Beezer

What Beezer is

Beezer is a no-code builder for progressive web apps (PWAs), the kind of app people open from a single URL rather than download from an app store. Its pricing cards lead with "1 Progressive Web App," a drag-and-drop builder, SSL certificate and hosting, which makes it a hosted tool for small businesses and agencies that want a mobile-ready app quickly and cheaply. The company's guide says you can build an app without code in less than 30 minutes.

The pricing page shows plans in US-style dollars, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars, and South African rand.

What you build and how

The builder is drag and drop. The company's guide describes the idea as giving users pre-coded components that are easily personalizable without any additional code, and it walks through the process: create an account (there is a 14-day free trial), give your app a name, select the template that corresponds to your business, and start developing right away by dragging components onto the app. The guide calls the components "neatly structured."

The guide spends most of its time explaining why the company chose the PWA route. A web app is reached through a single URL like a regular website, so users get it directly without downloading from an app store. The guide also says that PWAs can work offline and be indexed by search engines, and that a single PWA covers all platforms, devices and operating systems, so you do not pay for separate iOS and Android versions. It lists app store bypass as a benefit and notes that a progressive web app builder lets you see any change you make updated in real time.

The same guide compares three app types. Native apps are the most common and must be published through an app store. Progressive web apps avoid that step. Hybrid apps combine both, can be distributed through a store, and the guide says they are estimated to be 30% cheaper to build than native apps but tend to be limited in functionality and lack power and speed. Beezer's own plans sell only the PWA route, so if you need a store listing, the guide's own words are that native apps "still have to" go through the store.

What the plans include is listed on the pricing cards. Every card shows the drag-and-drop builder, SSL certificate, hosting, email support, a Beezer.com subdomain, distribution via SMS and via email, a custom domain, push notifications, advanced features and member login. On some cards the custom domain, push notifications, advanced features and member login lines carry a "+££" tag, which the page text does not explain. So the headline capabilities are hosted web apps, sharing by SMS and email, optional branding on your own domain, push messages and a member login for gated access. The page gives no detail on what "advanced features" means.

The guide makes the cost argument against custom development: building a powerful app with complex functionality can cost anywhere between $10,000 and $100,000, and some advanced apps in the United States can reach $500,000. Because the app is assembled from pre-built modules, components and features, the guide says you can have it up and running in a single day, where native development can take many months.

The guide frames no-code development around four benefits: reduced costs, better agility, bypassing app stores, and easy personalization. On personalization, its point is that in traditional development you cannot change a feature or functionality without relying on developers, and that a no-code app lets you do it yourself. It also lists questions to ask of any builder before you commit, starting with whether it offers the features you want in your app, since builders differ in features, functionality and flexibility. The guide defines no-code as a visual development environment that lets non-technical "layman users" create apps, with the drag and drop builder as the most popular method.

Choosing a plan means choosing a quantity as much as a feature set. Three plans cover a single Progressive Web App each, so moving between Something, Anything and Everything changes the price and the feature tags, not the number of apps you can run. The Reseller plan is the one that changes the count, to 15 Progressive Web Apps, which fits an agency that runs apps for several clients.

The evidence

Plan names on the pricing page are Something ("Perfect for getting started"), Anything ("Boost your app instantly"), Everything ("Everything you need for your app") and Reseller ("Enhance your app portfolio"). In dollars the cards show $19 a month for Something, $32 for Anything, $74 for Everything and $415 for Reseller, which covers "15 Progressive Web Apps" instead of 1. The page repeats the cards in CA$, AU$, NZ$ and ZAR, and some of those local figures for Everything and Reseller differ from one set of cards to the next, so confirm the live price in your currency. The company's guide says you can build with Beezer for as little as $16 per month, which is lower than the $19 Something card.

Trial: the guide offers a 14-day free trial when you create an account. The pricing cards name no free plan.

Support and security: email support and an SSL certificate are on every card. No compliance certification, hosting region or open-source claim appears in the text.

The guide's reasons to build without code are cost, agility, bypassing app stores and easy personalization. Its own wording is that you can make changes to a feature or functionality yourself without relying on developers.

Who it suits and who it does not

Beezer suits a small business, club or freelancer that wants a working web app fast, shared by link, SMS or email, with hosting and SSL handled. The 14-day trial and entry price of $19 a month on the card make it easy to test an idea. The Reseller plan, with 15 PWAs, points at agencies that want to deliver several client apps from one account.

The caveats come from its own focus. A PWA is not a store listing, so a business that needs an App Store or Google Play presence will need a different tool, which the guide itself acknowledges for native apps. The pricing cards leave the "advanced features" and the "+££" tags unexplained, and the text names no integrations or database, so a team that needs to connect data sources should ask before building.