Low-Code to Custom Development: When and Why to Make the Switch

The Precedence Research platform claims that the global low-code development platform market size was estimated at $10.46 billion in 2024, and it’s expected to continue growing at a 22.92% CAGR up to 2034. This positive trend can be explained by the fact that nowadays, to remain competitive, businesses have to offer their target audiences new services and interaction ways as often as possible and faster than competitors (of course, in the currently relevant digital format), and what, if not low-code platforms, can provide them with an accelerated software development cycle.

Indeed, initially, low-code platforms were created as solutions for rapid digital transformation, allowing businesses to launch new web and mobile applications with minimal involvement of developers' hard skills and, instead, practicing a drag-and-drop approach using graphical interfaces and configured modules.

However, the low-code programming is not one-size-fits-all. Below, we will analyze your limitations when resorting to it. We will also consider alternative options to help you scale previously created solutions, sharpening them for newly emerging needs and goals.

Understanding Low-Code Limitations

Let's consider a specific example from our experience: one of our clients set a rather ambitious task: to create a platform for virtual events capable of scaling from small meetings to conferences with hundreds of thousands of participants. The main product requirements included:

• High scalability with support for up to 100,000 simultaneous users;
• Security with the ability to customize privacy settings (access to closed events and by invitation);
• The ability to customize the interface, branding, and structure of events;
• Integration of payment systems, ticket sales, CRM, and analytical tools.

We settled on the low-code approach and, respectively, Webflow, which allowed us to quickly adapt the design to the client's requirements, speed up the development process, and simplify platform customization without diving deep into the code. We also used React and implemented integrations with HubSpot, MailChimp, and Zoom.

Such a tech stack and, of course, our team's experience allowed us to achieve impressive results:

• The platform successfully processed 75,000 simultaneous participants without loss of performance.
• An increase in engagement of 45% was achieved.
• The time for preparing events was reduced by 35%.
• Revenue in the first six months amounted to £750,000.
• The user satisfaction level reached 92%.

Low-Code Platforms Risks

Using low-code platforms also carries some risks. For example, regardless of the platform, customization options will be limited, and the implementation of complex business logic or, for example, integration with non-standard APIs will still require workarounds. You also become dependent on the platform, and if, at some point, it stops supporting certain functions, you may need to migrate. Finally, projects on such platforms may face performance issues under extremely high loads.

The best way out of these situations is a timely transition to a hybrid approach (for example, from Webflow to WordPress with the development of custom plugins). The prerequisites for this usually look like this:

• You are going to move to a new level of automation, which requires complex calculations and the implementation of unique processes.
• Your traffic is constantly growing.
• You need new integrations via APIs that the low-code platform does not support.
• You need better SEO and content management capabilities.

In some cases, you may need even a more global transformation that implies the creation of a new custom solution from scratch – this is a standard option for the following cases:

• You need maximum security using advanced protection mechanisms (the fact is that standard CMSes and low-code solutions are usually more susceptible to hacking).
• You are facing scalability limitations that even CMSes cannot solve.
• Your project requires the implementation of trend technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, Internet of Things, etc.

Making the Strategic Transition

In general, making a strategic decision to move from low-code to more complex development always involves an end-to-end analysis of the system's current state. That is, if the load on it grows (and standard tools can no longer cope with the increase in traffic and data volume), your business begins to need to implement tools and technologies that are not available in ready-made platforms, and/or it is necessary to ensure compliance with requirements that the selected platform cannot provide, you should consider the possibility of transition.

Also, a bright "red flag" emphasizing the fact that ready-made platforms no longer meet your needs can be a decrease in your team's efficiency; that is when their efforts to implement new features and maintain the system's operability in new operating conditions begin to slow down your business development.

Migration Planning

The transition should be gradual and based on a clearly defined strategy. Here are the main stages it consists of:

• Identification of critical functional areas that require migration first.
• Selection of technologies for the new architecture (for example, the transition from Webflow to React/NestJS).
• Parallel testing and implementation with the launch of new modules without interrupting existing processes.
• Training of personnel to work with new tools.

