If you’re ever at a zoo, theme park, botanic garden, or any other vast space, you’ll find maps everywhere with a big pin and the words “You’re here.” That feeling of trying to figure out the map, understand where you are, and learn your way around can look a lot like starting a project from scratch, especially with low-code/no-code (LCNC) tools.
This is especially true if you’re building an app and are new to the technology. You have an idea of where you want to go — at a zoo, you might want to visit the aviary or find the hippos — so you look around you, make sense of the map, and get going.
The map might also have information about scheduled events, closing hours, dining areas, and additional services like scooters or golf carts to move around. This new guidance can enlighten you and help you easily move around the park.
So, let this Essential Appli Starter Guide serve as your map to learn the ins and outs of every tool, feature, and possibility available in our LCNC platform through video tutorials, documentation pages, and brief explanations.
What Are We Doing Here?
To start, let’s explain what Appli is.
Appli is a LCNC platform for experts and non-experts to develop apps more effectively and seamlessly. Its code-less nature means people won’t need to hard code any part of their app to get exactly what they need, as our LCNC capabilities support each other to tailor features and actions to your liking.
The lack of hard coding also makes for rapid prototyping and faster time-to-market. This is both a great advantage for developers looking for quick solutions and a relief for citizen developers and other non-experts wishing to build an app for personal or professional use without all the programming knowledge.
Appli can also be used for educational purposes, like as an introduction to logic and coding for students in a computer science class. The platform gives you free rein to explore, learn, and create!
To start, download the Appli Builder in your preferred operating system.
Get To Know Your Playground
The first step before beginning your app development journey will be logging into the Appli Builder.
Over the years, we’ve compiled a set of useful tutorials that can help you easily understand every Appli Builder element. With them, you’ll learn where to find what you need and the tools available to you to make your vision a reality. So, after creating your account and choosing your nearest server, it’s time to open a project for your app.
- Catch this short tutorial on creating projects in the Appli Builder.
- If you like going at your own pace, you can read the tutorial with illustrative screenshots instead.
To continue, let’s get to know the playground — the canvas for your app!
This is where you’re greeted by a blank page that stares back at you, waiting for you to introduce element upon element to weave your app together:
- If you’re a visual learner and like to watch videos, our Interface Overview video is the best place to start.
- If you’re more of a reader with visual aids, the Overview documentation will come in handy.
Your Low-Code and No-Code Tools
Now, you know where things are! Exploring the interface will expose you to the drag-and-drop no-code elements in the Appli Builder, but in each of them, there are low-code options to make them act as you want.
Among the no-code elements, you’ll find a camera feature, a map, a button, a toggle, an image, and so on. You’ll be able to click on the element and drop it wherever you wish, instantly embedding it on your desktop or mobile app.
- To explore no-code elements beyond the interface tutorial, check out this short video explainer.
From here, the low-code block coding part enters our realm of consciousness.
- Learn how to use the low-code capabilities with this video tutorial.
- Read the written documentation for low-code features here.
Know Your Data Actions
One of Appli’s strongest suits is the creation of databases so you can manage your data effortlessly, whether you’re pulling it from an external source or inputting it yourself.
This element will be useful in most apps — if you need to create a ledger of app users, run data analyses with graphics and charts, manage inventory, and many more scenarios.
If the app you want to create involves any data-related actions, here are some important tutorials to get you started:
- Four-minute video about the data modeler and data viewer features.
- A quick explanation of the Form Builder.
Additionally, to see all features in action, you can watch our tutorial on creating a simple app with Appli. You can also read our blog on creating a Coffee Rating App for more examples.
Deployment and Real-Time Testing
Once your app starts taking shape, you might want to test what it looks like on mobile or desktop. This part can be quite fun, allowing you to experience the app like an official user.
This step is also crucial to understanding the real look and feel of the app when using it on the designated device since you’re moving from Builder to Player, and oftentimes computer to phone.
The Builder allows you to make updates and instantly deploy them on the Player, which helps you quickly test on the go. Doing this can be difficult on other platforms that require you to send updates through its respective app store, which can take hours to days before you can see the changes in your mobile or desktop app.
- When you’re ready to deploy and test your app on a smartphone, watch this three-minute tutorial about running your app on a mobile device.
Come Back For More
Now that you’ve learned the basics and know where to locate the Appli Essential Starter Guide — your map around this exciting park — you must know learning never stops. To go deeper into every Appli Builder feature, visit these sites:
- The complete Appli Documentation website.
- Our YouTube channel, which contains several tutorials on Appli Builder features — from simple to advanced topics.
You can also learn much more about the platform, the company, and our team through the following links:
- We’re active on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook.
- Leave your comments, questions, and feedback, or simply say hi to our team on Discord, introduce yourself and create discussions in our Forums, or sign up to our newsletter and send us a form on our Contact Us page.
We wish you the best of luck developing the next great app on Appli!
