Something happened this year that caught me off guard

Meta
1

We all know AI is disrupting software development, and no-code platforms along with it. That part isn’t news.

What surprised me was how it showed up.

It happened with one of our agency’s most important accounts, a solid retainer, years of work together, a good relationship. We’d built and maintained their platform on Bubble since day one.

Then, in a casual meeting, one of the directors dropped a comment almost in passing:

“You should talk to [someone] in IT — I heard they’re working on rebuilding the platform with AI. I didn’t fully get what they meant.”

We followed up. Turns out the company was quietly starting to rewrite their next version in code, off Bubble. Not through us. Internally, from scratch.

I won’t lie, it caught me off guard, and yeah, it scared me a bit. This wasn’t a client I wanted to lose.

We’re not strangers to code, by the way. So what did we do?

The only thing that made sense: we offered to lead the migration ourselves instead of watching it happen without us. It was a large platform, but we pulled it off in 6 weeks.

Here’s my takeaway:

Clients with proprietary apps are getting more savvy about their migration options. They know it’s on the table now. Because of that, we’ve made it a policy to be upfront about this reality from the start of every engagement, cards on the table.

I still love Bubble. But this is a shift that’s happening whether I like it or not, and I’d rather talk about it openly than pretend it isn’t.

Curious if others here have run into something similar, clients exploring code migrations on their own, or teams handling this conversation proactively.

2

Yeah, all our clients are moving off of Bubble within a short time, even the dedicated server ones. We made sure we were their preferred team to stick with us, and we’re offering to assist them in the transition. I’m just glad we started learning how before they decided to go with someone else.

3

Yep, we starting learing way before this happened.
In your case were the clients themself pushing to migrate?

4

Yes, same here! A lot of my old clients are moving away from Bubble because AI tools are making it so much easier and faster to build apps with code.

I really hope Bubble considers giving us an option to export our apps to code — and ideally import code back into Bubble too. Even if it’s not perfect at first, having that flexibility would make a huge difference.

I think one of the biggest concerns for many users is being locked into the platform. If we knew we could always export our app and continue developing it with code when needed, I think a lot more people would feel comfortable building bigger and more serious products on Bubble.

And honestly, there are probably 1M+ Bubble apps out there. Even if only 10% of users paid $100 for a code export (minimum), that could already become a pretty meaningful new revenue stream for Bubble.

It could be a win-win:

  • Users get more freedom and peace of mind

  • Bubble gets a new source of revenue

  • Developers can use Bubble + AI coding tools together

  • Existing users have less reason to leave the platform

Bubble, please give us a way to move between Bubble and code. :folded_hands: I think a lot of us would love to have that option!

5

I think we started learning before they decided they were going to move off. I was able to help answer a lot of questions for them. Not pushing, per se, but asking questions and already thinking about it.

6

Tf is this :joy:

7

That’s nothing compared to the super diamond certified Claude architects on my team!

8

Enterprise will remain on Bubble for now, at least that’s what we’re seeing.

Transitioning off platform presents considerable risks, not to mention facing scrutiny from a board regarding compliance and security protocols.

Surr we might have lost about 80% during the AI Covid season, but things are definitely taking a turn!

9

Yeah but what percentage of all bubble apps is that, and for how long will that ideology remain?

10

For us about 20%.

11

I mean for the platform as a whole. And even at 20% I doubt new enterprise clients are joining.

12

They are :+1:

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Gemini_Generated_Image_h46bzdh46bzdh46b1408×768 278 KB

YouTube Certified AI Developer: Learning an entire framework at 1.75x speed while eating lunch.

15

Anhtropic CCA-F

Btw huge huge fan of what you are doing with Buildprint.
NQU is next level stuff

I

16

Anhtropic CCA-F

17

Yes, and for only $125.00 :grinning_face:

18

Dude, some clients ask us to have the official certification and we took the exam

Whats your point?

Does it means you are an expert? of course not.
Is it better than an udemy course? of course yes

Does it matter? Only if the client asks for it, as in our case

19

My point exactly!

It’s enterprise theater.

You bought a $125 permission slip to appease a client who doesn’t know any better.

Hey, if it keeps the retainer paid…

just don’t sell it to the rest of us like it’s a structural engineering degree.

I actually have a B.S.S.E. and have interned for some of the largest apps in existence. I also have 10 years of coding experience, and I can tell you that any app that is growing and becoming a real thing in the app world is not going to rely on someone with a $125 certificate to AI-code a complete app.

20

You know, you are right.
The certification may be enterprise theater. We need it as it was requested. It’s not a big deal, please ignore that from my post.
As in our case, of course that alone does’t mean we can migrate an app.
It was stupid to add it here, as it doesn’t add to the question I was trying to make.
Thanks for pointing it out.

And btw I’m sure you are well more prepare in engenieering than me.

21

There’s a lot of points that you can raise with your clients (could be to stay on Bubble or to migrate with you).

Most of the company actually want to save money, and this is why they are turning to AI solutions. And it’s, in most cast, a good idea… but…

Most of the issue raised by company that moved are related to:

  • security… and often, they found this too late.. and data leak can cost a lot more ($$ but also reputation)
  • bugs hunting/code bloat. Each iteration adding more debt tech and bugs. This may also increase overtime with staff turnover.
  • Overtime, it could cost more

AI generates code quickly, but it struggles with system architecture, production debugging, security judgment, and long-term maintenance.

A good read: