Lots of essential features like forms 2.0 and other databases have been “planned” for months. This severely hinders logic flows, and it also limits the number of people who can use some apps, because 250,000 rows in Enterprise Airtable really isn’t that much.
As a result, I can use Softr to create quick prototypes, and then I have to plan how to get off the platform and transition to something else. The problem is, Softr isn’t really priced as a prototype builder, it is priced as an app builder.
I don’t mind paying the higher prices if I can stay on the platform with a larger number of users. But if all I can create are prototypes? There are significantly less expensive, more powerful, and faster developing apps for that.
Right now I’m pondering migrating everything off the platform, and that makes me sad. I wish I could be patient, but I can’t. I have a business to run.
I get your point, and yes sometimes we can’t keep waiting for long periods of time.
However, I am more than sure the team is working on integrating more data sources to solve the scaling needs for some apps.
I was a little surprised now that the team seemed to have moved smartsuite service to the top of the roadmap queue, a data source also limited to less than 50k records.
Hey folks, we have deprioritized some features like forms conditional logic in favor of action buttons and new datasources. There are many forms (typeform, Jotform, …) that can be embedded in Softr, while action buttons and scalable data sources can’t be simply embedded.
@Morrowj4 what datasource do you have in mind to replace airtable?
I’m going to politely agree I feel like I’m spending the majority of my time in here figuring out how to create workarounds which involves a lot more code than the initial hopes of “no code” I had, just in order to make things look professional and function the way we need. It’s been deceptively easy to keep telling myself “I can’t do that yet but it’s coming! Any day now!” but actual updates have been limited.
I don’t necessarily feel like the rate of development has slowed but it is a little disheartening to hear that new features are jumping ones I’ve been counting on being released since Day 1 of convincing our organization to adopt softr.
Embedded forms are kinda(?) filling the gap, but very limited. They’re currently the only way I know of to select linked record fields (our database would be impossible to hard code + update for most of these use cases… large org, selecting from a huge list of locations and personnel… not feasible). Can’t embed any prefilled forms (native softr forms is great at this but it really has to have both linked records and hidden fields to be of any use).
In general, the layouts are still very basic and lack ability out of the box to customize. Actions release is great signal of progress but I’m a bit floored with the lack of heads up re: “you will need to rebuild every single block” part.
I really love this community, the support, and what we can build out of the box. But so many basic functions are still waiting to be released, and hearing they’ve been deprioritized is a major bummer But I feel like the fact that the community gets so excited by custom code for formatting & hacky-action buttons, or always asks about calendars, how to embed forms, and better graph/dashboarding… I’m just surprised those wouldn’t be higher on the priority list. I feel like I’ve been in limbo building apps in here for most of the time using, waiting for the official release for XYZ capability.
Not to detract from all the awesome stuff developers have accomplished, it’s just challenging for everyone committed to the product!
The first ones that come to mind for most no coders are FlutterFlow and Bubble. Both are harder to use, and they have much higher learning curves, but they are also much more powerful and scalable.
Personally, I wouldn’t group Softr in the same category. I actually think it’s more similar to CMS based solutions like WordPress’ Crocoblock Jetengine and Webflow’s Wized. But without the CMS. Some of the most powerful apps I have built have been on Jetengine, and I built them extremely fast, because the WordPress block architecture and community development is second to none.
Thanks for sharing your app preferences. Never heard of Flutterflow, but I have heard of Bubble’s learning curve and seen how slow it is, at least on the web. WP and Webflow seem to be good alternatives if you like a lot of integrations to deal with.
I agree with your scalability sentiments, especially in regards to Softr’s pricing. Could have used your input below.
For me, pricing isn’t the primary concern… if the app can scale.
For instance, the project I created with Softr will probably result in about 1000 Airtable records per year per user. That limits me to about 250 users, and I run out of Airtable records after the first year.
It doesn’t work. Could I reengineer the database structure to reduce records? Yeah, maybe, but it would be equal work to switch to a different platform.
Honestly guys, I hate to be a negative nelly, but it feels the same way to me. I was in a community meeting early last fall where it was directly implied some of the new features would be here by the end of 2022 but are still not here as of today. And then when the new features do come, like action blocks, the old functionality is completely broken and you may need to update 100’s of blocks. I am in the prototype stage for all my apps but I would have been super pissed if I was not and awoke to the way this way rolled out this morning. And Aurtur, if things are being deprioritized as you say, you are sure not communicating that in the same open way you are about the promise of upcoming features. I read every word of every update you publish. Look, I have been here since nearly the beginning and I am not going anywhere soon. But I’ll be honest the magic I felt I was a part of a few short months ago is gone as of right now. Let’s call it your first real growing pains, but let’s not act like it is not real pain that long time users are feeling.
