Bubble Tutorial on Building a Marketplace

Jul 15, 2024

Bubble Tutorial on Building a Marketplace

Introduction

  • Target Audience: People new to Bubble, particularly non-technical individuals with an app idea.
  • Objective: Build a marketplace app from scratch, teaching the fundamentals of Bubble.
  • Bubble: A visual programming language that allows for intuitive web application development without syntax-based coding.

Understanding Bubble

  • Visual Interface: Manipulates the underlying code base of your application.
  • Photo Editing Analogy: Similar to using Photoshop, where visual changes affect the underlying image file code.
  • Programming Mindset: Even though you’re not writing syntax-based code, you are still programming by giving commands to a machine.
  • Workflows: Bubble uses workflows to define app behaviors, such as what happens when a button is clicked.

Getting Started

Creating a New Application

  1. Dashboard: Upon logging in, you see the Bubble dashboard.
  2. New App Button: Click the “New App” button to create a new application.
  3. Forms: Fill out forms to provide Bubble with information about your app (for analytics purposes).
  4. Start Blank: Choose to start with a blank page to begin designing.

Bubble Editor Overview

  • Design Canvas: Where elements are placed for users to interact with.
  • Tabs: Includes Workflow, Data, and more for different app functions.
  • Index Page: The default page being edited.
  • Element Inspector: Opens when you double-click on the canvas, allowing you to change page properties.
  • Responsive Design: Bubble is rolling out a new responsive engine to manage how your app looks on different screen sizes.
  • Fixed Width Page: Set layout to fixed width for consistency across devices.

Adding Elements

Basic Elements

  • Text Box: Use to display static text like “Hello World!”
  • Buttons and Images: Can be added to perform actions or display pictures.
  • Input Forms: Used for user interactions, such as product names, prices, and photos.
  • Property Setup: Name inputs for clarity, e.g., input_product_name, input_product_price.
  • Content Format: Set up for input fields such as integers for prices.

Data Tab and Databases

Creating Data Types

  • Product Data Type: Add fields like Name, Price, and Photo.
  • Database Structure: Think of the database as a warehouse with shelves (each “shelf” represents a data type like “Product”).

Workflows and Actions

  • Workflow Setup: Create workflows linked to page elements (e.g., a button click event).
  • Create New Thing: Action to create a new product in the database.
  • Set Fields: Fill product fields with input values.
  • Reset Inputs: Clear input fields after creation.
  • Alerts: Use alerts to show success messages to users.

Displaying Data from the Database

Groups and Repeating Groups

  • Single Items: Use a Group element to display a single data object (e.g., a single product).
  • Repeating Groups: Use for displaying a list of items from the database (e.g., a list of products).
  • Dynamic Data: Use expressions like current cell’s product name to show dynamic content.

Editing and Deleting Data

Edit Functionality

  • Edit Icons: Add elements like edit buttons to trigger pop-up forms for editing data.
  • Pop-ups: Use pop-ups to display and edit selected data objects.
  • Make Changes to Thing: Workflow action to update data.
  • Conditional Workflows: Use conditions to decide whether to create or edit data.

User Management

Sign Up, Login, and User Sessions

  • Built-in User Type: Bubble includes a user data type with built-in fields and functionalities (e.g., email, password).
  • Sign Up/Login Pop-up: Create sign up and login forms using pop-up elements.
  • Custom States: Use custom states to manage user interface states, like switching between sign-up and login views.
  • Privacy Rules: Manage data access and privacy settings.

Responsive Design and Pages

  • Multiple Pages: Create different pages for different parts of your app (e.g., browse page, create page).
  • Navigation: Use navigation workflows to move between pages.
  • Reusable Elements: Modularize elements like headers to maintain consistency and simplify maintenance.

Advanced Functionality

Favoriting Products

  • Data Linking: Create links between data types (e.g., users and products) to implement favoriting functionality.
  • Conditional Visibility: Use conditions to show or hide elements based on data states (e.g., whether a product is favorited).
  • Adding Workflow Logic: Implement workflows to add or remove items from favorite lists.

Conclusion

  • Summary: You’ve learned the basics to start building and managing a Bubble application, including creating data types, workflows, managing user sessions, and more.
  • Next Steps: Focus on learning responsive design to create adaptive applications.
  • Encouragement: Keep building, exploring, and let the community know what you’re creating.

Happy Bubbling! 🎉