2024 Year in Review Questions & Answers!

Hi everyone!

We’re still riding high from all the amazing energy you brought to our founder event a couple of weeks ago! If you haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, you can check it out [here]. It’s our annual event where we reflect on what we launched over the past year and share what’s coming next.

During the event, there were a lot of great questions, and we couldn’t get to them all live. So, we’ve exported them and done our best to answer as many as possible! You can now view the full list of questions along with our answers. :wink:

Building this platform with your feedback is incredibly important to us. We hope this helps us stay aligned on the next steps, clarify any confusion, and provide the answers you need to grow your business tooling with Softr!

Without further ado, here are the questions and answers!

1) Q: Are there plans for HIPAA Compliance?

A: Not at the moment.

2) Q: When will inline editing be released?

A: We’re aiming for early-to-mid Q2.

3) Q: Are there courses for advanced users that have done all the “easy stuff”?

A: Not yet. But let us know what you want to learn and I’ll try to create some programming around it!

4) Q: When will Softr deploy live updates (real-time refresh) for ALL of the datasources it connects to (i.e., Airtable, Google Sheets, …)?

A: We are working on a synchronized data approach that will unlock live updates (showing data changes without requiring refreshing), but there will be some challenges around making this a smooth UX for the end users. Tentatively we’d say probably second half of Q2.

5) Q: Zapier and other webhook and trigger automation systems would be a game changer

A: Our workflows will include a trigger system that will allow for external polling to trigger workflows within Softr.

6) Q: Really amazing. Can actions be also custom code? Like a piece of Python code?

A: Yes, this will be included (not might be in initial release, however).

7) Q: How many records possible in new Softr tables?

A: While there will be no limits technically, the price will place some limitations on tables in this way.

8) Q: Any plans for Gantt Chart block functionality?

A: We do, but likely second half of 2025.

9) Q: Animation in DIVs please! When will we be able to add animation on loads to DIVs or backgrounds etc?

A: We will allow some loading animation customization eventually, but as it’s likely not the most high priority item vs. some bigger feature improvements.

In the meantime, we suggest trying to achieve it via custom code.

10) Q: Will we have more design flexibility (i.e., custom icons in the nav, more text size and text alignment) for new blocks? Right now I find them difficult to integrate due to the design limits and lack of consistency with the old blocks.

A: We’ll be adding more options in certain areas soon. E.g.:

• Block title → Ability to choose between Title, Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 (which by default come in different sizes).

• Grid → Ability to center align fields and align some fields to the bottom across items.

• Quick links → Allow you to use custom images, which can be an icon, an illustration, an emoji, or anything you want!

We are going to allow flexibility in places that make sense and make sure they stay within reasonable design boundaries, but it won’t necessarily be consistent with old blocks as there are many options that just didn’t make sense.

11) Q: An important feature of Softr is making sure design is good out of the box and this means to a certain extent restricting customization. Customization options change as blocks are updated and it’s not clear if the lack of a certain customization is part of the deliberate guardrails or just because it is not put in place yet. There are updates to “theming” planned as Artur said. It would be really good to get some details of the thinking and direction as early as possible so I can align work I am doing.

A: We want to make Softr as flexible as possible while still ensuring that you can deliver professional design for your users with ease.

Here’s how we think about it: Anyone can already build anything to their liking if they know how to design and code, but there’s a reason why any SaaS product exists—because learning all that is HARD.

It’s easy to turn every CSS syntax into a graphic interface, but we’d be failing as a product if builders still had to learn:

• What should a button’s hover state color be in relation to its default state? How is it different in light vs. dark mode?

• What’s the common line height in relation to font size? And how is it different between body and heading text?

• What is the minimum input font size to prevent iOS from auto-zoom on mobile?

• What is the WCAG contrast ratio requirement? How is it measured?

We want to empower users by abstracting these decisions, not offloading them.

With that said, there are definitely many things we’re still missing and can still be improved. Some were left out intentionally to get new blocks out faster.

Here are some improvements you can expect around customization in the coming months:

• More layout options on new blocks – Grid, List, Item Details.

• Easier yet more powerful color selections, which will even support auto light/dark mode.

• Conditional colors for elements like tags, charts, and calendar events.

• Ability to customize elements like buttons, pickers, and inputs that will apply throughout the application.

• Field-level settings and value formatting.

• More sizing x density options and smart logic that adjusts automatically based on your block layout.

If there are certain designs you want to achieve but can’t, please keep sharing examples for us to learn and improve!

