What type of apps can you build with Bubble.io in 2024

Have you ever wondered what kinds of applications are within your reach with Bubble.io? In this article, we’ll review some of the possible projects you can build using Bubble.

As we navigate through various app types, we'll highlight why Bubble.io stands out as an ideal platform to develop these digital solutions and we'll also share troubleshooting tips to ensure your app-building journey is as smooth as possible.

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TL;DR

This article showcases diverse application types you can build with Bubble, from niche marketplaces and industry-specific job boards to streamlined booking systems. Discover how Bubble.io's no-code approach, coupled with its robust features like payment gateways and customizable interfaces, empowers you to create tailored solutions, including project management and CRM platforms.

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Marketplaces 

The world of marketplace apps extends far beyond industry giants like DoorDash, Etsy or Airbnb. While these giants have achieved remarkable success, their core functionalities are surprisingly straightforward. At its heart, a marketplace app facilitates connections between buyers and sellers, making transactions more convenient and efficient.

With no-code platforms such as Bubble, you can create smaller, specialized versions of a marketplace. It has all the essential features to build a successful marketplace, such as integrations with payment gateways, the possibility of setting up user profiles, allowing reviews, and advanced search functionalities.

Copious.Land is a marketplace that was specifically designed to address the needs of land investors. Through this marketplace, investors gain access to a dynamic platform where they can showcase their properties, explore an extensive database of wholesale listings, and connect with a community of experienced peers.

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Why Bubble is best suited to build Marketplaces

Bubble gives you a lot of freedom to customize your marketplace, both in functionality and appearance. There are many plugins and useful integrations at your disposal that let you effortlessly enhance your marketplace's capabilities.  For instance, the integration of payment gateways like Stripe Connect ensures secure transactions. 

Marketplaces primarily target desktop users, aligning perfectly with Bubble's core capabilities. All the element's properties are optimized for desktop functionality, enhancing the user experience.

Bubble’s data is dynamic, meaning that when data is added it actually reflects in real-time, since marketplaces have continuous changes in products, this eliminates the need for manual page refreshes.

Furthermore, Bubble offers a lot of templates for marketplaces, so you do not have to start from scratch, and you can use a design that has already been tested as your foundation.

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Troubleshooting tips

• Managing complex transactions: Marketplace apps often involve multiple parties, including sellers, buyers, app owners, and payment processors. Money needs to be distributed accurately among these parties, involving various fees and charges. Familiarize yourself not only with Bubble but also with the chosen payment processor, commonly Stripe. Study both their development and live environments. Pay special attention to developer logs, which provide detailed transaction responses, revealing essential information such as who the seller and buyer were, the transaction amount, who received what, and whether the transaction was successfully processed. This insight ensures confidence in the correct processing and allocation of payments.

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• User roles and functions: Most marketplace apps distinguish between different user roles, such as sellers and buyers, each with specific functionalities. To manage this, assign distinct roles to users in your database, pos.sibly using an option set. Utilize user conditionals in your workflows to determine what actions or features are accessible based on the user's role. For efficient testing, use clear email addresses that identify the user's role. For instance, appending "seller" or "buyer" to the email address aids in distinguishing roles during testing. Like this: user+seller@mail.com, user1+seller,@mail.com, user+buyer@mail.com, etc. There might be other roles like employees and admins, identify these too. This approach minimizes confusion and ensures that the right functionalities are assigned to the appropriate user roles.

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Customer Testimonial

Maja Overgård, a visionary no-code founder from Denmark, turned her marketplace app idea into reality using Bubble.io. Hejcamp, an open marketplace centered on outdoor recommendations, rapidly gained traction and was eventually acquired by a prominent European player just months after its launch.  

While she had a background in data structures and logic, Bubble.io's visual creation capabilities unlocked a new dimension of creativity for her. After exploring various avenues, including attempting to customize a WordPress template through freelancers, Maja was getting frustrated, until she stumbled upon Bubble.io. 

