Should You Build Webflow Apps?

And so he's got made a statement here that they're basically decommissioning the kind of a or they're they're um focusing less on the AI assistant aspects of Miyagi but and they're going to be focusing more I guess on the more um Slater aspects of it or the the coding aspects of it. So I like this I like this that the code editing and the hosting. So hosting is the Slater aspect of it and the code editing because I hate the code editor in um not going to lie this is how the last few um web flow competes. So we shared an image of that. So Amply was obviously his first Yeah. So I honestly like I don't think the the coding is the right call for them either. Maybe I should talk to him because I have him in the DMs. I I I don't have like any firsthand information, but I I'm 100% sure Web Flow will add some some sort of like proper coding. They they showed they they did show us the the coding that you can do to to build components, the component gen or something like this and the app gen and they did look like full-on like IDE but they were kind of like in a separate environment but that doesn't matter like what stops Web Flow from giving us literally the same thing uh and just host the code as as well because we have Webflow cloud. So yeah, I I I feel bad like genuinely feel bad because I've been there. I tried to build quite a few things and I started I never got to the point to publish it but uh I saw like web flow essentially like you know doing this the same thing and this will happen with every platform that is growing. Uh this is still happening like Apple is still like killing apps to even this day. There was a time if you remember um you you could download a torch a flashlight app for your phone because your phone you're like Android and iOS they don't have a fl they didn't have a flashlight app natively. You could download an app for that. Now this is this is what this comment is basically saying. It's like when you're piggybacking off an existing product, they have all the data to see, oh, Miyagi is getting a lot of attention. Maybe we should do that. Oh, this flashlight app is getting millions of downloads. We'll just do it. Like they have they can just eat up anything that succeeds, you know? Yes. Um, so yeah, unfortunately it's kind of like there's an analogy somewhere where you're you're kind of giving them there's something about giving them the gun that's going to shoot you because if your app does well, they'll just consume it. Really good because you need to be so good that they're like, you know what, let's just buy it. You want to be acquired, right? There's so and and Miyagi was very well put together, you know, it was very clean, well launched, the branding was good. Um, you know, I bet Web Flow were well well on their way to um building. They already had the idea in mind while Miyagi was, you know, has to be that new and that good that you get acquired. That's that's all you can hope for when building on top of another um service. Um I don't web flow has acquired they they did acquire uh this other tool optimize what they called optimize it was called something else anyway that wasn't built on top of web flow though was it that was a complete separate exactly when companies acquire uh they they either acquire you know the IP or like the code or sometimes they acquire the team they do this by the way in case of Miyagi they did actually acquire not exactly but they did hire the developer who helped him build the app. Yes. Yeah, I saw that. Yeah. Exat atom's um exat. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um yeah, I I don't know. That must have been quite hard for Bradford to uh I don't know what the relationship was like between Bradford and Vicram but um I don't yeah I I I don't wish to be in either of their places honestly um this happens with these platforms all the time and you can be either fast or you have to build something that is beyond just the value that provides in this like like I I'm I'm thinking about the same thing with flowing right I'm building essentially a component library I'm thinking okay what is what is my winning condition or like the what is going to help me win if web flow if any web flower can or like with any other platform you can just type in something with AI so with us it would be will go higher in the level of complexity and something where uh AI is super duper duper lacking is like very nice specific bold design and this is the route that I'm going with. So I I don't know but that that's how I see it. I I wouldn't I started building a comment app by the way for web flow when um quite long time ago. It was like two years ago. I started actually like we had like actual code written like with I code for it. Uh but then then we stopped because we we uh like Web Flow mentioned it or something like this that they hinted at it. They hinted at it and I was like no no no that that we're not going to do this because Web Flow will do it and nobody will use our tool. And now Webflow has a very proper commenting system. Um, it's not announced. It's announced, not published yet, but I'm looking forward to it that I and I know that I won't need any apps anymore, even though we had like multiple apps in the Web Flow apps uh app store for commenting. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like you say, um, you either have to build something that is completely like I, you know, look at whizzed as an example. that would speak that seemed like something Web Flow could just snap up because it's so outside of what Web Flow do and so beneficial to people regardless of my own personal feelings about it. Um the best you can ask for in that instance is so good that it it stays separate and web flow will never touch it or you get acquired, you know. Well, I don't know. I agree on everything you say. Right. But but but do you remember Wiglot? Yes. Yes. The language thing. Yeah. I I feel bad for Wiglot, man. They they were sponsoring Web Flow. They were like so active in the space. They were the gotool for translation. And I I believe even Webflow was supporting them in like marketing way. I I don't exactly know how what was like behind the curtains, but it seemed like there was a partnership and Web Flow came up with their own uh translation um tool set that is less expensive, more convenient, it's better, it's just a killer feature. Who needs Wiglot anymore, especially in the web flow space? So Big Lot had to pivot uh not pivot but like now they do it for other apps as well. They do integration for every other uh website platform as well. And Miyagi should probably do the same thing uh to be a tool for like designers and builders to build tools maybe for whatever they need. Yeah. Well, they're they're they're banking on what what Bradford is saying here is that they're banking on the coding aspect, you know, providing a interface. I don't know what that means, but potentially a better interface than Web Flow can provide. Um, yeah, but shame shame to see it, but we saw it coming. We we called it, you know, we did see it coming. I guess we didn't just dig into that what that means might mean for for Miyagi. You know what I didn't see coming was the their lead developer being hired by web. No, that I didn't see coming. But I don't think he's a developer. I think he's like developer advocate, which advocate, you know, they're not, you know, they're not they haven't got much. They're just someone who's out there speaking fondly of the development. Yeah. Is it like a community thing? Probably. Yeah. I don't think he's contributing towards Web Flow. So, who knows? Who knows? Maybe speak to him. Um yeah. Yeah, probably a community thing. Probably similar to uh Keegan. He he's he's actually making videos for them and yeah, but he's developer. I I maybe he contributes to the code that goes on the front end on the site maybe not engineering type of things. Uh that's how I see it. probably he he's on the community or like marketing arm of the com because I don't think I don't think Keegan actually has a like he's not a hardcore he's got he's good for like animations but I don't think he's a hardcore developer like Vicram is. I think Vicram's I don't think so. Yeah. Yeah. I think uh he has like more general purpose knowledge. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This is part of a larger conversation on my show, Command AI, which we stream live every single week. We discuss the news and all things related to AI in the world of design and web. Catch us next week and join in the banter.