re effectively building a web application, Betty Blocks applications bypass App Stores on mobile devices meaning they’re SEO indexed, searchable, and easily shareable.
Core benefits of PWA strategies
Multi-device ready - every application is viewable for any type of device by default.
Native features - use a React Native framework to add native mobile functionalities such as GPS, push notifications, and camera accessibility to your application.
Offline features - create offline-first applications by converting your cloud application to a native mobile app using the Apache Cordova framework.
Progressive web applications - apps created from a single codebase, with all the native mobile capabilities, but which are run from a web server. That means no updates ever, users are always served the latest version.
Where no-code fits into existing enterprises
Betty Blocks’ no-code platform is designed for rapid development, creating of new business lines, and targeted strategic solutions. There are two main areas where both professional and citizen developers can put no-code into existing ecosystems:
Single-app solutions
Not every issue or pain-point requires a total software or backend overhaul. In fact, a targeted solution which focuses on one specific problem makes a project’s scope far easier to assess and is much faster to develop. Using no-code for a single-app solution takes advantage of existing databases in the organization to build prototypes incredibly fast for user testing.
Betty Blocks’ data management and integration system makes single-application development a breeze. As your company continues to grow, these targeted micro-apps can be rolled out in phases without interfering with your existing software ecosystem.
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Strategic implementation
Strategic implementation is the opposite end of the spectrum to micro-apps, focusing instead on completely replacing legacy systems or core business tools with no-code. This process is about future-proofing your organization by putting newer, easy to maintain, scalable in place for later long-term success without relying on clunky third-party tooling.
Approaching strategic no-code implementation will require a cultural shift in most businesses. For it to work, citizen and professional developers need to engage with each other frequently to combine their knowledge of business processes into practical projects with realistic goals.
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