"I remember that feeling of finding Bubble and just being like, I need to go out for a walk now because my mind is exploding from how awesome this whole no-code world is," she recalled.

Do you want to build a Marketplace with Bubble? You can start with this guide on how to build a platform exactly like Etsy!  

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Related: The top 5 no-code tools for marketplaces

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Job boards

Job boards provide a virtual platform where companies post job openings and job seekers submit applications. While you might have in mind mainstream job boards like LinkedIn and Indeed that cater to a broad audience, no-code development is perfect to build smaller versions, such as niche and company-specific job boards.

Niche job boards focus on specific employment categories or industries, and they are perfect for job seekers seeking openings in a particular sector. On the other hand, companies that want to have a direct channel to showcase their unique company culture, values, and openings can build their own company-specific job board. Building their own platform can also be useful for their in-house HR team, adding features to simplify the management of applications, interviews with candidates, and more.

TEN is an excellent example of a niche job board powered by Bubble.io. It connects event producers with skilled technicians in the event production industry. Traditionally, event producers have relied on informal referrals or intermediaries from agencies to identify technicians for their events. With TEN, producers can define their technical requirements and directly dispatch job requests to technicians. TEN also helps with the overall coordination of job requests, updates, and payment transactions, so the hiring process is much more convenient for both producers and workers.

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Why Bubble is best suited to build jobs boards

With Bubble, you can design job boards that align perfectly with your brand's identity. The platform offers extensive customization options, allowing you to implement diverse color schemes, styles, and even animations. Bubble's CSS-friendly environment is perfect. 

whether you prefer traditional layouts or want to experiment with unconventional designs.

Bubble provides advanced search capabilities, which are very important to help job seekers find the most relevant opportunities. You can define a wide range of search parameters, such as job title, employer, publication date, salary range, location, and more. By implementing the right logic, you can make your job board's search feature as specific and detailed as necessary.

Job boards also benefit from real-time data updates. Bubble's dynamic data capabilities ensure that job listings are updated instantly whenever changes are made, providing job seekers with the most current and accurate information. 

Bubble enables you to implement interactive notifications and alerts. You can set up automated notifications for various events, such as new job postings or job matches. Users can receive these notifications through email, SMS, or other preferred communication channels. This feature helps job seekers stay informed about relevant opportunities and increases the chances of successful connections between candidates and employers.

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Troubleshooting tips 

As searches will most likely have many constraints, you do not want to be repeating them for the same data type. To avoid redundancies you can create a "hidden variable" within a popup that contains a repeating group and stores all of the results of that search. This way you establish a central point for you to consistently reference, and whenever you want to do some updates on the search logic you only have to modify that one repeating group, instead of many. 

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Customer testimonials

Theodore Nelson, Founder of TEN, shared his success story. 

"TEN has not only connected technicians with more job opportunities but also provided event producers with a hassle-free platform to effortlessly discover top talent." 

The impact is tangible: a remarkable 40% reduction in administrative workload and an impressive 50% increase in efficiency compared to traditional hiring methods.

If you want to learn more about building a Job Board with Bubble, you can check out their guide to making a LinkedIn clone!

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Booking & appointment systems

From medical practices and beauty salons to personal trainers and consultants, the applications are diverse. Users can go on the app, select the provider of their choice, select the date and time of the booking, book an appointment, and pay through a selected payment gateway. They can also get a booking confirmation including all the details of their booking. Meanwhile, the professionals and providers can manage their availability, receive bookings, and coordinate seamlessly with clients.

With Bubble.io you can tailor your system to match different industries' unique demands. You’ll be able to develop an app with a friendly interface, and useful integrations (google calendar, payment gateways). It can also include e-mail notifications. These platforms facilitate efficient communication and scheduling.

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For example, Maid Manage is an app created with Bubble to simplify domestic service coordination. Maid Manage automates the generation of estimates while allowing customization for personalized quotes. Clients can effortlessly schedule appointments with their preferred maids, and workers can manage their upcoming jobs and appointments. The integration of Stripe for secure payment processing adds an extra layer of convenience.

