Building a custom calendar app for your iPhone doesn’t have to be overwhelming or expensive. With Adalo, a no-code platform, you can create a fully functional app in days without writing code. Here's the process in a nutshell:
- Cost: Adalo plans start at $45/month, with Apple requiring an annual $99 developer fee.
- Features: Add event categories, automate reminders, sync with iOS calendars, and even integrate Siri Shortcuts.
- Ease of Use: Drag-and-drop tools let you design, connect databases, and test your app quickly.
- Publishing: Deploy your app as both a Progressive Web App (PWA) and a native iOS app.
Whether you’re building a personal scheduling tool or a business app, Adalo simplifies the process, letting you focus on creating the features you need. Let’s dive into the step-by-step guide to bring your app idea to life.
5-Step Process to Build a Custom iPhone Calendar App with Adalo
Step 1: Set Up Your Adalo Account and Project
Create an Adalo Account
Getting started with Adalo is quick - just 10 minutes from signup to building your first app. Head over to Adalo.com and sign up for a free account - no credit card needed. The free plan is perfect for testing, allowing you to build unlimited test apps and work with up to 200 records per app. This makes it ideal for experimenting with your calendar's functionality and database structure.
Adalo’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to get started. Once your account is ready, log in and you're all set to begin building your iOS project.
Start a New iOS App Project
After logging in, click the "Create New App" button on your dashboard. Select "Mobile App" to ensure your calendar functions smoothly on iPhones and iPads.
You can either start from scratch or choose from one of Adalo’s 40 templates, such as "Appointments" or "Event Calendar." For full control over your calendar’s features, go with the "Start from Scratch" option. Give your project a name, like "Digital Calendar", and customize it by selecting your brand’s primary and secondary colors as well as your preferred fonts.
Before moving forward, keep in mind that Apple requires an annual $99 developer fee, and publishing your app with Adalo starts at $45 per month.
Adalo allows you to build your app once and publish it as both a Progressive Web App (PWA) and a native app for iOS and Android. With your project set up, it’s time to start working on your app’s database and key features.
Step 2: Design Your App's Database and Core Features
Build Collections for Events and Users
Your calendar app's database revolves around Collections, which function like database tables. In Adalo, collections represent the "nouns" of your app, while their properties define the details about them. To create a functional calendar, you'll need two key collections: Users and Events.
Start by setting up your Events collection. Head to the Database tab in the Adalo editor, create a new collection labeled "Events", and add these essential properties:
- Event Title (Text)
- Start Date & Time (Date & Time)
- End Date & Time (Date & Time)
- Description (Text, multiline)
Using the "Date & Time" property type ensures accurate scheduling and a clear agenda view.
If your app includes user authentication, the Users collection is prebuilt. Make sure it contains a Full Name (Text) and an Email field for authentication and notifications. To accommodate users in different regions, add a Time Zone (Text) property to handle automatic time conversions.
To confirm everything works as expected, manually add a few test records - create a sample user and a couple of events. With over 1 million apps built on Adalo and about 10,000 iPhone and iPad apps developed every month, this database structure is well-tested and scalable.
Once your collections are set up and tested, it's time to establish how your data connects.
Connect Collections with Relationships
To personalize the calendar for each user, link the Users and Events collections. In the Events collection, add a new property of type Relationship and connect it to the Users collection. Use the one-to-many option - this allows one user to have multiple events, while each event is tied to a single user. This setup works perfectly for personal calendars where users only see their own events.
After creating the relationship, rename both sides immediately to avoid confusion. Adalo automatically generates properties in both collections when a relationship is created. In the Events collection, rename the "User" property to something more descriptive, like "Event Creator". Similarly, rename the "Events" property in the Users collection to "Created Events". Clear naming makes managing your database much easier.
"If you want each user to interact with information that is specific to themselves, a database will be imperative!" - Sonia Rebecca Menezes, Expert Tips, Adalo
If you're designing a collaborative calendar where multiple users can attend the same event, consider a many-to-many relationship instead. This setup allows events to have multiple attendees and users to join multiple events. For personal calendars, however, the one-to-many setup keeps things simple.
With your database structure in place, your app is ready to handle its core functionality. The Events collection will store all scheduling data, and the relationships ensure users only see their own appointments.
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Step 3: Build the Main Screens for Your Calendar App
Now it’s time to create the core screens for your app. In this step, you’ll design a visual calendar view and build screens for adding and viewing events.
Create a Calendar View Screen
Begin by installing the Calendar component from the Adalo Marketplace. Open the Marketplace tab, search for "Calendar", and add the component to a new screen in your app.
