What we know
Tools we've used properly, not just watched a demo of.
Anyone can list logos. Here's the same list with an honest opinion attached to each one, because knowing when not to use something is the useful part.
Automation
Make
Make is where we take automations that have outgrown a simple trigger and action. You can see the whole scenario on one canvas, which matters when something has real logic in it.
What it's good at
- Branching, looping and error handling you can actually follow
- Operations pricing that's far kinder at volume than task pricing
- Working with raw JSON, HTTP calls and awkward APIs
- Seeing exactly where a run failed and replaying it
Where it gets awkward
- The canvas gets busy, so naming and tidiness matter
- Steeper learning curve than the simpler tools
- Data structures and arrays trip people up early on
- Big scenarios need documenting or they become someone's problem later
Our experience with it
Most of the sturdier automations we build end up here: multi-step processes with conditions, retries and proper handling for the times something doesn't respond. We build them so someone else can open them and understand what's going on.
Things we've built or connected
Multi-step processes connecting CRMs, spreadsheets and internal tools
Scheduled jobs that tidy data before anyone sees it
Rebuilds of Zap chains that had become expensive and fragile
Usually in the same conversation