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Why Bubble is best suited to build

Bubble gives you the flexibility to design your scheduling system just the way you want. You can create your own scheduling system from scratch, utilizing calendars, or integrate third-party services like Google or Outlook Calendar. Bubble's intuitive interface makes the process user-friendly, and you can automate email notifications to ensure your users remember their appointments.

One standout feature is Bubble's ability to seamlessly handle different time zones. This ensures that reserved slots align perfectly across various locations, eliminating any confusion. The customization options for the calendar are extensive, and you can also incorporate waitlists for fully-booked events or dates. 

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Troubleshooting tips 

When dealing with calendars in Bubble, you might find that their default appearance isn't great, and doesn't offer that much personalization and flexibility.  In cases like this, you will need to use a little bit of code. You can consider exploring the Bubble community forum or even reaching out to ChatGPT for assistance in making tweaks to the code so you can adjust your calendar to your preference.

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Customer testimonials

Collaborating with LowCode Agency, Brian Renner, the visionary founder of Maid Manage, turned his concept into reality in just 8 weeks. With enthusiasm, Brian shared:

“We had a vision of creating a user-friendly app that would empower maids and domestic workers to generate accurate estimates for their services. Our workers and clients have responded overwhelmingly well to MaidManage. They love the app's convenience, accuracy, and professional touch. It has truly transformed our business!".

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Discover the potential of Bubble with our expertise. Transform your idea into reality. Interested? Contact our Bubble agency to begin your journey!

Budgeting and personal finance apps

Budgeting and personal finance apps help people make informed decisions about their money.  These apps offer features such as expense tracking, budget creation, and investment analysis. With a platform like Bubble, you can design user-friendly apps that empower individuals to understand their spending patterns, set financial goals, and more.

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Built on Bubble, Budget Better is a versatile app that empowers users to create and manage their zero-based budget and financial goals. Users can link their bank accounts to generate a tailored budget or manually create their own, all while tracking their progress toward goals. Beyond budgeting, the app doubles as a social platform, fostering a community where users can connect, ask questions, and share financial successes. Their target audience is millennials and Gen Z who want to learn better financial skills.

Why Bubble is best suited to build personal finance apps

Bubble is a well-suited platform for creating budgeting and personal finance apps, offering seamless integrations with payment platforms and APIs. For example, the integration with Plaid can be used to link your app with bank accounts and financial providers. The extensive plugin marketplace also enriches the user experience with a variety of tools, including dynamic charts and graphs that provide valuable insights into users' financial data. 

Bubble ensures the secure storage and encryption of sensitive financial information, including credit card and bank account data. Furthermore, the option to convert your app into a native version for app stores adds another layer of versatility to your project.

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Troubleshooting tips

When doing multiple or complex calculations, or if you will be reusing some kind of data, you should always use hidden variables to store this info. For example, if you will always use your monthly income and this is the sum of 4 elements, instead of always running this sum, maintain a designated group to store this computed value for easy reference. This approach is also useful for breaking down intricate equations into manageable segments. You can enhance readability and maintain organized code by assigning meaningful names within dedicated groups. This practice simplifies troubleshooting and upkeep of your app's calculations.

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Customer testimonial

Budget Better’s founder and CEO Carmen Perez said:

"We needed something robust and flexible to create and test an MVP. Bubble provided us with all of that and more!"

The team behind Budget Better found in Bubble a powerful solution and it exceeded their expectations. They also appreciated the platform's helpful community, and how the API connector and plugin editor, opened up limitless possibilities for their project.

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E-Learning platforms

E-learning platforms have redefined the way knowledge is shared and acquired. These platforms offer a digital environment where users can access courses, engage with multimedia content, participate in discussions, and track their progress. 

With Bubble's capabilities, you can create interactive quizzes, integrate with video platforms, or even incorporate gamification elements like badges and points to enhance the engagement of students.

For example, Remote Quiz is a dynamic social remote learning platform designed for K-12 students. With Remote Quiz, educators, whether teachers or parents, can effortlessly make quizzes utilizing customizable templates or incorporating their own images and multimedia. These quizzes can then be shared with students in real time using popular communication tools like Zoom.

