Glide apps blissful promise is to “create an app from a Google Sheet in five minutes, for free”. How is that possible, you say? Well, through a beautifully designed no-code platform that allows you to transform a Google Sheet into an aesthetically pleasing, terrifically easy to use mobile app.
We know, it sounds revolutionary: every single one of your quite frankly pretty boring spreadsheets could become exciting apps you can use to smash your day-to-day tasks. Does Glide no code app builder live up to its hype? Is it really as life-changing as it seems, and most importantly, how easy is it to create an app using the Glide Apps platform?
What is Glide apps?
Glide is a simple yet powerful platform that takes Google Sheets and transforms them into apps. What’s amazing about Glide is that it’s easy enough to use that it allows users to efficiently DIY their apps, though it’s important to note that there are makers and experts specialized in creating Glide apps. Why? Because sometimes Glide templates aren’t quite enough for users’ needs, so they find themselves needing a little more.
Templates? Yes. As a Glide Apps user, you’ll be able to choose from a myriad of beautiful templates to fulfill your app needs. You could create any app, such as:
- Property Manager
- Inventory
- Company CRM
- Delivery
- Room Reservations
- Employee Directory
- Mobile Store
- Basic Expense Reporter
- Simple CRM
- Delivery
- Mobile Restaurant
- Issue Tracker
- Spare Parts Inventory Management
- Inventory
- and many more.
These templates have been especially helpful to small business owners who are looking for ways to streamline their processes and operations, without spending a fortune. If that’s your case, feel free to check out our Glide guide, to find out more about the platform and make the best decisions for your dream apps. Here at LowCode Agency no code agency, we’re Glide Apps experts, so we know a thing or two about how to curate the best apps ever.
Glide apps advantages
Easy-to-use and tiny learning curve
If you’re already familiar with Google Sheets, there’s really not much more you’ll have to learn in order to use Glide Apps. The only thing you need is your data in the form of a Google sheet – the rest is absolutely effortless. That’s why we love Glide: it takes the complicated out of app creation.
Who knew that in 2022 it would be possible to create a fully functioning app in a few seconds!? Most Glide users find the platform to be gorgeously easy-to-use. Thanks to its drag and drop interface, you can easily manipulate your existing data in any way you want.
Pleasant user interface with instant feedback
The Glide user interface has one of the best ratings in the industry for usability. It is extremely user-friendly and pleasant to navigate through. Its instant visual feedback makes creating your app a walk in the park because of how responsive it is. If something doesn’t quite work right once you’ve dragged and dropped it in, you’ll be able to instantly see how it looks and make a relevant decision. That’s why it only takes a few minutes to create your perfect app.
Free at first
Glide Apps’ freemium model is actually surprisingly powerful: it will let users create a free app including up to 500 rows of data, with features such as:
- Mobile layout
- 500 data rows
- 1,000 sheet updates
- Public sign-in
- 10% transaction fee
- Glide branding
- 100MB file storage
- glideapp.io domain
- 10 pins per map
- 10 signatures
- 100 Zapier actions
- Community support
- Fast data editor
- Easily shareable
Learn more about Glide app builder features
If you wanted to, you could just use Glide’s free version, as it allows you to create a fully functioning app without limitations that will greatly impact its performance. However, you’ll most likely be going back in for more! Click here to find out more about Glide’s pricing.
Fast to use with ready-made templates
All Glide apps are naturally beautiful. Even without any customization whatsoever, Glide templates are focused on design, and you’ll be able to use them to create your own aesthetically pleasing apps, without effort. It’s always nice to have something functional AND beautiful, so that’s definitely a plus.
This brings us to our last point: Glide is really fast to use because it has hundreds of ready-made templates you can choose from. There are precisely 407 templates available at the moment on the Glide platform. You can go ahead and choose from any of them to instantly create an app with Glide.
However, as we mentioned a few paragraphs ago, as your app needs grow, you’ll probably want to enlist the help of a Glide expert. By the way, here at LowCode agency, we’ve been creating Glide Apps for our clients, and they’ve loved them! Actually, we’ve made 230+ apps so far, which is more than any developer in their lifetime… Just saying. Contact us today for a chat about your dream app!
Glide apps disadvantages
Not much flexibility to customize
Glide isn’t the most practical platform if you have a project which needs a lot of design customization. It’s possible that you won’t be able to find exactly the right template for your needs, so bear that in mind.
No In-App notifications
Because Glide creates PWAs (Progressive Web Apps), your Glide app won’t be able to send notifications on users’ desktops. However, you could leverage the many ways of sending email notifications or even texts, thanks to integrations, actions and triggers.
App store publishing
For the same reason that you can’t send in-app notifications with your Glide apps, you can’t publish them on the app store. This could be a limitation for some, though not to worry, Glide makes it extremely easy to share your app through a link you can copy and paste and even a QR code you can effortlessly pass along.
The bottom line
Honestly, we think Glideapps is amazing. The no-code platform will give you access to a whole new world: that of apps. You can create and publish your own app in minutes, fulfilling virtually any purpose you need. Whether it be for your business or your personal life, there’s an app that can streamline any process.
To create your Glide app, you can choose through hundreds of beautiful templates, or reach out to a Glide Apps expert. In fact, here at LowCode Agency, our passion is helping people create powerful Glide apps. Contact us today to book a call with our founder, Jesus, who can walk you through the effortless process.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Glide app builder is a no-code tool that allows non-technical people to build functional, attractive mobile and desktop apps without having to write any code. It gives users the option to build from scratch using its intuitive drag-and-drop editor or use pre-made app designs. Glide allows you to import data via Google Spreadsheet into your app to add logic and functionality to it.
Glide has all the advantages that a low-code platform could have: easy to use, built templates, and free at first. These advantages will help owners launch their apps within minutes with an interactive user interface.
Glide is awesome to use, even it’s for personal purposes or businesses launches.
Yes, Glide has an interface where you can simply drag & drop the components to create your app, have a look at Glide video lessons Jesus (founder of Low Code Agency) uploaded here, they are the best for your Glide self-learning journey.
If you want to make a more complex product, you can implement some custom coding and ask for the professional help from Glide experts & agencies.
Jesus is the founder of Low Code Agency: a low-code development agency that allows small business owners to get their mobile and web apps done fast and cost-effectively while maintaining quality.
