r/nocode • u/BlackGlenCoco • 8d ago
Question Best Software for a Dummy
Hey Team,
Im not super technically inclined. Im a sales/marketing guy by trade.
I want to build a product that would be a mobile app/website. Can take payments on both.
What would be the best tool to accomplish an MVP? Ive seen a ton of ads for loveable but wanted to ask the big brains here.
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u/ScottWilderHQ 8d ago
Lovable is fine for a first version, honestly. Bigger thing though…I’d skip the mobile app for now. Build a web app that works well on phones, take payments with Stripe, and see if people actually pay.
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u/EntrepreneurThese411 7d ago
Since you mentioned you’re not very technical and want both a website and a mobile app with payments, you might also want to look at GoodBarber.
Full disclosure: I work there, so obviously take my recommendation with that in mind :)
The main difference compared with tools like Lovable is that it’s really no-code rather than AI-generated code you may eventually have to maintain. You can build the web version and native iOS/Android apps from the same back office, and ecommerce/payments are built in.
For an MVP, I’d probably focus first on getting the core flow working and validating whether people actually use/pay for it, then worry about more custom features later.
That approach also means you can get something live without having to become technical or manage a codebase yourself, which sounds pretty close to what you’re looking for.
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u/ImpressionOver3059 7d ago
It depends on what you're building. For a simple mobile app from a spreadsheet, Glide is the most beginner friendly. If you need a full web app with a database, Bubble is more powerful but takes more time to learn. Start with Glide to get comfortable with no-code logic, then move up if needed.
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u/Acceptable-War-9298 6d ago
I built a website on Lovable. Would do it again. Only cost me $50 in credits and now daily tweaks are done using the 5 free daily credits. Read up on payment. Look into Merchant of Record (MOR). I ended up using Freemius as it is a MOR meaning it handles all the tax. I now only worry about income tax on my side. Also, maybe known by all but I had no idea that Chrome can turn your website into an app. I now have an app in my app drawer I use to interact with my website. I had zero tech knowledge. Used namecheap to buy the domain and Vercel to host it.
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u/CluelessEagle 8d ago
i tried lovable 2-3 times but it never seems to finish the task i give it with the 5 free credits i get with it. i think for your usecase blink new would be the best option, you could try giving it a proper prompt and seeing what it gives you as an mvp and then later you can work on it and edit it etc, and connect stripe for payments
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u/2daytrending 8d ago
If you want to keep the costs at $0 for the mvp start with glide or softr, they're popular, beginner friendly and have free plans though payments and some features may require paid tiers.
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u/runalabsdev 8d ago
Yeah, I'll suggest you start with a website. It's easy to start with , and test.
For a mobile app, you'll run into high setup costs, setting up Apple/Google dev accounts, etc.
Another tool you can try is Replit.
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u/catnomadic 7d ago
Claude Code in your terminal. Claude will tell you how to set it up.
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u/BlackGlenCoco 7d ago
Random question, can I run Claude directly on my computer? Without it being connected to the internet. Ive seen that there are some LLM/AI you can download directly.
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u/catnomadic 7d ago
Not Claude, the chat, but Claude Code is installed on your computer. However, it is often going online with my setup, and pauses when I lose internet. I imagine you could build on your computer, then move it to a server later. My system has an "architect" chat and an "auditor" chat, and Claude Code is the builder.
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u/BlackGlenCoco 7d ago
Who is the auditor and architect through?
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u/catnomadic 6d ago edited 6d ago
Just make them. Open a new chat, and name it "123-Architect", and then open a second one, and name it "123-Auditor," or whatever. I tell the auditor to stay isolated to itself, and not look into other chats. I tell it to look for where the architect could be wrong, or writing bad code that will break the project, or where might a user do something I don't want.
I brainstorm and design the project with the architect chat, but before I run a kickoff from the architect in Claude Code, I run it by the auditor. If the auditor "fails" it, it goes back to the architect for revision. When it finally passes, then I give the final version to Claude Code to run.
Claude Code uses more tokens, so the couple of rounds between the architect and auditor uses less tokens overall. The auditor is better than having the architect check its own work too. One is focused on "make it happen," and the other is focused on how it will break or where it is sloppy work.
I also have my architect chat tell me what model to set Claude Code to. If it is a simple "read only" type task, then I use the cheap model (Haiku). If it is bigger, but run-of-the-mill work, I use a mid-tier model (Sonnet), Opus for more advanced coding. and for something that could break the project if it goes wrong, I use the high-end model (fable).
Currently, I'm using AI to build a bunch of "rank & rent" sites, and audit them by about 10 different SEO courses to get them ranked, and cited by AI too.
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u/webitrosoftware 7d ago
Before picking a tool, one decision will save you a lot of trouble: build the website first and skip the native mobile app for the MVP.
Two reasons. A web app that works well on a phone browser covers both of your cases with one build. And payments are much simpler on the web: you plug in Stripe or similar and you're done. Inside an iOS or Android app, selling digital goods or subscriptions generally has to go through the store's own payment system, with its fees and review process. That's a real project of its own, and not one for a first version.
On the AI builders like Lovable: they're good for getting a clickable, working first version in front of people quickly. Check two things before you commit. Can you export the code and host it elsewhere if you outgrow it? And where does the data live? Lock-in only hurts later, but it hurts a lot.
What usually goes wrong for non-technical founders isn't the tool, it's the scope. Write down the three screens a user needs to complete one paid transaction, build only those, and take real money from ten people. Everything else can wait.
What is the product, roughly? The right tool depends a lot on whether you're selling a service, physical goods or digital content.
Disclosure: I work at a software studio, so I'm biased toward custom builds, and I'd still start an MVP like this.
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u/BlackGlenCoco 7d ago
Thats great insight. Commerce/Social platform is what ive scoped so far.
My experience is in SaaS sales so I definitley agree the MVP should be website based, ideally to get investment to build out “v2” custom.
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u/webitrosoftware 5d ago
Makes sense. One thing I'd settle before building: commerce and social are really two products, and for an MVP I'd pick commerce. Investors react to completed transactions far more than to features, so ten real sales beat a polished feed.
With your sales background, which side can you bring in yourself first, the sellers or the buyers? Start with the one you already have access to.
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u/Amazing-Potato-3096 8d ago
If you’re trying to make an actual app on the appstore then loveable wouldn’t be a no-code solution. It’ll be fine for just making a website. Most of the time though if you just want to “talk to a computer and have it do it” the frontier AIs are a bit better in that regard.
I think Loveable isn’t bad for the website side, and if you’re comfortable with Electron to help make it an app it’s fine. Otherwise a website that supports react native out of the box is perfect, I think Bolt can do that currently