Building an employee onboarding app no longer requires a team of developers or a massive budget. With tools like Adalo, you can create a fully functional app in days without writing a single line of code. Here's how you can streamline onboarding for your HR team and new hires:
- Save Time and Money: Traditional app development can cost $50,000–$250,000 and take 3–6 months. With Adalo, you can build your app for $500–$5,000 in just days or weeks.
- Centralize Onboarding: Include features like task checklists, training modules, and document libraries - all accessible on web, iOS, or Android.
- No Technical Skills Needed: Use a drag-and-drop interface to design screens and connect data, even if you're not a developer.
- Built-In Tools: Adalo offers authentication, push notifications, and integrations with platforms like Google Sheets and Airtable to simplify setup and management.
- Scale with Ease: Publish your app to web and app stores, and manage up to 1 million users with Adalo’s reliable infrastructure.
Ready to modernize your onboarding process? Let’s dive into the steps to build your app.
4-Step Process to Build Employee Onboarding App Without Coding
Step 1: Set Up Your Adalo Account and Database
Create Your Adalo Account
Head over to adalo.com, click on "Start Building" or "Sign Up", and follow the steps to create your account. You'll need to register with your email, set up a password, and verify your account. New users automatically gain access to Adalo’s free Starter plan, which includes unlimited test apps, a visual builder, and an integrated database - perfect for prototyping your app.
After logging in, click "New App" on your dashboard and give your project a clear name, like Employee Onboarding App. You can start from scratch with a blank canvas or explore cloneable templates in the marketplace. While Adalo doesn’t have a specific onboarding template, you’ll find helpful options like user directories or task managers that come with pre-built screens and logic. Starting from a blank canvas offers the most flexibility if you want full control.
The Adalo dashboard is straightforward, with tabs for Database, Screens, and Marketplace, alongside a design canvas and properties panel. This setup lets you seamlessly toggle between designing app screens and managing your data.
Once your account is ready, the next step is structuring your database to store employee information.
Build Your Database Collections
Your app’s database is the backbone for storing employee details, tasks, and documents. In Adalo, this data is organized into Collections, which function like spreadsheet tabs or database tables. Each collection contains specific properties that define your data structure.
For an employee onboarding app, you’ll likely need four key collections:
- Employees: Add properties such as Name (text), Email (email format), Start Date (MM/DD/YYYY format), Department (text), Role (text), and Employee ID (number with comma separators).
- Tasks: Include fields like Task Name (text), Description (text), Due Date (date), Completion Status (true/false), and Priority (text or dropdown).
- Documents: Use properties like Title (text), File URL (text), Category (text), and Upload Date (date).
- Training Modules: Add fields such as Module Name (text), Description (text), Video URL (text), and Quiz Questions (text).
To make your app dynamic, connect these collections using Relationship properties. For instance, in the Tasks collection, create a "One-to-Many" relationship with the Employees collection so each employee can have multiple tasks assigned. Similarly, set up relationships for Documents and Training Modules, enabling employees to view only their relevant tasks and materials - no coding required.
Already have employee data stored in Google Sheets or Airtable? You can import it directly into Adalo by creating an External Collection. Select your data source, authenticate your account, and map your columns to the appropriate properties. This feature is a huge time-saver for bulk imports.
For example, Onboardly used this method to import 200 records from Airtable, link them with relationships, and launch their app in just five days - saving $15,000 while improving task completion rates [Adalo Showcase, 2024].
When you’re ready to expand your app’s capabilities, like publishing to app stores or using a custom domain, you can upgrade to the Professional plan starting at $50/month. For now, the free plan provides everything you need to design and test your database structure.
Step 2: Design the Main App Screens
Now that your database is set up, it's time to create the screens your employees will use every day. With Adalo's drag-and-drop builder, you can easily add components and set up actions while previewing changes in real time across devices. This work happens on the Builder Canvas, where you’ll add Components (like buttons, text, lists, and images) and configure Actions (such as what happens when a button is tapped). With the groundwork in place, your focus shifts to building user-friendly screens that guide employees through their onboarding process.
