This guide will help you get started with app creation using the drag-and-drop tools found on the “App” screen of your dashboard. You will learn about the live app preview, custom pages and navigation, theming and settings, and publication. No technical experience is required for this!
Initial setup
If you haven’t already filled out the “App setup form”, go ahead and do that now. We’ll ask you a few basic questions about your app so that we can get a live preview of your app up and running. Filling out this form should only take a few minutes. Don’t worry if you’re not sure about some of the values — you can always change them later. Within a few minutes of submitting the setup form you will see a live preview of your app pop into your dashboard!
Concepts
We recommend familiarizing yourself with a few concepts before you start building:
Quick start guide
The following steps will get you get your first page, modules, and tab in place.
1. Open the app preview
Open the “App” screen in your dashboard. You’ll see some navigation on the left as well as a live preview of your app in the center. This preview if a fully functional copy of your app! Click around the preview to get a feel for things. You can change the size of the preview or open it in its own browser tab using the buttons to the left of the preview.
2. Add a page
Let’s start by adding a custom homepage for your app. You can learn more about app pages here.
Add page: Navigate to the “App > Pages” screen in your dashboard, then click “Add page”.
Set page details: Give your page a title. Something like “Home” or “Discover” might make sense.
Add modules: Click “Add module” to start adding custom elements to your page. We recommend starting with a Banner module at the top of your homepage. You can learn more about app modules here.
3. Add a tab
Once you’re satisfied with your new homepage it’s time to add a tab for it. You can learn more about app tabs here.
View tabs: Navigate to the “App > Tabs” screen in your dashboard. You’ll notice that a tab for the built-in “Library” page has already been created for you.
Add tab: Click “Add tab” to create your own custom tab. In the panel on the right you can set the tab title, upload an icon (see our guide on app tabs for details), and link the tab to your new page. Click “Save” - you should see your new tab appear in the app preview!
Sort tabs: In the “Tabs” panel on the left, drag your new tab up above the “Library” tab. This will make your new tab appear first in your app’s navigation. The first tab in the list will be the default tab when someone loads your app, making the page that the first tab links to the homepage of your app.
4. Adjust app theme and settings
Now that you’ve got the basics of custom pages and navigation under your belt, let’s take a look at some of the other adjustments you can make to your app.
Update theme: Navigate to the “App > Theme” screen in your dashboard. This is where you can update the general look and feel of your app. Try changing the “Default display mode” option and reloading the app preview. This option determines whether your app loads in light or dark mode by default (or whether it adapts to the user’s system display mode).
Update settings: Navigate to the “App > Settings” screen in your dashboard. This is where you can set information about your app and configure various features. Try scrolling down to “Social links” and adding a link to one of your social media pages or your website. Navigate back to the app preview, open the app menu from inside the preview, and you’ll see your new link!
5. Publish your changes
So far all of your changes are still in “draft” mode. This means that they are visible to administrators in the app preview but haven’t been published for your users to view them. To publish your changes for everyone to view, navigate to the top level of the “App” screen in your dashboard and click “Publish all changes” in the panel on the right. You can learn more about publishing app changes here.