12) Q: What’s on the roadmap for mobile / PWA—offline capability, notifications?

A: Offline capability is a difficult thing for PWAs to do. That’s more of a native mobile experience. However, push notifications will become easier to implement after workflows are available.

13) Q: For collaborative projects, do you plan to enhance the overall inside Softr Studio? Working on the same project/page at the same time can be tricky, for instance.

A: This is a hard challenge. At the moment, we don’t see enough users building in a way to warrant the investment it’d take to pull off. Please keep us updated if you need this functionality.

14) Q: Will you be adding chat? And if so, will it allow internal chat?

A: Yes, we are currently aiming for this to be in Q2 or Q3.

15) Q: Any plans to integrate Google Calendar into the calendar block?

A: Not at the moment, but workarounds for this exist with items like database triggers and API calls to create new meeting events in your DB when Google Calendar is updated in the background.

16) Q: REST API—Please make it fully CRUD compliant—GET/POST/PUT/PATCH/DELETE. Please…

A: Workflows will help with this. Still, a lot of work goes into this, and the requests from our community haven’t been significant enough to build it yet.

17) Q: For forms, it would be great if we could limit the number of files a user can upload. Right now, a user can upload as many files as they want, but it would be great if we could cap it at 1 file, for example.

A: We’re doing some improvements around input options and validations. This is on our radar!

18) Q: Prefilled forms would be great using the database.

A: Good idea. We’re doing some improvements around inputs, and this is part of it!

19) Q: Is it technically possible to have Softr and Airtable stay in sync with fields, such that if an Airtable field name is updated, it does not require manually adjusting in Softr? Just an idea. For example, this would make me move to Softr compared to Airtable interfaces.

A: Yes, it’s technically possible but we have yet to commit to anything new as we work to build tables and continue to find the best way to manage these integrations.

Got it! Here’s the continuation from 20) Q: … onwards:

20) Q: LinkedIn sign-up would be a game changer

A: Good idea, but not something on our radar at the moment given our focus on internal tooling.

21) Q: Hero Blocks should have an animation panel to turn on animate on load options and also an animate on scroll option like parallax etc. I do it all in JS right now. Standard for Wix etc.

A: We’ll look into these options when we revamp the Hero block!

22) Q: Comment block isn’t fit for purpose for a forum

A: There’s actually no meaningful difference between comments under a forum topic vs. other types of objects. They share about >95% of similarities.

Our new commenting system will have many features that allow you to create a forum, even public-facing ones (users will still need to log in to post, just like any forum).

23) Q: I want to know how they automated the certificate to populate the name on it, etc.

A: It’s a secret :shushing_face: Using APIs and Webhooks, we’ve integrated an external testing tool with Softr to complete this functionality.

24) Q: Can you add SEO / marketing add-ons similar to WordPress?

A: We already have many SEO settings, and we don’t plan on adding anything around SEO given our focus on internal tooling.

But here’s a tip: SEO plug-ins are actually not doing anything fancy under the hood. You can easily achieve any configuration by asking ChatGPT and adding custom code.

25) Q: For education / information - showcasing what Softr can do is so helpful. I’m not a developer at all (but I have a great one that I’m working with) and there are things he can do within the platform that I didn’t know were possible. Targeting feature demos at semi-technical people can be huge for growth.

A: Yes, we are actively working towards this and while we already offer some of this, we’re looking at offering even more in the future.

26) Q: New Table block doesn’t have the ‘Item on click’ function to open details page. Can you add this please?

A: We are working on launching a solution for this soon, which will allow it to co-exist with the upcoming inline editing feature :wink:

27) Q: Grid blocks don’t have some of the old ‘static’ fields like dividers or text. Please add them back!

A: Divider → It’s still there! Text → We never had static text as fields, only labels. To be honest, we don’t really see the use case if it’s just the same text across all items.

However, we’ll be adding prefix/suffix options that you can set around your dynamic content!

28) Q: Will Softr Database have triggers and automations like Airtable that let the front end know when an automation or row update has completed?

A: Actions like this will be accessible via our internal workflows feature set that is coming in Q2/Q3 this year.

29) Q: 100% migration of existing apps to full-stack Softr please!

A: Yes! We are working on a conversion flow for you to move existing apps to the new version. Aiming for the end of March.

30) Q: When you become full-stack, will your servers be based in Europe and fully GDPR compliant?

A: Yes, they will be in Germany (so the highest standard you can expect :wink:).

31) Q: We use Xano and Airtable for different things. Would we be able to centralize on the Softr platform?

A: Yes, you can build your app with multiple data sources.

