Almost everyone knows how to use a spreadsheet but only a few know how to build a slick looking, smartly functioning mobile app. However, Glide Apps has narrowed this gap; David Siegel & Jason Smith, the co-founders of the company have developed a system to create mobile apps using Google Sheets as a database. The resultant platform enables users to set up a mobile app in minutes without any prior coding knowledge.
Getting started couldn’t be easier – sign up for a Glide Apps account using Google Gmail & select 1 of the 2 methods available:
- Use a Google Sheets spreadsheet as your starting point.
- Use a preconfigured Glide Apps template, which you can customize.
For beginners, Glide Apps recommends starting with a template, even if you simply use it as a learning base for building the app you really want.
Templates available on the platform are diverse, especially for corporates. For instance, companies can choose an employee listing app, with inbuilt chat or an expense tracker for real-time financial planning. There’s also a set of retail & service specific templates, which include a storefront, a take-away ordering app or a mobile restaurant. Templates on offer are neatly categorized according to industry, & Glide offers both free & paid options to choose from.
UI elements for the layout offer users the option to build a professional, native-looking mobile app, & Gilde has a very informative documentation library of tutorials, which include videos to help users if they come across any difficulties. Another feature is that any app built on the Glide platform stays in sync with the spreadsheet used to create it – any updates are instantly available on the app.
Once built, the app can be shared via a scannable QR code or a link, & added to a user’s Home Screen, much like a native app. Apps are cross-platform & work on all mobile devices (they also work on desktops, but display on a small mobile-like screen). Glide Apps are Progressive Web Apps – apps that function like native apps; can be accessed from a device’s Home Screen, but are built using traditional Website coding rather than SDKs for mobile development.
The San Francisco, US-based company, started in 2018, has raised more than US $3.8 million in seed rounds with the latest investors being Nat Friedman & First Round Capital. Glide offers a free tier for limited data storage, updates & spreadsheet row count, with the Glide Apps branding, but their paid options allow generous usage limits without the Glide branding, with options to use a custom domain & offer user login facilities.
