Thanks for your message.
It’s a great question. While Softr is not 100% CMS-oriented, it’s possible to find a workaround.
For now, my first approach is to create a rigid and fixed system for each layout.
I have 1 H1 field, several H2 fields, 1 H2 for Conclusion, and an attachment field by section. + SEO settings inside the Database (SEO: Slug) using formulas for each article (so other fields)
I display only non-empty fields.
I am currently “opening” the system with more metadata parameters to modify SEO slug, SEO title, etc. from the interface with SEO ranking (like Yoast SEO audit, for instance).
Later, I will work on different layout pages based on the content.
And also working on some Airtable formulas and custom code blocks to display data based on content provided by the user. To be closer to what you said: inline images in the text.
For now, it’s quite close to the ACF approach or Theme Builder Approach in WordPress / Elementor for now.
Also, I will probably later move the website part to a more robust CMS (like Webflow) and keep the Softr App to manage all the content and be more process and business oriented.
So I guess I will not maximize the CMS system inside Softr and Airtable.
Congratulations to all the winners and participants! It’s always great to see the creativity in the community.
One thought—I think it would be great to have a contest where real-world solutions are showcased, with apps that are actively used in daily operations. This would really put the platform to the test and highlight what Softr can do beyond mock data.
Just an idea for future contests. Again, congrats to everyone!
Thanks for the insights. I’ll be having a crack at it again myself soon and will explore and experiment with you setup as well.
In the past I also looked a bit into this, but now that Airtable does not expose the temporary urls of attachments any longer in via the formula field I haven’t found a good solution yet for dynamic inline images.:
If you ever find a good solution I would be very grateful if you’d share it here with us
I’ll probably have to find a workaround for URL media.
Maybe hosting them elsewhere as well using an automation then retrieving the URLs and using this for more advanced layout.
In my case, it’s a real company and use case.
We are officially launching this month.
In a couple of months, we should have real properties in management and agents using the tool daily, so I’ll have more data to showcase and feedback to give.
We are just lucky to build and have a dedicated Agency System from Day 1.
Looking forward to seeing how your idea progresses! I’m especially interested in how you plan to handle image and video uploads for properties. I assume photos are taken on a phone and uploaded directly to the platform, and with multiple images required per listing, that can quickly become a challenge.
One of the biggest issues I’ve encountered is dealing with large image files—since photos taken on a cellphone are typically between 4-6MB each, uploading 20+ images at once can lead to all kinds of complications. Curious to hear how you’re approaching this and if you’ve found any efficient solutions.
For properties, we will have both agents taking pictures and publishing directly through the App, and also rely on professionals to take pictures and videos, then upload them later before publishing the property.
For a different project, I used a Make scenario where I take all uploaded images and compress them using the Mallabe images service.
It’s quite straightforward and helps to compress files automatically.
I use one attachment field for the input, one for the output.
The scenario you described takes place after the images are already uploaded to Airtable, where using Make isn’t really necessary since Airtable has built-in extensions that can handle image compression.
The real challenge is getting the images into Airtable in the first place. I highly doubt anyone would want to keep their phone unusable for 30 minutes while trying to upload 20 high-resolution images. I’ve tested Airtable forms, Fillout, and Softr forms for this purpose, and in my experience, if you receive a call or need to use your phone during the upload, the process often quits, forcing you to start over.
The best solution I’ve found so far is uploading images to Dropbox using their native app, which runs in the background so I can continue using my phone. Once the images are in Dropbox, they are compressed via an automation scenario, and then I manually upload them to Airtable. It’s not an ideal process, but it’s the most reliable one I’ve found.
Honestly, when I assessed the no-code tools when my “code co-founder” left me, I was not confident that Softr was able to make all the features I planned to make (AI SaaS for SMEs). I assessed Bubble and others, and eventually chose Softr because it was the most customisable and easy.
So if I were you, I would create a contest (that I will try to win) of the most amazing products created with Softr. Not only to show data, but to create real value for end customers. It’s possible with this tool to create real SaaS platform with basic technical knowledge, you need to show it IMO.
Great work by all the winners! Very impressive . I hope apps like these can get traction.
What’s more interesting is that these are all public facing apps. Just curious to know how these particular apps were selected, since Softr’s “focus” is on internal and team apps?
Thanks Ben! For this contest, we allowed our users to create anything they wanted. Mainly, just wanted our community to have fun playing with our new blocks and bring some ideas to life!
Each of these apps also include an authentication component, with internal functionality beyond any public facing appearance.
Yes, I was thinking the same as @Ben However, not after the winners were announced, but rather before deciding to participate. Even though the winner criteria didn’t mention any specific app focus.
It’s always great to see the creativity in the community.