Better yet, you can also move your data to Softr Tables when it launches in a few months!

32) Q: Please create a Crowdcube or similar for us to become shareholders. Some of us want to grow with you.

A: Thanks for your support. This is awesome! We will be sure to let the community know if we go in this direction!

33) Q: Automation to execute Webhooks in the table?

A: Yes, in combination with Workflows and Tables, this will be possible.

34) Q: And what about scripting possibilities?

A: Depends on what “scripting” means here exactly. We’ll need a bit more clarification.

35) Q: Any plans to introduce 2FA/MFA functionalities for logging in? One use case needs the extra security.

A: This is included in the newer version of Softr apps already! You can require both password & OTP for your users to achieve 2FA.

We’ll likely add additional methods like authenticators in the future. Feel free to share what method you’d like to see!

36) Q: Can we have AI help that will do repetitive updates, for example formatting in different fields and blocks?

A: We can look into it!

But chances are you won’t actually need AI for this. We’re building our new blocks and features with reusability in mind – many new features will solve tedious updates.

Example: Styling elements, date/time/number formatting can be adjusted at the app level, and we’ll offer a “synced block” that can be used on many pages.

37) Q: I would like an AI block or AI-integrated field in a list details block to automatically accept input from my ChatGPT API.

A: Workflows will make it much easier to send and receive data from AI APIs like ChatGPT and others.

38) Q: What AI tool is Softr using, and does it have high privacy and confidentiality such that it does not use one company’s confidential info for the AI to learn and give to other companies?

A: The existing AI features are using models by OpenAI, and we’ll add more AI features inside Workflows where you get to choose between different models.

Whether the model provider handles your data according to your company requirements is something you’ll have to evaluate on your own. This applies to any other integrations you’re connecting to Softr as well.

39) Q: I was planning to migrate from Airtable to SQL because of performance issues. Should I wait for Softr Tables now?

A: I think so, yes :raised_hands:t2:

40) Q: Dynamic filters for chart blocks?

A: Long overdue. This is likely coming in Q2/Q3 :wink:

41) Q: When will we be able to color code a calendar? That is the only push I am looking for before I fully launch Softr as our CRM for our law firm.

A: This will be coming in Q2!

42) Q: Sorry if I missed it, but is it part of the plan to have site-wide full pixel-level design control?

A: You can always achieve full-pixel control via custom CSS. However, we’re not going to offer pixel-level control natively.

43) Q: How are you thinking about transferring from Airtable to Softr Tables?

A: We will be providing a data importer to make it easy to transfer your data from one DB to another.

44) Q: With the new features coming, is it likely to impact current Business plan pricing? I am writing a business justification for implementing Softr so need to factor in any potential price increases.

A: Not at the moment, and historically we’ve always grandfathered existing customers’ plans when making pricing changes.

45) Q: Please is Softr planning to include Cart functionality for applications? Just for a more amazing e-commerce store built with Softr.

A: This is not something we are looking at including given our focus on internal tooling. But in theory, you can still build it if you know how to define user flow and database structure.

46) Q: What DB will be behind Softr Tables?

A: MySQL, which is similar to Airtable and Shopify.

47) Q: With the new table block, there is less flexibility on the font sizing compared to the old table block. Is this something that will be improved?

A: Probably not. The Table block is designed as a data grid, and data grids only contain one font size (paragraph). The three scales we offer today already cover paragraph text sizes used in 99% of table UIs.

If you’re looking to create something like a pricing or feature comparison table where the heading might be bigger, this isn’t the block for it.

48) Q: How about better integration with Stripe for payments, i.e., a shopping cart? Current Stripe checkout options are too limited for my use; it will take a lot of programming to enable checkout of multiple small ticket items at once.

A: This is not something we are looking at including currently given our focus on portals and internal tooling, but feel free to share your use case!

49) Q: Advanced CRUD please… let’s KILL MS Access once and for all.

A: Workflows should provide this!

50) Q: Is it already possible to build the full application with all functionalities on Supabase, just like it is possible with Airtable? Or will I run into problems if I make the switch now?

A: Yes, it’s possible to build a full application with Supabase, the same as with Airtable.

There are some minor limitations, like some less-used blocks that are not supported since we plan to release new versions (e.g., Maps, Org Chart). In Q2, we will release data synchronization that will allow us to have 1:1 capabilities across all data sources.

51) Q: Date filter?

A: We are working on making this possible in Q2/Q3, as there is some underlying tech that needs to be further built to support this feature.

52) Q: @Softr Can y’all update the roadmap on the website so we can see new things visually?

A: Updated!

53) Q: Are there plans to add the alpha channel to the RGB/Hex color pickers? Also, gradients?

A: Not at the moment. We’re trying to make everything look beautiful out of the box for you with lots of behind-the-scenes formulas and magic.

54) Q: I’d love the ability to add appointments directly to the calendar block, instead of an “add item” button, sort of like you can do in Google Calendar.

A: You can already do this! There are countless ways to build an appointment system. The most simple setup is by setting up appointment slots and letting users book them via 1-click update. However, there are so many variations depending on:

• Whether it’s one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many.

• How many slots are available at the same time? Is conflict allowed?

• Who gets to set the slots?

• Whether you need to store additional info about the appointment (update time, created time, agenda, etc.).

• How the scheduling/acceptance/cancellation flow looks like.

Since there are so many variations that heavily depend on your business requirements and data setup, we’re unlikely to offer an out-of-box feature, but we’ll try to create some tutorials or templates around it.

55) Q: Will it be possible to integrate Softr with Twilio for SMS automations?

A: We’ll offer it via Workflows! (Not in the initial release, but it will be there eventually.)

56) Q: @Softr Is it possible to have an option to upload a PDF and allow it to be viewed in an app?

A: This is already possible, but we’ll be adding a PDF embed field on the Item Details block to make the experience even smoother.

57) Q: When will you have some new app templates showcasing the new features?

A: This is already live!

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Great Job JJ

Very interesting and relevant data here.

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Thanks for your active participation @acjnas !!

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Yes, this is very much appreciated. Some rough ETAs, insight in priorities etc etc really helps builders manage their own!

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Thanks for that @J_1 ! And updated :wink::pray:t4:

Kudos to you for reading all the way through! We know a supporter when we see one :trophy:

Thanks for these @Jjenglert and looks a big year ahead. Great stuff.

Question regarding Softrs business model @Mariam after watching and reading through;

Would it not make sense to grow both internal and external cases if you’re wanting people to move to Softrs database in order to create stickiness?
Otherwise, why would people move to Softrs database if focus is only on internal tools?

Every business that has internal users NEEDs external users. With more external users comes more need for internal users.
So my two cents would be that Softr should really focus on being the ‘one stop interface shop’ for all use cases. Otherwise you run the risk of spending too much time building out a sub par database whilst other databases improve their interfaces.
After all… Its alot easier to move to a different interface than a different database…

With that being said, I understand the need to increase performance which seems to be the primary driver here among the stickiness of a Softr database.

Really looking forward to improved comments block and the new chat tool -》 I really hope both these will allow global data restrictions to allow multi-user communication.

Hi, just wondering if the new comments block will work with other data sources like SmartSuite?

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Hi! We’re aiming for the new comments block that we’re currently working on building now will work with Smartsuite.

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Enjoyed reading this QA :ok_hand: - Exciting times ahead.

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On point 47, could you please consider offering a smaller text size for table blocks (like we had in old table block). At the moment, for large amounts of data, the text size is still too large even with small size selected.
I’ve attached an example of how it’s currently looking and doesn’t seem best use of the space especially when I add the floating action buttons (I’ve blurred out the actual data as it’s clients)

Getting conflicting release dates here:

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It’s hard to give a release date with so much product to build ahead of us.

As of today, we’re aiming by end of Q2, but it could spill into Q3.

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On Q17-18 re: form inputs.

I’d like to request a video recorder so a user can input a recorded video message on the spot.

I actually created a custom code for a video recorder that stores the video in the browser memory, but not managed to get it uploaded via a Softr form yet.
In the same vein as:

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Hi @J_1 this is a really complex feature that doesn’t fall into a normal pattern for our core use case, and thus I don’t see it on our roadmap at the moment.

There is a ton of work that goes into recording, storing, and playing back video in a good way, and it’d be best to look for a solution that you can embed into Softr that is meant for this purposes. Then with that, find a way to create an automation linking the video recorded back to their database in a relational way.

Yeah I indeed thought it would be very complex, but I as a no-coder, even managed to create a simple custom code that gives me the needed functionality client-side in the browser (eg. recording & temp file storage).

The only things I’m still figuring out is how to change the behavior of the Softr form’s File Upload field by:

  1. having the file upload icon trigger the modal with the recoding UI
  2. having the recorded video get pushed to the file upload field

Don’t get me wrong, it’t quite a niche use-case indeed. But since I managed to get half way without much technical knowledge, it might be less complex than I assumed.