Using Airtable and Glide to build a Boba Tracker

Background

I'm making a new app for my partner and I called "Gf Zone." It helps us keep track of things like shopping lists, shared account numbers, date ideas, etc. This project has been a lot of fun and it's been a great learning experience. I really enjoy getting feedback from my partner about how to improve it. The app is built using Glide and an Airtable base (which is linked to the Glide database).

The Boba Tracker

I'm on day 6 of #100 days of no code, and I wanted to build a new feature in this project for today's challenge, which was to build a resource directory.

I decided to build a boba shop directory because my partner and I love tea. We recently moved to chicago and we want to visit as many new tea shops as possible, but there are so many!

I wanted to add a feature to "Gf Zone" that would let us view a list of every boba shop in town, with pictures and info about each location. I also wanted an easy way to keep track of which shops we've visited, the shops we want to visit, which drinks we've tried, and which ones we liked the best.

What is Phantombuster?

Phantombuster is a tool that lets you scrape data from a google maps . I used phantombuster to scrape a search for "Tea Shop and export them as a csv file. This allowed me to pull photos, addresses, ratings, and descriptions for all of these shops without me having to manually create a list of potential shops to visit.

I then imported that data into airtable, cleaned it up, added some extra columns, and created a simple dashboard that shows us what shops we've visited, which drinks we've tried, and what we thought of each drink.

What is Airtable?

Airtable is a database that you can use to store information. It's not just for lists, though. You can also use it as a knowledge base, project management tool and more!

Airtable is great for storing lists, todo lists or anything else that needs organizing in one place. Airtable is especially popular because you can use it to create apps with your data —it's easy to share your data with other people, and it's a good way to keep track of what you're doing. It also has a pretty user-friendly interface that makes it easy for anyone—even those who aren't tech-savvy—to learn how to use.

What is Glide?

Glide is a tool that makes it easy to build interfaces for apps without writing code. It connects to Airtable via API and allows you to create user-friendly apps to view and interact with your data. I chose Glide instead of Softr because its starter features were much more robust, plus the interface was cleaner and easier than Softr's design process (which requires some manual steps).

I would recommend Airtable for anyone who wants to keep track of their projects and data. It's a much more user-friendly interface than other database tools like Excel, and it's easy to learn how to use. If you’re looking to create an app without writing code, I highly recommend Glide. You can use it to build apps that look great and are easy for your users to navigate.

Airtable and Glide are great tools for building your first app. They're easy to use, affordable and have a ton of features to help you get started on your data journey.