BubbleCon: Introduction
On October 25th, Bubble co-founders Joshua Haas and Emmanuel Straschnov led BubbleCon 2023, a company event that highlights Bubble’s exciting trajectory into the future.
To no surprise, there was a tremendous turnout. 300 individuals directly in the audience, 10,000 tuned in from home, and 163 countries represented. A true testament to the amazing community that Bubble has built (read more about their community here). Bubble is a rapidly growing company that has helped countless entrepreneurs, startups, and enterprises achieve their vision. With over 3.3 million apps built on its platform, Bubble has truly laid the foundation of the no-code ecosystem.
However, despite this amazing growth from the past, their plans for the future should have you even more excited. In today’s blog, Creme Digital takes you through all of the notable highlights from BubbleCon 2023.
Trends for Bubble & No-Code
As we’ve consistently shown, the no-code ecosystem is rapidly evolving. Every day, there are new developments, features, and success stories to monitor. As we move forward into a unique period of time, Bubble has identified three key trends that stand out in the no-code landscape.
Scale:
One of the primary concerns with no-code is its scalability. Many prospective users are skeptical and uncertain about the limits it can push. How far can it really go? The answer may surprise you. Initially, some thought that no-code was only useful as a more efficient alternative for building proofs of concept. Yet as Bubble continues to evolve, this is no longer a worry.
Bubble is committed to the vision of bringing its users all the way from the MVP stage to their IPO. To demonstrate this, Emmanuel Straschnov points to Synthflow AI, an all-in-one solution for building sophisticated AI agents without the use of code. They built their initial app on Bubble, grew their business to over 7,000 users, and raised $1.8 million during a seed round.
As we see more and more no-code success stories, Bubble continues to grow alongside its users. With new features constantly emerging, it’s now easier than ever to scale with no-code. Just last month, they announced Bubble for Enterprise and SOC 2 Type II compliance standards—both of which are significant for scaling. (Read more about these features here.) Now, with current trends and emerging features, Bubble has provided a path to effectively scale beyond previous limitations.
Artificial Intelligence:
The biggest trend of 2023 is artificial intelligence (AI). AI has quite literally taken over the world, posing significant implications for almost every single domain. In spite of this, we are faced with a choice: either sink or swim. Some domains will become useless with the emergence of AI, while others will use it for substantial improvement. With the current trends of the world, Bubble has made one thing very clear: no-code + AI is the future of software development. With the new capabilities provided by AI, Bubble has become easier to use and more powerful to utilize. With generative page layouts, faster workflows, 20,000 new AI plugins last year, and an abundance of additional capabilities, AI is making software development “faster, more intuitive, and accessible to all.”
Democratization:
The idea of democratization has always been a core principle of Bubble’s mission. They have aimed to achieve two things: 1) allow non-technical entrepreneurs to become product creators, and 2) allow anyone to carry out their vision with reduced cost and time. With the recent trends and statistics shown, this vision has become a clear reality. There are ten times as many users in 2023 compared to when Bubble first raised capital years ago.
This representation comes from all across the world, with users spanning 176 countries. Software development, which used to be inaccessible, expensive, and limited to those with abundant resources, has now been made democratized, affordable, and accessible to those with a vision.
To demonstrate this, Emmanuel Straschnov points to Mon Project de Naissance, a French non-profit. They saw that pregnant mothers were “facing unprecedented childbirth challenges.” They needed technology that could help, but typical software transcends the budget of a non-profit. Luckily, using Bubble, they were able to build and launch their tool, ultimately helping over 30,000 individuals. With the service Bubble provides, “more and more people are joining this movement, regardless of their technical background.”
Bubble Product Announcements
Native Mobile Apps
After much anticipation, Bubble is rolling out their #1 most requested feature, a native mobile app builder. This feature will use the same logic employed on Bubble today while integrating with your existing web apps. With “swiping, layer and screen management, device functionality,” and more, you can now build robust apps directly to your users’ pockets.
AI-Powered Design, Data, and Logic:
With the previous discussion on AI, Bubble is taking action. They have built a complex system that will automatically create and design page layouts at the click of a button. Whether you’re trying to build a new app or modify an existing one, Bubble will soon allow you to do this in seconds!
Bulk Data Operations:
With a commitment to processing data faster and more efficiently, Bubble has introduced “bulk operations,” a new feature that will allow users to reliably run backend workflows on millions of things in a cost-effective manner. This feature will revolutionize how data is used on the platform, enabling users to achieve what used to only be possible through code. Joshua Haas describes bulk operations as a “swiss army knife” that can be the “missing feature that makes Bubble the ultimate platform for data at scale.”
A Reimagined Expression Composer:
Joshua Haas described that in the early stages of Bubble, they were met with skepticism when claiming they could create a no-code programming language with as much customization as native code. In 2023, they have proved everyone wrong. In 2024, it only evolves further. With a new logic-building process coming in early 2024, no-code development is set to become even more intuitive and powerful. With easy editing, automatic parentheses, and better keyboard controls, Bubble is going to become even easier to use.
Returning Data From Custom Events:
If you’ve ever built on Bubble, you’ve likely encountered the frustration that comes with managing pages with hundreds of events. Bubble already utilizes “custom events,” which allows you to reuse logic and simplify the clutter of your apps. Now, custom events that can return data amplify this process. With this new feature, you’ll be able to add fields to each custom event, ultimately resulting in cleaner workflow tabs for easier maintenance and organization.
What This Means for You
As highlighted in BubbleCon 2023, Bubble’s advancements signify a continuation of progress and a commitment to evolution. As your vision grows, Bubble will be right there with you, meeting the growing needs of your project. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, early-stage startup, or existing enterprise, Bubble will help you achieve success. If you want to build a product using no-code today, click here to contact our no-code agency.
