Course: Building AI Apps | Pathway: Builder | Tier: Free | Level: Beginner Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes
When it comes to building apps with AI, there are three broad approaches. Understanding the difference will save you a lot of time and frustration, because picking the wrong approach for your project is one of the most common mistakes beginners make.
The three approaches are:
None of these is better than the others. They're suited to different situations. Let's break each one down.
No-code platforms let you build apps by dragging, dropping, clicking, and configuring. You never see a line of code.
Popular no-code tools:
Best for:
Limitations:
No-code is a great starting point. If you can solve your problem with a no-code tool, do it. There's no prize for making things more complicated than they need to be.
This is the approach this course focuses on most heavily, because it hits the sweet spot for most people. You describe what you want, and AI writes the code. You can then preview it, adjust it, and deploy it.
Key tools in this space:
Cursor is a code editor with AI built in. You open it, describe what you want, and it writes the code. You can chat with it, ask it to make changes, and it understands the context of your project.
Think of it as a code editor where you can have a conversation with your code. Instead of memorising syntax, you say "add a search bar to the top of this page" and it does it.
Best for: Building more complex apps, multi-page projects, anything that needs a database or user accounts.
Replit is a browser-based coding platform. You don't need to install anything — you open it in your web browser, describe what you want, and start building. It can also host your app, so you can share a live link with others.
Best for: Quick prototypes, learning, projects where you want everything in one place (building and hosting). Great if you don't want to set up anything on your computer.
Claude is an AI assistant that can write code, explain concepts, debug problems, and help you plan your app. You can paste in error messages and get plain-English explanations. You can describe a feature and get working code back.
Best for: Getting help at any stage — planning, building, debugging, learning. Works alongside any of the other tools.
These are newer tools specifically designed for AI app building. You describe your app, and they generate a working version you can preview and edit. They handle the visual design as well as the functionality.
Best for: Getting a working prototype fast, especially if you care about how the app looks.
If you already know some coding or are willing to learn, you can write code yourself and use AI as an accelerator. This gives you the most control and flexibility.
Tools used in this approach:
The most popular code editor in the world. Free, powerful, and works with every programming language. You can add AI extensions to it for code suggestions.
Vercel is a hosting platform that makes it easy to deploy web apps. You push your code, and Vercel puts it live on the internet with a URL you can share. It handles all the server infrastructure so you don't have to think about it.
Many of the apps you'll build in this course can be deployed to Vercel for free.
GitHub is where developers store and share code. Think of it as a cloud backup for your projects, with version history built in. It also connects to Vercel, so when you save changes to GitHub, your live app updates automatically.
Best for: Serious projects, apps that need specific functionality, people who want to understand what's happening under the hood.
Here's a simple decision framework:
Use no-code if:
Use AI-assisted / low-code if:
Use code-based if:
Most people reading this course will get the most value from the AI-assisted approach. That's what we'll focus on in the lessons ahead.
Budget matters, especially if you're a small business or just exploring.
Free options:
Worth paying for (eventually):
But here's the thing: you can build and deploy a real, working app without spending a dollar. Start free. Upgrade only when you hit a limit that actually matters to you.
You might be wondering about building apps for phones — things that show up in the App Store or Google Play. That's a more advanced topic and involves some extra steps, but it's absolutely possible with AI tools.
For this course, we're focusing on web apps — things that run in a browser on any device. Web apps are simpler to build, free to deploy, and work on phones, tablets, and computers without needing separate versions.
Many of the most useful business tools are web apps. Think about the tools you use daily — most of them run in your browser.
In the next lesson, we're going to build something real: a simple chatbot. Before then, here's what would be helpful to have ready:
You don't need to install anything on your computer. Everything we'll do in the next lesson works in your web browser.
The tools landscape can feel overwhelming, but the core message is simple: match the tool to the job.
If a spreadsheet solves your problem, use a spreadsheet. If you need something more custom, use an AI-assisted builder. If you want full control, learn some code with AI by your side.
The goal is never to use the most impressive technology. The goal is to solve the problem in front of you as simply as possible.
Key Takeaways: