We make building custom API flows and integrating with no-code services like BaseRow, Memberstack and Outseta easy. Still, it can be challenging for non-technical users with no background in back-end development to know how to do things and in what order to do them. Abstracting the logic into a pretty UI is only part of the challenge.
With that in mind, we wanted to create a directory of prebuild flows (blueprints) that our users could explore before signing up for our product.
As a bootstrapped startup (2 founders) who had just launched after several years of development, we couldn’t go back to the basement and invest another month or two into developing a directory. So instead, we turned to no-code.
One of our claims is that Alphi lets anyone extend any tech stack, whether code or no-code, so it was the perfect opportunity to not only save time but also showcase how no-code can be plugged into a traditional tech stack.
Where does BaseRow come into this?
Rather than using our application database, we wanted to use an independent database that was easy to manage and scalable—allowing us to iterate quickly without migrations and maintaining an admin UI layer.
BaseRow ticked both boxes; the fact it uses PostgreSQL under the hood with the option to self-host lets me sleep easy.
The final part of the project was hooking up the database to the front-end. As the directory sits on our marketing site (for SEO benefits), we decided to migrate our marketing site over to WeWeb, a no-code website builder that uses Vue under the hood. For the middleware, we used Alphi to fetch, format and cache the data.
Summary
Rather than extending our core application, we built an MVP in around five days using BaseRow as the database. A second benefit is that as we expand our team, we can pass management of the directory over to new hires who do not have the technical knowledge to interact with our core tech stack.
In 2023 we plan to add more flows to the directory and convert it into a marketplace where verified users can share their flows with the community.
Disclaimer: The cloning functionality is done within the core application.
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Tools used: Baserow + WeWeb + Alphi