“The problem is, Softr isn’t really priced as a prototype builder, it is priced as an app builder”
What you said here is what I agreed with about the pricing. It is the relative value compared to other app builders, and if you cannot scale then is it worth $200-$300/mo?
@andy, @danyalamriben and all, thanks for the feedback, and please don’t hesitate to share it, as it helps us to do a better job.
Regarding blocks getting broken, this should not be the case; if we make bigger changes, we do newer versions which are optional for users to update. Bigger updates are risky to do automatically, and that’s why we do new versions so users can decide based on new features if they need them, and they can decide when they want to do it. If you have an issue with new blocks, we would appreciate it if you could raise it via support chat so we can quickly investigate and fix it. Regarding the form’s conditional logic, the deprioritization I mentioned is not very simple (I agree we need better communication). It depends on teams’ departures, new hires, the skill set of each developer, how some preceding features are progressing or done, etc.
Again want to stress that the form conditional logic was pushed down in favor of action buttons and will be picked up very soon; at the same time, we have made some improvements to the forms and will continue doing so. One last thing to highlight sometimes we work on a new data source or other topics, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we could do forms of conditional logic instead. We have different skill sets among our developers, and contributions go into different areas.
Thanks, and please continue helping us to do better!
I appreciate what you have laid out here. Regarding the support, I’m not always sure anymore when it is appropriate to post in the community vs direct chat. The community seems to have many people who can help troubleshoot more custom options that we all have started using. I used Mattieu’s (ft. YOU ) tutorial to flesh out a few admin interfaces a few weeks ago that I was really pleased with, and excited to roll out. Yesterday when I went to apply the new blocks and replicate, I started having issues with modals jumping off the screen.
When I tried support, I was told “As I am not so string in coding I need to clarify with teach team, but they are swamped with work now and I don’t think we will able to help you soon.”
While I genuinely appreciate the honesty (because lord knows, that’s where I’m at now, too!) it’s still leaves me in a really difficult place of not being sure if I need to completely scrap the page and communicate a delay to my team vs. letting support know and seeing if it’s a minor issue that dev’s can fix in a moment.
And to that point Somehow the issue just went away midday yesterday! I’m glad I only spent 1-2 hours fussing over it. The bigger issue for me is losing the ability to customize the look, feel, placement etc of buttons as they were configured prior to the change. I can’t do a 1:1 copy using the new block, so that is where a larger source of anxiety and setback lies for me.
Hi Danny. As a no-coder, I could not agree with you more.
There has been too much focus on coded features for an app builder that positions itself as no-code. “Basic” functions or what I would call ‘essential features’ would have prioritized action-buttons, conditional forms (which had the most votes on Softr’s roadmap BTW ) OVER custom coding, embedding forms,… a long time ago so no-coders could engage with users more efficiently, out of the box.
“In limbo” is the perfect term and with the recent price increase the depths of Dante’s Inferno may not be deep enough.
I just want to mention one little win I just discovered!! It looks like my fillout form links are working as opening in a modal which looks GREAT! I spent so much time with their poor support agent trying to figure out a custom embed code to do something similar last week (I’m trying to not make this user flow too fragmented with the use of 4-5 tabs to move through a process of onboarding new hires) and anyways… Just a shout out, the modals look really good now!
I feel like I’m spending the majority of my time in here figuring out how to create workarounds which involves a lot more code than the initial hopes of “no code” I had, just in order to make things look professional and function the way we need. It’s been deceptively easy to keep telling myself “I can’t do that yet but it’s coming! Any day now!” but actual updates have been limited.
But I feel like the fact that the community gets so excited by custom code for formatting & hacky-action buttons, or always asks about calendars, how to embed forms, and better graph/dashboarding… I’m just surprised those wouldn’t be higher on the priority list. I feel like I’ve been in limbo building apps in here for most of the time using, waiting for the official release for XYZ capability.
sometimes we work on a new data source or other topics, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we could do forms of conditional logic instead. We have different skill sets among our developers, and contributions go into different areas.
) tutorial to flesh out a few admin interfaces a few weeks ago that I was really pleased with, and excited to roll out. Yesterday when I went to apply the new blocks and replicate, I started having issues with modals jumping off the screen.
Somehow the issue just went away midday yesterday! I’m glad I only spent 1-2 hours fussing over it. The bigger issue for me is losing the ability to customize the look, feel, placement etc of buttons as they were configured prior to the change. I can’t do a 1:1 copy using the new block, so that is where a larger source of anxiety and setback lies for me.