Home Dashboard
Begin with a welcoming home screen that provides employees with a quick overview of their onboarding progress. Use a Text component to create a personalized greeting by linking it to the logged-in user's name - for example, "Welcome, Sarah!" Next, add a Progress Bar component connected to a calculated property in your database. This property tracks task completion by dividing completed tasks by the total tasks assigned to each employee, offering a clear visual of their progress.
For easy navigation, include Button components or an Icon List that links directly to key areas like the Task Checklist, Documents, and Training Modules screens. Assign a Link action to each button so users can jump to the right screen with a single tap. To maintain a cohesive look, use the Branding tab in the left toolbar to apply your company’s colors and fonts. These presets will automatically update across components if you adjust the theme later. Regularly preview your design to ensure it works seamlessly on different devices. This home screen sets the tone for a smooth and intuitive onboarding experience.
Task Checklist Screen
This screen helps employees stay on top of their onboarding tasks. Add a List component linked to your Tasks collection, filtered to show only tasks assigned to the current user. Configure each list item to display the task name and due date (formatted as MM/DD/YYYY). For task completion, include a Checkbox that, when selected, triggers an Update action to mark the task as complete in your database. This action will also update the progress bar on the home dashboard instantly.
Enhance usability by adding filtering options with Button or Dropdown components. These allow employees to sort tasks into categories like "All Tasks", "Pending", "Overdue", and "Completed." Adalo’s built-in list filtering handles this dynamically, so no SQL knowledge is required. If you’d like to save time, consider using pre-built task management screens available in the Adalo marketplace.
Documents and Training Modules
Create a centralized library where employees can easily access onboarding materials. For the Documents section, add a Search Bar and a List component linked to your Documents collection. This setup allows users to filter items by title or category. Use an Image component to display document thumbnails and include a Button for opening details or downloading files.
In the Training Modules section, embed videos using the Video Player component, linked to your Training Modules collection. Add a Form component for quizzes, along with a "Mark as Complete" button that updates the user's progress in the database. Quiz responses can be stored in a "Quiz Results" collection. This data can then feed back into the home dashboard’s progress bar, giving employees a clear sense of achievement as they complete their training materials.
Step 3: Add Logic, Authentication, and Integrations
Once your app's screens are designed, it's time to make everything work seamlessly. This step is where you connect those visual elements to the app's underlying functionality. You'll implement secure logins, automate processes, and link external systems - all without needing to write a single line of code.
User Authentication
Every new app built on Adalo comes with built-in user authentication. A pre-configured Users collection is automatically included to store employee credentials. To enable secure access, simply add a Login Screen from the components library and link it to the Users collection using Actions. You can even customize this collection to fit your onboarding process by adding fields like Department, Start Date, or Onboarding Status, tailoring the experience for each employee.
For a seamless user flow, connect the Login button to redirect authenticated users to the Home Dashboard. If you’re looking for ready-to-use solutions, Adalo's Feature Templates include pre-built Login and Sign Up screens. Need enterprise-level security? Adalo Blue supports SSO integration with SAML or OAuth providers, along with advanced permissions for corporate teams. You can also configure visibility conditions on screens, such as restricting the Task Checklist to authenticated users, ensuring privacy and personalization.
Once secure access is in place, you’re ready to dive into dynamic actions and automations.
Add Logic and Automations
Adalo's actions allow real-time updates whenever users interact with your app. For example, when an employee taps "Mark Complete", a Create & Update Data action updates the task status and refreshes progress indicators instantly.
Want to keep employees on track? Set up push notifications to send reminders directly to their devices. You can configure these to alert users 24 hours before a task's due date, formatted in the US standard (MM/DD/YYYY). Conditional visibility is another powerful tool - hide incomplete tasks until prerequisites are met or display a "Training Module Unlocked" message as soon as required documents are submitted.
