Bubble.io Limitations: What you cannot do

1. The Speed of Your Bubble.io App

The speed and performance of Bubble apps really depend on how your Bubble app is built. Whether this is built by yourself, a Bubble developer, or an agency.

If built in the right way, your Bubble.io app can be optimized to run quickly. But if built in the wrong way, your Bubble.io app will be slow to load.

One of the main things that slow your Bubble.io app down is the size of your database. For example, a page often needs to fetch some data on page load, a page that fetches 100 things on page load will load faster than a page that fetches 1 million data item

Here are a few other points that impact the speed of your Bubble.io app:
- How you sort and filter: Bubble already optimizes database queries in many ways, so the way you sort and filter should be as close to the original search as possible
- How you express a query: the simpler the better
- Doing heavy searches: the first few times you run a heavy search will be slower since it initially builds an index, that should then speed up the search in the future 

2. You Cannot Build Native Features On Bubble

Bubble allows you to make an app available on the App & Play Store by wrapping it. This BDK Native Plugin enables you to transform web applications into native apps.

The thing to be conscious of here is that it doesn't enable you to build native features. For example, in-app native design, using your phone's push notifications, and more…

3. Bubble.io Apps Don't Meet Some Industry Requirements

Bubble has enabled builders in every industry to build new products. Though certain industries have specific requirements you should be aware of.

If you are building a banking-related app, Bubble is not PCI-compliant. This means you cannot store sensitive data within your app. If the finance app you're building is related to banking in some way, it is worth exploring this further.
In this case, we'd recommend working with a lawyer to understand if your finance app needs to be PCI-compliant.

If you are building a health-related app, Bubble is not HIPAA compliant. This means it does not comply with laws related to sensitive patient information. In this case, we'd recommend working with a lawyer to understand if your finance app needs to be HIPAA-compliant.

4. You Don't Own The Bubble Technology, You Own Your Data

Bubble.io is the best way to bring your ideas to life. Whether it's for your MVP, internal tools, or another product, the speed to bring something to market is incredible.

The main difference between building on code versus a no-code tool like Bubble, as you're building a technology business is that you don't own the code.

The common question here is:  How can you run a technology business when you don't own the technology? Our belief is that traction, and how many people are using the technology is the most important thing.

The worry there is what happens if Bubble shuts down. It has already been around for 10+ years and even though they plan to be around for a long time, they have provisions for this. It has guaranteed that if they do close, they will release the Bubble source code under an open-source license so that you can set up your own Bubble server and keep your app running.

It's worth noting that you do own your Bubble data. This includes the design of your application and the data that your users upload.

5. You Can Only Customise with Javascript on Bubble

You can build almost anything on Bubble. Building Bubble plugins allows you to extend the functionality of your Bubble.io app. For example, you can create a Bubble plugin to integrate other apps and features so you can customize your Bubble.io app as needed.

Bubble seamlessly integrates with Javascript via plugins so you can write and run custom code inside your Bubble.io app. Although it only supports Javascript.

The core system of Bubble is built in Javascript so users can use Javascript to extend their functionality, but only Javascript.

6. Complex Algorithms Aren't Bubble's Advantage

Bubble's visual drag-and-drop interface, workflows, and backend workflows make it very efficient in writing business and display logic.

One issue with Bubble is that it isn't best at running mathematically-complex algorithms.

One way to solve this issue is to use Javascript for expressing mathematically-complicated formulas.

7. You Cannot Create Complex Games on Bubble

Increasingly, you can see beautiful apps being built on Bubble with incredible UI/UX.

Similar to the above issue, Bubble doesn't allow other languages on Bubble beyond Javascript meaning it limits your ability to create complex games on it.

Users have built some incredible games on Bubble like Factle. Though complex 3D, Metaverse, or platform games is a limitation of Bubble.

8. It's Hard To Access Bubble Apps Offline

Bubble is incredible at building web apps: whether that's you're a startup building your MVP, internal tools, or another product. One limitation of this is that it requires you to be online to access the app.

Therefore, if someone has poor or no signal, it will be hard to access the Bubble app or be very unstable. This is a limitation and issue of Bubble compared to a native app built on code.

9. It's Hard To Move Off Bubble

The limitation if one does want to move away from Bubble is that one will have to start from scratch. On Bubble, you own the data and can import this to your new app so you don't lose users or user data.

However, you cannot export the bubble code since Bubble apps can only run on Bubble itself. 

The question here is why you think you need to move away from Bubble. We're using Bubble for the long term and believe it can help you scale!

10. Most Bubble Apps Are Built On Shared Servers

Unless you have an enterprise option on Bubble, your Bubble app will be hosted on a shared server. It provides hosting via AWS. This one server will power multiple apps.

The issue with this is that if one of the apps you share the server with runs many complicated workflows per minute, it could impact your own app's performance. 

However, there are some options to upgrade your Bubble app to a dedicated service, as in the enterprise option, depending on your scale.

Alternatively, you could buy extra capacity for your app so that when you need an extra boost, you can buy the amount of extra capacity you need.

It's worth noting that the majority of no-code platforms have shared servers and typically don't have issues but it's a limitation of Bubble and something to be conscious of.