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Why Bubble is best suited to build E-Learning platforms

Bubble offers a robust database system that allows one to track progress, give awards, store multimedia such as videos, and more. Its remarkable scalability ensures seamless hosting even with substantial data loads, making it ideal for accommodating diverse learning materials. The platform provides extensive multimedia support to upload audio and video files, and it also offers integrations with third-party services like YouTube or Vimeo.

The inclusion of interactive elements such as sliders and inputs is perfect for creating engaging experiences that align with gamification principles. Through features like quizzes, challenges, and rewards, users are motivated to progress through the content and achieve milestones.

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Troubleshooting tips

If you're implementing a user progress tracking system, ensure that data is being recorded accurately. Double-check your workflows and database connections to ensure that completed modules or lessons are being updated correctly.

When using interactive elements like sliders and inputs for gamification, test their functionality across different devices and screen sizes. Ensure that users can easily interact with these elements and that their responses are being captured accurately.

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Customer testimonial‍

Jerry Hsiang’s experience building Remote Quiz:

“I was able to self-learn a lot of the capabilities through the Bubble community and the web in general in just a few short months. It also has a pretty diverse set of plugins that you can utilize to enhance your product.”

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Project management apps

Project management tools are incredibly helpful, and businesses of all sizes rely on them to coordinate their teamwork. These apps facilitate task organization, role assignments, and project progress tracking within a single platform.

Businesses can choose to rely on off-the-shelf solutions like Asana and Trello, but it is a good idea to consider having a customized project management app, and a no-code platform like Bubble can be perfect to build it. While established tools offer predefined features, a tailored no-code approach allows businesses to have a tool tailored to their unique requirements, ensuring a perfect fit for their workflow.

GL Hunt specializes in coordinating sub-contractors for home repair services. Seeking to optimize their operations, they decided to create a personalized project management app with Bubble. Their tailored solution allows them to create detailed projects, delegate tasks to the foremen while ensuring equitable distribution of workload, and enforce timely uploading of documentation with designated expiration dates. Additionally, the app facilitates payment tracking and effective management of projects within warranty periods.

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Why Bubble is best suited to build project management apps?

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Here's why Bubble is an excellent choice for creating these apps:

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• Real-time updates and interactive elements: With Bubble, you can incorporate real-time updates and interactive elements that suit your project management needs. For example, you can have projects, tasks, sub-tasks, due dates, assigned personnel, etc. And all this is within a dynamic interface that reflects changes instantly.
• Robust database functionality: Bubble's robust database capabilities make it easy to manage complex project data. You can efficiently organize and store information, and it will quickly retrieve and display project details.
• Automated workflows: Utilizing Bubble's backend workflows, you can automate various business processes within your project management app. For instance, you can set up automated events triggered by specific conditions, such as closing a task when certain criteria are met. 
• Notifications and alerts: You can configure the app to send notifications when tasks are assigned, deadlines approach, or milestones are reached. 

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Troubleshooting tips

• Optimize database structure: Ensure that your database is structured efficiently to enable smooth and efficient searches. If you're frequently searching for specific data, such as users, tasks, or projects, organize your data within a single data type to minimize the complexity of search operations (and the workload units it will consume). 
• Plan for search functionality: Plan ahead and design your app's search functionality in a user-friendly manner. Determine the key filters and criteria that users are likely to use for searching, and make search options intuitive.
• Fuzzy search considerations: If your app incorporates fuzzy search to handle partial or misspelled queries, be mindful of the data types used. Fields like option sets, even though displayed as text, might not be recognized by fuzzy search if their data type isn't set as text. To enable effective fuzzy search across various fields, ensure that relevant fields are set to the appropriate data type.

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If you're intrigued by the possibilities of building your own project management tool, explore this guide on creating a Trello-like app using Bubble.

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Ready to harness the power of Bubble for your project? Contact us today, and let our experts guide you from concept to creation.