In today’s episode of International Finance’s start-up exploration, we will talk about Adalo, which is solving the maze around developing an app from scratch, as per the business requirements. Adalo’s seamless no-code app builder has been a hit among techies and ventures alike.
Adalo, whose easy-to-use interface lets app creators drag and drop simple blocks to create their dream application without a single line of code, recently got USD 8 million worth of funding, an initiative which was led by renowned Venture Capital company Tiger Global.
What does Adalo do?
‘Build custom responsive apps & publish anywhere — no coding required’, states Adalo on its website. The venture allows freelancers and business founders to build and publish custom responsive apps for the web and mobile devices.
Custom fonts, colour palettes, icons, logos, name any feature which enhances the website quality and helps the venture’s brand value to stand head and shoulder above its competitors, Adalo has all the answers.
For start-ups, freelancing and personal apps, Adalo has tailor-made solutions for everyone. The clients can get their digital presence further strengthened by adding features like marketplace payments, multi-sided apps, and profiles, all through Adalo.
Adalo clients can even build their online communities with features like chat, picture-sharing, and the ability to follow and like community posts. While developing their official websites through Adalo, businesses can enhance the customer experiences by adding facilities like appointment settings, reminders and easy payment options. These ventures can even develop internal operational tools.
In short, Adalo is the one-stop solution, when it comes to developing a website which will give a business the desired brand value and edge over its competitors.
And yes, you can get your app featured on Adalo, by filling out an online form. Adalo even rewards apps with the ‘App of the Month’ crown, thus helping the clients to get the much-needed business reach and networking on the online domain.
For customizing the apps with branding and designing suitable for business/personal purposes, Adalo has a scalable and powerful no-code backend in the form of Xano.
Xano can store and signup users, perform actions on a schedule, make API calls, and perform code functions, apart from allowing databases to be scaled based on need, location, and compliance.
Xano allows the Adalo users to periodically update records in a collection, sign-up and log-in users to the apps, save on action usage by stacking API calls into a single response, send scheduled or recurring notifications, perform complex math or transform text directly in the database, and last but not the least, create, update, or delete records in bulk.
Adalo also provides flexible monthly and annual billing models for publishing and running apps. It ranges from free to Starter (USD 45 per month for founders and first-time entrepreneurs), Professional (Monthly USD 65 for small and medium businesses), Team (Monthly USD 200 for freelancers and agencies) and Business (Monthly USD 250 for big businesses).
Adalo also has a team of designers & builders, who can pitch in, in terms of app building. All the client needs to do is to fill out Adalo’s ‘Experts Form’, with his/her project details, deadline, budget, and requested features. Adalo will review the project details and match the client with an expert who will fit the customer’s needs, in terms of building the app from scratch.
Customised Products, Components & Solutions
Creating apps on Adalo is very easy. First, you need to drag and drop reusable building blocks to create your app’s interface. Then you need to link the pages of your app together to bring the product to life. Then the project can be moved from the prototype phase to the live online one with simple database spreadsheets.
Adalo also has its own ‘Component Marketplace’ and ‘App Templates’, using which one can browse the community-created templates to begin his/her app-making journey. Also, the client’s demo templates can be reviewed by Adalo’s experts, before the projects go online.
For large businesses, Adalo provides an environment, where these ventures can create their websites as per the operational requirements. All they need to do is connect their apps to their existing workflows and expand functionality with thousands of integrations with a few clicks. Adalo will also provide its expertise to help the concerned client throughout the process.
Adalo’s ‘No-Code’ tools help big businesses to design, build, and publish apps on quick notice. Be it reaching out to new customers, improving customer engagement, building a website with payment gateways and initiating customer loyalty programmes, name any crucial function for making a company’s business lucrative, Adalo has answers for it.
Also, through Adalo’s help, these businesses can build and manage their own backend data source to house the information, a function that’s important for these businesses.
Adalo Experts Program For Freelancers, Agencies & Start-ups
To avail of the above service, the client needs to submit an Adalo Experts program application form highlighting his/her no-code experience. After the review of the application, the individual will receive an email with next steps. Adalo will then pair the client with individuals/entities, as the latter will collaborate on the website development process.
The start-ups can enjoy Adalo’s drag-and-drop editor or work with an Adalo Expert to build their customised website. From self-guided tutorials in the Adalo App Academy to end-to-end design, development, and maintenance with an Adalo Expert, the start-up is there to help its peers to register quick business growth.
Connecting the start-up’s app with third-party tools and services, getting it launched on a custom web domain, and helping the app to grow its engagement through targeted push notifications, and in-app messaging, Adalo guides its client to overcome all these business barriers.
Apart from providing guidance throughout the design and development stage and periodic coaching on product maintenance, Adalo also provides over 70 courses on various aspects of app building.
Conclusion
Developing a website or mobile app is no child’s play. Companies take months and years, when it comes to firming up their ‘dream’ presence on the digital space. The process is both time and cost-consuming (add the developer fees as well), something which the big businesses can afford, but not the small ventures, start-ups and freelance professionals.
Adalo has emerged as a viable and cost-effective option on this front. The prospective clients will get their tailor-made mobile app and business websites on very short notice of time, without compromising on the quality front. Expect Adalo to gain more from the uncertain business environment of 2023, where companies are in the mood of acquiring cost-effective solutions for their business challenges.
Image Credits: Adalo