Codeless programming is the future for companies and individuals who need to assemble, test, and implement custom software solutions quickly. Custom apps, especially in an age of increased digital connections and remote commerce, are invaluable tools in offering the user a smooth experience when working with your brand.
Bubble.io answers the need for increased speed and efficiency when developing mobile or web applications. With the intuitive workflow, highly visible responsiveness controls, and a robust back-end engine, gaining fluency in Bubble.io makes a strong portfolio addition when growing your freelance or custom technology business.
Techmate Labs has been implementing Bubble.io across projects since 2012 and is here today to share some design tips that have aided us in being competitive designers and product testers.
These tips are oriented towards developers who want to work more quickly in their projects and shorten their development window. Improvements in this area will help attract more businesses worried about the lengthy product cycles that have characterized custom coding for decades.
We hope you find these tips helpful in your own Bubble.io projects!
Plan and Visualize Before Your Build
While pen and paper won’t launch a website application, it can help you quickly get there.
No matter how intuitive a workflow is, you will still be building from within the constraints of the visibility offered by the software. You can imagine this effect like horse blinders—the work going on front and center is what’s important, but it may still be helpful to zoom out and see the project in its entirety.
Beginning with a plan, whether written or drawn, can offer you that high-level visual reference that allows you to focus on the overall experience and layout without cluttering your vision with the demands of the app. As your familiarity with Bubble.io grows, so too will your ability to plan a robust frame.
Don’t Be Afraid to Use Templates
With templates, you are guaranteed that the design is excellent and responsiveness is already built out. You aren’t limited to sticking with a design either—you can use only a piece of it, like a page or specific function.
When using a template, you should take some time to look through the build in its entirety to avoid any stubborn trailing bits that may lead to an overcomplicated UI or bugs later down the road. Check out the official Bubble.io template database here for high-quality designs and builds.
Use Settings for Improved Workflow
Luckily, Bubble.io features flexibility for all types of development. The editor is very responsive when it comes to developing exactly what you need, and to do so; you simply need to take a look at editor settings.
From the editor settings tab, you can adjust your zoom, grids, snapping preferences, or even target individual elements that are layered on top of each other. These settings will carry across all of your elements, making the placement of these elements a breeze!
By optimizing these settings (say, creating and binding to boundaries that allow you to place assets within a mobile layout confidently), you will no longer have to constantly switch your viewer to adjust and confirm placement across different deployments.
Copy / Paste Groups With Similar Settings
Much of the work you implement across a site will be repetitive in nature. Part of what makes Bubble.io so great is that the elements are quick to build, resulting in a faster turnaround time. Making that process even faster is as simple as copy and pasting settings across groups with similar functions.
Copy-pasting means only designing once and can be used across numerous cases without impacting your build. Speed up repeated elements like buttons, text boxes, pop-ups, and more. This practice improves your workflow and allows you to keep a coherent design without adding more busywork to your day.
Label Elements and Groups Correctly
You’ll notice that as a project grows in scale, it will inevitably become more challenging to locate the core functions. This disorganization can be disastrous in cases where responses are linked between elements, but you can’t track down where your stacks are breaking down.
Luckily, with all elements and groups within Bubble.io, you are offered the ability to name these for ease of location. Being deliberate and clear with your naming strategies as you go is essential when it comes to optimizing your work and bug-testing flow.
With proper naming, element trees will be more apparent, and the search box can be used to its fullest potential. Develop your own set of naming conventions and keep them consistent across your team for even faster results.
We hope you found these tips helpful in improving the speed of your Bubble.io building. We are learning more about the platform every day and are excited to share more about our skills and what codeless programming can offer you in your development career.
Contact us to learn more about our services and specialties.