This is a fairly basic description of the strategy in general. It can be supplemented with intermediate steps to protect your business from the most common risks. In particular, this could include pilot launches with testing of individual system components, implementation of backup with preservation of critical data before migration, and development of a rollback strategy in case of failures.

The Hybrid Approach

To achieve the best balance with a hybrid approach, you should consider the possible risks associated with it. The most obvious of these is technical debt since, with regular customizations, the low-code platform you choose may fail. It is also worth noting that standard CMSes contain unnecessary code, which can negatively affect performance and expose the project to cyberattacks.

In this regard, you must clearly define which tasks you will assign to the low-code platform and which will require custom development. For example:

• Use the low-code platform for content management, implementation of essential functions, and rapid deployment, and leave complex animations, unique business logic, specific integrations, and implementation of algorithms aimed at improving performance to custom development.
• Make sure that the platform you choose has a sufficient level of customization and has all the necessary APIs and SDKs for integrating custom modules.
• Use lazy loading for images and videos to speed up page loading and integrate custom animations via JavaScript if the platform's built-in low-code solutions are not flexible enough.
• Connect external tools via API and Webhooks (for example, CRM, payment systems, or analytics).
• Separate core functionality and new features to update the platform without failures.
• Ensure quality control through automated testing of basic functionality and regular performance checks; If the low-code approach begins to slow down your business development, start creating an architecture that would allow migration to a custom solution with the ability to use previously created code blocks.
• Support custom modules with detailed documentation.

Hybrid Approach Performance Metrics

Based on our experience, we can highlight the following performance indicators for using a hybrid approach:

• System performance: page load time, system uptime (% of the time during which it works without failures), and UI rendering speed (time during which the user receives a response from the interface).
• Security and compliance: number of vulnerabilities and incidents, compliance with industry standards, number of requests to the support service.
• Quality of user experience: average session duration, page view depth, and conversion of target actions.
• Cost efficiency: reduced maintenance costs, ROI, and time-to-market.
• Ease of scaling: time to implement new features, percentage of low-code/custom components, and level of customization (here, we mean the ability to adjust the system to new business requirements without significant refactoring).

Ultimately, the list of metrics will depend on each separate project and its requirements.

Planning Your Next Steps

Low-code is an excellent option for a quick launch, but its capabilities may not be enough as your business grows. In such cases, a hybrid approach allows you to maintain the development speed without sacrificing customization. The right transition strategy and a reliable technology partner are key to its success.

Since it is quite difficult to determine the optimal development approach on your own (moreover, if you have chosen a hybrid one, distributing the functionality between low-code platforms and custom development tools can become a serious obstacle), it makes sense to turn to a development company that can provide you with a relevant expertise showcase and is naturally equally proficient in using low-code tools and turn-key solutions.

In addition, you will need to make sure that your potential digital partner provides transparent reporting, offers a clear pricing model, and offers tech support and post-release service.

…And Once Again

• Assess future business needs instead of focusing only on current tasks.
• Choose the approach consciously – while the low-code approach is convenient for a quick time to market, complex projects are unlikely to be implemented with its help.
• Don't forget about performance and, regardless of the chosen approach, implement lazy loading, CDN, and caching.
• Don't ignore security, constantly monitor the updates of your project's technology stack tools and user data privacy policies.
• Prepare for project development in advance, taking care of the availability of detailed documentation and choosing a scalable architecture with the ability to reuse some code parts.
• If you are planning to switch to a new platform, do not forget to allow time for testing and bug fixing.
• Monitor performance metrics after the release and ensure regular updates.

Author Bio

Alex Lozitskyi is the CEO and Co-Founder of Che IT Group. He brings over a decade of experience in digital transformation and web development. He specializes in helping agencies, startups, and SMEs navigate their technical evolution and growth. His passion lies in translating complex development challenges into practical, scalable solutions that drive business success.