For more advanced workflows, Adalo integrates with Zapier, allowing you to connect with thousands of other services. For instance, you can automatically send a Slack notification to managers when an employee completes onboarding or sync progress data to Google Sheets. These automations save time and keep everyone in the loop.
After fine-tuning your app’s internal logic, you can expand its functionality by connecting external data sources.
Connect External Systems
Adalo's External Collections feature makes it easy to integrate live data from platforms like Airtable or Google Sheets. For example, you could create a dynamic library of training documents. To integrate Airtable, start by setting up a base with columns for Document Name, URL, and Employee ID. Then, add an External Collection in Adalo, authenticate using your API token, and map the fields to a List component on your app’s Documents screen. You can even filter the data to show only what’s relevant to the logged-in user. Best of all, any changes made in Airtable sync automatically, simplifying the management of large training libraries.
For more complex integrations, Adalo Blue supports DreamFactory to generate REST APIs from legacy HR databases. This allows you to automate tasks like populating task lists or verifying benefits enrollment. By connecting the DreamFactory endpoint through Custom Actions or External Collections, and testing with sample data, you can achieve a production-ready setup.
With over 1 million apps built on Adalo handling 20 million+ daily data requests and maintaining 99%+ uptime, the platform is more than capable of managing enterprise-scale onboarding processes. These integrations ensure smooth access to critical HR data, making onboarding efficient and hassle-free.
sbb-itb-d4116c7
Step 4: Test, Deploy, and Scale Your App
Your onboarding app is built - now it’s time to test, deploy, and scale it. With a solid foundation of authenticated and dynamic logic, you’re ready to ensure a smooth launch.
Test and Debug Your App
Before going live, take advantage of Adalo's real-time preview feature to test your app across mobile, tablet, and desktop views. Simply click "Preview" to see how it performs on different devices. Enable Test Mode to simulate actions like completing tasks or uploading documents, and share links with HR teams to gather feedback.
For deeper insights, use the X-Ray tool to identify performance issues. This feature scans for bottlenecks - like slow database queries in task lists or oversized images in training modules - and generates a detailed report on load times and resource use. It even suggests fixes, such as enabling infinite scroll for lengthy employee lists or caching frequently accessed data. In one example, X-Ray reduced a 2-second lag in a prototype marketplace app by optimizing filters, helping most onboarding apps load in under 3 seconds on standard devices.
Common debugging challenges include issues like conditional visibility errors in task checklists (double-check your magic text logic), API sync delays with external HR systems via Zapier (consider upgrading to paid tiers for instant syncing), and crashes caused by record limits (integrate Airtable for handling over 5,000 employee records). Adalo’s action logs and error panels make troubleshooting these problems straightforward.
Once testing and debugging are complete, you’re ready to deploy.
Publish to Web and App Stores
Adalo’s single-codebase system ensures updates are instantly reflected across all platforms. To deploy as a Progressive Web App (PWA), go to the Publish tab, select "Web App", and generate a shareable URL. This PWA works offline and integrates with device features, making it ideal for internal use. Deployment takes just minutes, and employees can access the app directly through their browsers.
For native app store distribution, select "Native App" in the Publish section for iOS or Android. Configure details like your app icon, splash screen, and permissions (e.g., notifications for task reminders). Adalo’s one-click build generator creates store-ready files, which you can submit via App Store Connect (Apple Developer Program costs $99/year) or Google Play Console (one-time $25 fee). Adalo’s guided workflows handle certificate management, streamlining the process. Apple typically reviews submissions in under 24 hours, while Google Play reviews may take up to 7 days.
After deployment, your focus shifts to scaling and maintaining the app to meet your organization’s growing demands.
Scale and Maintain Your App
With feedback from testing and reliable performance, scaling your app becomes seamless. As your team grows, updates to screens, databases, or logic - like adding compliance training modules - are applied instantly across web, iOS, and Android platforms without requiring a rebuild. Adalo’s infrastructure supports scaling to over 1,000,000 monthly active users.
