I am very excited to share a new tool I discovered with you because it makes creating mobile apps super easy! It’s called GlideApp. I had seen GlideApp before but I never had time to tinker with it. (I probably saw it during one of those crazy times of year, like sometime between August and June.) Anyway, I dove back into it at the beginning of this year and once I got the hang of it, I was hooked!
To create a mobile app with GlideApp, you begin by first creating a spreadsheet in Google Sheets. In your spreadsheet, you can create multiple sheets and each sheet will end up being a different page in your app. For example, I created an app for a church activity I'm participating in. The first sheet in my Google sheet is the team roster (with columns for name, phone number, email, etc.). The second sheet is the retreatant roster (with similar columns). Sheet 3 contains some prayers that we use (with a column for the name of the prayer and a column for the text of the prayer). Sheet 4 contains lyrics to songs we will be singing.
To create the app, I simply went to GlideApp and created a new app. Then I chose the Google Sheet I wanted to use. GlideApp magaically created a different app page for each one of the sheets in my spreadsheet.
For each page, you are able to select how you want the data to appear. Layouts include list, compact list, tiles, columns, and more. The interface is truly a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface. The preview looks like a smart phone and the buttons can be clicked to see how they’ll work! When you click on any particular record on the first page, it opens up into a second page with more detailed information for that particular entry. To update the app, you simply update your Google Sheet and click “Reload sheet” in GlideApp.
If you want to add photos, you create a column in one of your sheets and label it “Images”. You leave the column bank. Then in GlideApp, you drag and drop images into the image placeholders and GlideApp takes care of the rest. It actually houses your images online for you and adds a link in the spreadsheet for you!
Once you’re done, share the URL with others and they can view the app on their devices. If they use the native browser on the phones (Chrome for Android or Safari for iOS) they can add a link to their home screen. One caveat is that it in order for the app to run, they must have internet access. It does not run “stand alone.”
The possibilities for use in schools is unlimited. I showed it to a student and he's already creating a directory for our JROTC program. You can use it for directories, conferences, area guides, and more! There are a slew of examples on the Glide app website itself and you can even download the Google Sheet templates to get started. And it's all FREE to use! You can upgrade if you want the GlideApp branding off or need a custom domain, but I have found the free version to work just fine.
You'll be amazed at just how easy this wonderful tool is. So glide on over to success with GlideApp!