What's worse than legacy code? Legacy No-Code!
"Legacy no-code"
That's what I call when users who used to be happy with their no-code "solution" using page builders like Elementor, Wix, Shopify, Squarespace or their "modern" WordPress equivalents (Gutenberg, full-site editing) until something doesn't work anymore and they need a developer for help.
The no-code cost conundrum
Enter the no-code conundrum: people think that these systems should be cheap and easy and that developing themes and customizations is a low-paid fiver job, so they don't expect to pay much for maintenance and bug fixing either.
Many developers have a simple answer: never use WordPress, Wix, WebFlow or anything like that. If customers need a CMS, let them learn markdown and how to commit content as "front matter" to GitHub. Or let them use a "real content management system" with a Java backend written in 1999, communicating with a React frontend via an API middleware so that it takes at least three teams and six project managers for any task.
Working with legacy code deserves extra pay!
I have come up with another idea: working with legacy code deserves extra pay, and working with "legacy no-code" is even worse. The development community has developed strategies to refactor legacy code, but if there is no code that we are allowed to refactor, we are left to write support issues and hope for the next plugin update, effectively becoming technical project managers instead of coders.
Strategies and experiences?
What is your opinion and experience? Do you reject any legacy no-code and low-code assignments? Do you charge higher hourly rates? Do you bill excessive extra times? How did you estimate and communicate?
Top comments (2)
Honestly, based on my experiences working at a marketing agency, every time we had to get our hands dirty with Wix or Squarespace or the like, it was always a shitshow and took 2-3 times as long, so we started accounting for that when creating a quote. When dealing with custom Wordpress sites, we got the point where we started inquiring about the number of organizations that had previously supported the site because of the build-up of cruft and the fact that multiple development shops = multiple ways of doing things, so the code was always a disaster.
Instead of an actual surcharge, we could charge a higher hourly rate, request an initial non-refundable upfront payment, and not give any discounts or optional extras.