For larger organizations, upgrading to Adalo Blue unlocks features like Single Sign-On (SSO) and advanced permissions, ensuring secure access for teams of 100+ users. Use the X-Ray tool to monitor app performance and set up Zapier automations for external scaling, such as Slack alerts when employees complete onboarding tasks. The Analytics tab helps track user behavior, showing which screens are most visited and highlighting navigation issues. Businesses using app builders like Adalo report saving 40% in development costs and launching 25% faster compared to traditional methods.
As your onboarding needs evolve, Design Versions let you save current app iterations, experiment with new layouts, and revert if needed. For advanced scaling, such as integrating custom components or APIs, you can hire an Adalo Expert for tailored development support.
Conclusion
Create your employee onboarding app with Adalo by following a straightforward process: set up your account and database, design your screens, add logic and integrations, and test before deployment. This all-in-one approach combines design, functionality, and deployment, allowing you to launch in days or weeks instead of months. Plus, it’s cost-effective - spend between $500 and $5,000 instead of the $50,000 to $250,000 typical of traditional projects.
Adalo’s speed is unmatched. Companies report cutting costs by 40% and reducing time-to-market by 25%, with some prototypes ready in as little as 3 hours. HR teams can independently build powerful onboarding tools without needing dedicated developers. Thanks to Adalo’s single-codebase architecture, you only need to build your app once to publish it across iOS, Android, and the web - no separate builds required.
Features like Zapier integration (connecting to over 5,000 services), push notifications for task reminders, and Adalo Blue for enterprise SSO make scaling effortless. Whether your app supports a small team or over 1,000,000 monthly active users, Adalo ensures seamless updates and a consistent experience across platforms.
Ready to modernize your HR processes? Sign up for a free Adalo account today, launch your app in just days, and give new hires the streamlined, mobile-first onboarding experience they deserve.
FAQs
How does Adalo help save time and money compared to traditional app development?
Adalo makes app development faster and more accessible. Instead of spending months - or even years - on traditional development, you can launch your app in just days or weeks. And the best part? The cost is a fraction of what custom development typically demands - often 5 to 10 times less.
With its visual builder, built-in database tools, and effortless cross-platform deployment, Adalo simplifies the entire process. You won’t need to worry about complex coding or recreating your app for different platforms. It’s a smart choice for businesses and teams aiming to bring their app ideas to life quickly and without breaking the bank.
What features can I add to my employee onboarding app with Adalo's drag-and-drop tools?
With Adalo's easy-to-use drag-and-drop tools, creating an employee onboarding app packed with features is a breeze. You can add customizable forms to gather user input, interactive lists like card layouts or image grids for better navigation, and actionable buttons to guide users through workflows step by step. Need more? You can integrate payment systems, enable user authentication, and even set up push notifications to keep everyone in the loop.
Adalo also makes it simple to connect your app to external data sources like Airtable or Google Sheets. This means you can sync and manage data seamlessly. With its visual builder and extensive component library, you’ll have everything you need to design and launch an onboarding app that fits your team’s needs - fast and hassle-free.
How can I make sure my employee onboarding app grows successfully with Adalo?
To make sure your employee onboarding app grows effortlessly with Adalo, leverage its single-codebase architecture. This means you can create one app that functions smoothly across web, iOS, Android, and even as a progressive web app (PWA). The result? A consistent experience for users, no matter how much your app evolves.
Adalo offers built-in tools like database management, user authentication, push notifications, and integrations with platforms like Airtable or Google Sheets. These features make it easy to manage larger data sets and increased user activity. Plus, any updates you make are applied instantly across all platforms, keeping maintenance straightforward.
To set your app up for long-term success, take time to design its data structure and user flow thoughtfully. Adalo provides plenty of resources and tutorials to help you fine-tune performance, ensuring your app keeps pace with your organization’s growth.
Related Blog Posts
