Your marketplace can run entirely hosted by Sharetribe, or, if you are on an Extend plan, you can host the front end of your marketplace. How you host, or the Hosting mode, depends on how you are building and operating your marketplace. No-code mode is for marketplaces built and operating exclusively with no-code tools, while Custom code mode is for marketplaces where you host the front-end marketplace application so that you can make customizations via custom code.

You toggle Hosting mode in Console > Build > Advanced > Hosting mode.

No-code mode means that Sharetribe hosts your marketplace frontend application (the actual marketplace website), alongside your marketplace database (the marketplace backend) on our servers. This is the default mode of the Test environment and how every new Sharetribe marketplace begins.

Custom code mode means that you host your marketplace frontend application. Sharetribe continues to host your backend, but you are hosting your front end in order to be able to modify the codebase. You can still make no-code changes through Console, but you are also able to make changes via code (or a developer does those changes for you). Because you are hosting your own codebase, certain configuration settings or "environment variables" are set directly in the codebase rather than in Console. These are:

Switching from No-code mode to Custom code mode happens when you want to make changes with custom code to your marketplace. After toggling Custom code mode on in Console, you'll need to complete the transition by completing the following steps:

To learn more how to transition and details about each particular step, please refer to this article.

It is possible to transition away from Custom code mode back to No-code mode. However, in order to transition, you will need the contact the Sharetribe team. This transition undoes the changes made from Custom code mode by switching your marketplace frontend application from being the custom code version you host yourself to the version Sharetribe runs and hosts. You will lose any custom-coded features during this process, reverting to the default no-code capabilities of Sharetribe.

During this transition, it is imperative to check that undoing any coding modifications does not cause errors for your users. Our support team will check this when you contact us about switching back to No-code mode. We will guide you to ensure as smooth a transition as possible.

Frontend, backend, hosting, coding and other terms used in this article may sound unfamiliar to you. This is okay. You can run and operate your marketplace business using Sharetribe without ever needing to encounter these concepts. Running your marketplace in No-code mode means you leave all the technical stuff to Sharetribe so that you can focus on operating your marketplace business.

Custom coding exists for when you discover that your marketplace business demands changes or features not possible in No-code mode. If you decide that custom coding the feature is the right approach for your business but are not sure how to begin, consider reading through the following articles as a first step. They will familiarize you with how custom coding works on Sharetribe, connect you with verified Expert developers, and explain how to prepare requirements and make the most of what is already built.

Please also book a call with our team in Console or start a conversation via the chat widget in the bottom right corner with any questions you may have. We are here to help.