In a world where technology is rapidly advancing, a new trend is emerging: individuals without formal coding backgrounds are creating their own applications to address personal needs. This growing trend is an example of a dramatic evolution in app development. It’s powered by a perfect storm of exciting new developments in no-code platforms and AI. Impressive allergy-tracking app created by Hollie Krause. Hollie Krause designed an impressive allergy-tracking app. At the same time, Rebecca Yu went and made a dine app in one week flat! Taken together, these professional and personal projects are indicative of a larger, burgeoning movement born of necessity and creative thinking.
As developers like Krause and Yu create applications to suit their unique needs, they tap into a growing creative class—IFTF’s preferred term for the makers of innovation. They’re not alone—people like Waugh and Shamillah Bankiya are working on their own solutions that connect with their lived experiences. This trend toward DIY isn’t solely a matter of individual empowerment. It represents the democratization of technology. With many tools that make the development process easier, the barriers to creating useful applications are lower than ever before.
The democratization of technology brought about by no-code platforms such as Bubble and Adalo is central to this change. These tools help anyone create high-quality web apps without a background in coding, democratizing app creation and opening up new possibilities. The more people who take advantage of this opportunity, the greater the potential for innovative and tailored applications.
Personal Projects with Purpose
Hollie Krause’s journey to becoming an app developer started with frustration at the allergy-tracking options on the market when her doctor— a common occurrence. Though frustrated with the lack of options, she wasn’t satisfied and set out to create something herself.
I was like ‘wow, man, I really hate Excel, but I would love to make a little app for our household. Krause recalled.
With the help of AI tools like Claude, she successfully built two web applications: one focused on tracking allergies and sensitivities, and another designed to manage household chores. By hosting her apps on Tiiny.host, Krause brought them into easy reach for her family.
Rebecca Yu’s story exemplifies this broader theme of personal empowerment and agency that infuses the trend overall. Within a week, she was too deep into vibe-coding. She designed a dining app that helps her and her pals quickly and easily plan their meals. She noted that tools have come a long way. Now, it’s much more accessible for those who don’t have a tech background to be able to develop their own apps.
“Once vibe-coding apps emerged, I started hearing about people with no tech backgrounds successfully building their own apps,” Yu said.
Her underground success has only intensified her creativity. Now, she’s deep into six new app ideas, showing that plenty want to innovate outside of their technical background, too.
Innovation Through Collaboration
This trend on DIY app creation highlights the value of partnering with new tech. Today, countless developers rely on AI-driven tools to help guide their coding decisions and solve issues. As an example, Rebeccah Yu used ChatGPT and Claude throughout her development process.
“Once I figured out how to prompt and troubleshoot issues quickly, creating with it got a lot easier,” she said.
James Waugh, a fellow person riding the wave of the DIY app revolution went on to create an app for a close friend who was suffering from heart palpitations. He praised the concept as an excellent example of personal software that serves a critical function:
“Great example of a one-off personal software that helps you keep track of something important,” Waugh stated.
This streamlined, cooperative approach greatly increases the speed and efficacy of the development process. It equally ensures the conditions this kind of creative, out-of-the-box problem solving can happen.
The Future of App Development
The more people go out and forge their own paths by making their own apps to use themselves, the more the pros in the industry stop and listen. Christina Melas-Kyriazi described this time in app creation as a parallel trend to what occurred with social media and e-commerce platforms such as Shopify.
“It’s really going to fill the gap between the spreadsheet and a full-fledged product,” she explained.
This feeling is very familiar to many of us as we find ourselves unlocking new opportunities once only available to more technical professional developers. New startups such as Anything and VibeCode are popping up to facilitate this transition. They offer innovative platforms that streamline and democratize mobile app development.
Web-based micro apps are picking up steam. Creating their mobile counterparts is proving to be a much more daunting task. In the process of learning through experimentation, those new or unfamiliar with these concepts can encounter challenges that will call for continued education and adjustment.