Why we build on Bubble

Both Bubble and Wordpress are platforms that allow non-coders to set up a website, create content, and publish it. Wordpress is an open-source CMS that is great for setting up basic websites. It can be extended with plugins and themes that may bring all the features a user needs. However, if you want to move outside of those boundaries (e.g. control every aspect of design and functionality), then Bubble offers far more flexibility. 

Both Bubble and Retool are rapid development platforms that equip users with drag-and-drop elements for building internal business tools. However, Retool is a low-code platform built for developers to generate pre-configured code faster, whereas Bubble is a fully no-code platform where all programming logic is abstracted. This means that with Bubble those with no technical background can build entire web apps without writing any code.

Both Bubble and Webflow are no-code tools that allow users to build web pages and eCommerce platforms. However, Bubble is better for developing complex web apps and mobile apps, while Webflow focuses on building aesthetic and responsive websites. Webflow is a good fit If you want to quickly build a few landing pages with strong SEO to increase searchability and organic reach of traffic. However, if you’re looking for a more customized, complex experience that integrates a database or web app portal, Bubble can give you more freedom. 

‍

Yes, Bubble has a powerful responsive engine that allows for full customization of responsive behavior to support all devices.

The main benefit of using Bubble for mobile apps is that you are really just managing one application, instead of separate web, iOS, and Android versions. This means that you get:

• Consistent features: Your users can enjoy the same features and user experience on any device, so you won’t say “we don’t have that for mobile yet”.
• Single team: You only need to manage the team building and maintaining your web application, and only need to build each feature once.
• Seamless updates: Any updates we make to the application are instantly reflected across all platforms and don’t have to be submitted to Apple/Google for approval every time.
• Lower cost: A single application instead of multiple applications means significantly lower development and maintenance costs.
  

There are a few categories of apps for which this approach isn’t well suited:

• Offline apps: Bubble apps are cloud-based, so they require an internet connection.
• Apps that require deep native integrations: We can’t build apps that integrate deeply with your phone’s hardware - bluetooth, accelerometer, background GPS tracking, etc.
• Apps where the cloud-based approach is too slow: Certain types of mobile apps, such as messengers or games, must respond very quickly (<0.1s) to user actions. We can’t achieve that level of speed because our apps live in the cloud and not on a user’s phone.

Yes, Bubble handles core SEO properties and provides a number of tools for customization, including:

• Metatags can be set at the application level (e.g., site name, description) and page level (OG tags)
• H1, H2, H3, H+ tags can all be set at the element level within a page
• Friendly page URLs can be defined (e.g., user or product profiles)
• ALT attributes can be set on images.
• A sitemap can be defined and exposed for the app

No. A Bubble application’s “source code” cannot be exported to a conventional programming language. It is possible to export a JSON file representing all elements and actions (e.g., for archiving), but this has limited value for teams looking to migrate to traditional dev resources.

However, a Bubble app’s data is always easily portable, either in CSV tables or through the data API. This makes it easy to migrate to a future platform that has been built using conventional methods.

‍

Yes, as long as it’s a cloud-based database, Bubble connects to any kind of external services that expose an API for reading/writing (including payments, sources of data, authentication providers, etc.). Additionally, it is fully extensible via Javascript plugins. You can create your own plugins to add connections to non-supported services, add elements written in Javascript, or write server code.

Note: working entirely from an external database can slow development efforts since part of the advantage of using Bubble is the integrated nature of the platform. The resulting speed is still significantly faster than custom code.

Bubble specializes in responsive web applications with dynamic databases and complex functionality. This differs from other visual programming platforms like Webflow/Wix, which focus on front-end design for static websites.

Common features include (but are not limited to):

• User accounts (signup with email or social)
• Creating/browsing items from the database
• API integrations & external database queries
• Forms & surveys with dynamic results
• Payments (direct, subscription, or peer-to-peer)
• Charts, graphs, data visualization
• Notifications through email, SMS, or push
• App analytics (e.g., Mixpanel, Amplitude)
• Integrations with AI / machine learning services or custom algorithms

Bubble supports the integration of custom code plugins for areas where it does not natively support the desired functionality

Bubble is a no-code visual programming platform designed to help you build software and applications without code. It specializes in responsive web and mobile apps with dynamic databases and complex functionality. This differs from other no-code platforms like Webflow, which focus on front-end design for static websites. Bubble is open-ended, and like a traditional programming language, there's no fixed set of possibilities to the type of product you can build. This means you don’t have to work within the rails of a specific use-case.

‍

No-code offers a faster, less costly alternative to traditional software development done using conventional coding languages. No-code tools use a visual development environment that includes point-and-click/drag-and-drop functionality to arrange an app’s interface, allowing users to create apps without writing a single line of code. This empowers users with no prior coding knowledge to get a visual representation of an app and create its logic using plain words or choosing predefined options. 

‍

Bubble is a highly flexible programming framework, which makes it a good fit for building almost any kind of a web application. These might include marketplaces, sales tools, productivity tools, and practically anything else with users and a database.

There are a few categories of products that Bubble isn't yet good for:
- Apps that need to work without an internet connection
- Apps that have complex regulatory requirements
- Fully native mobile apps (e.g. Whatsapp or Uber) - though web-based mobile apps are supported

Yes. We always design apps to optimize for scale, based on our understanding of the potential features and user behavior our client envisions. The Bubble technology is built to scale, with the ability to upgrade server capacity as needed (including migrating to a dedicated AWS cluster) to service a growing user base. Bubble provides simple dashboards and notifications to track app capacity usage to help you adjust as needed.

Yes. Bubble is built on Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is itself compliant with certifications such as SOC 2, CSA, ISO 27001, and more. All data behind Bubble apps is stored in the cloud using AWS and is generally hosted on AWS West Region (Oregon, US) which maintains a state-of-the-art security infrastructure. Below are more of Bubble’s security features:

• AWS: All data behind Bubble apps is stored in the cloud using Amazon Web Services (AWS), the industry standard. Data is generally hosted on AWS West Region (Oregon, US) which maintains a state-of-the-art security infrastructure.
• Encryption: Bubble encrypts all traffic to bubble.is over https, and encourages and supports users to use encryption on their own domains. All user passwords are stored salted + encrypted on Bubble's database; other user data is encrypted at rest (Bubble is on AWS RDS). Note: a more technical Bubble audit report is available upon request.
• SSL: Bubble apps can add SSL encryption to their own domains under any paid Bubble plan. The default bubble domain includes SSL.
• Dedicated infrastructure: For large and complex apps, Bubble offers plans with the ability to be on a dedicated AWS cluster (as opposed to shared clusters managed by Bubble), which leads to more reliable performance and greater security.
• External database support: For projects requiring specific database setups (e.g., using a client’s Azure infrastructure, or a HIPAA-compliant data vault), the Bubble application can be set up to interface with a separate database using API calls. This slows development vs. using Bubble’s internal setup.
• Logs: Every action that changes data in a Bubble app's database is logged, which enables auditing if needed.
• Privacy rules: Bubble enables role-based privacy rules for apps, which restrict what data is sent from the servers to the user's hardware. This provides an additional layer of security so that data does not fall into the wrong user's hands.
• ‍Privacy policy: Bubble's privacy policy can be found at bubble.is/terms. Bubble employees do not have access to view customer data, except when necessary to resolve engineering issues with the platform. Access to customer data is restricted based on job role. Access is periodically audited to prevent abuses.