No-Code Platforms in Startups: Explaining Decisions for Adoption and Abandonment

As digital startups have to deal with limited resources, pressing timelines, and rapid development requirements, no-code platforms are emerging as a promising option to streamline product development and accelerate deployment. We examined why startups choose to adopt or abandon no-code platforms through nine semi-structured interviews and 69 user reviews across 14 forums. Our contributions are two-fold. First, we classify no-code platforms using archival data into four types, namely website, marketplace, application builders, and database back-end services. Second, our findings advance the understanding of no-code adoption and abandonment in startups by identifying fourteen factors. We reveal novel factors such as skill gaps, deceptive cost models, and performance limitations that result in abandonment of no-code platforms. Moreover, we illustrate adoption and abandonment decisions in relation to the startup growth phases. Our work supports startups in deciding if no-code is an appropriate solution for their ventures.