Next, bind the calendar’s Start Date and End Date fields to the matching properties in your Events collection. This ensures your calendar reflects the correct data from your database.
Customize the look and feel to match your app’s branding. For example:
- Set the time format to 12-hour (standard in the U.S.).
- Choose whether the week starts on Sunday or Monday.
- Adjust the colors for event bars, text, and backgrounds to align with your design.
To make the calendar interactive, configure click actions. You can set it up so tapping on a date opens either an Event Details screen (for single events) or an Agenda View (for multiple events). This interactivity enhances the user experience by making navigation intuitive.
With your calendar screen ready, move on to building the screens for adding and viewing event details.
Add Event Creation and Detail Screens
Now, design the screens for adding new events and viewing event details. Start by creating a screen specifically for event creation. Include:
- Text input fields for the event’s title and description.
- Date/Time Pickers for selecting the start and end times.
- A Submit button configured with a "Create" action. This action should map each form input to the relevant property in your Events collection.
After users submit an event, set the button to create the record and return them to the calendar. This flow keeps everything seamless and user-friendly.
For the Event Details screen, use Magic Text to dynamically display the selected event’s data. This includes the title, date, time, and description. Magic Text ensures the information updates automatically based on what the user selects. To give users more control, consider adding buttons like Edit Event or Delete Event.
On your main calendar screen, include a prominent "+ Add Event" button that links to the event creation screen. This makes it easy for users to schedule new appointments. Don’t forget to add a Back button on all sub-screens so users can quickly return to the calendar view.
Adalo makes it simple to deploy your app as a Progressive Web App or as a native app on iOS and Android. This means you can deliver a polished, production-ready experience without having to rebuild for different platforms.
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Step 4: Add iOS-Native Features
Now that your calendar screens are ready, it’s time to give your app that polished iOS feel. Adding features like push notifications, Siri integration, and iCloud sync can make managing schedules seamless for your users - without needing to open the app constantly.
Set Up Push Notifications for Event Reminders
Push notifications are a must for any calendar app. In Adalo, you can implement them in two ways: instant alerts using the "Trigger Notification" action or scheduled reminders via the Adalo API.
For immediate alerts - like confirming an event was created - attach a "Trigger Notification" action to your Submit button. This feature works on all Adalo plans. For time-based reminders, such as a notification 30 minutes before an event, you’ll need the Adalo API, available on Team and Business plans. To enable it, go to Settings > App Access > Generate API Key in your Adalo editor.
If you require delayed notifications but don’t want to rely solely on Adalo’s native tools, external services like Zapier or Make can help. These tools can trigger reminders by reading the event's start time from your database, calculating when to send the notification (e.g., 24 hours in advance), and calling the Adalo API to push it. Keep in mind that users will only receive notifications if they’ve granted permission, have been active in the app within the last two weeks, and are using the native iOS version.
For a simpler setup that skips API scheduling, you can use Agical to create an "Add to Calendar" button. This method directly adds events to the user’s native calendar app, and you can use Adalo’s Magic Text to dynamically fill in event details. However, note that notifications sent via the Adalo API will redirect users to the app’s home screen, not a specific event page.
Once notifications are in place, you can take user convenience a step further with Siri Shortcuts.
Connect Siri Shortcuts for Quick Actions
Adding Siri integration lets users interact with your app using voice commands, making it even more user-friendly. While Adalo doesn’t natively support Apple’s App Intents framework, you can expose app actions, like creating or viewing events, through API endpoints.
Using the iOS Shortcuts app, users can set up workflows that send a POST request to your app’s API. For example, they could say, "Schedule my meeting", and Siri would trigger the shortcut to add an event. Naming your shortcuts with simple, natural phrases makes them easier to use. For developers looking to go further, implementing the App Intents framework enables system-wide shortcuts right after installation - but this requires native iOS coding.
Sync Data with iCloud
To round out the iOS experience, syncing calendar data across Apple devices with iCloud is a powerful addition. However, iCloud Calendar integration can be tricky due to its reliance on the CalDAV protocol and iCalendar format. A straightforward option is to use an "Add to Calendar" button, while full two-way syncing involves external middleware and periodic polling.
"Unlike Google Calendar, integrating iCloud Calendar is not as straightforward, as documentation is lacking, and Apple hasn't put as much effort into fleshing out what a developer needs to do."
For a basic solution, the Agical.io API can generate an "Add to Calendar" button. This allows users to either download an .ics file or add events directly to their native calendar app. To make this work, construct the URL dynamically with the event details and set Adalo’s date formatting to "No Formatting", ensuring the API correctly parses the timestamp.
If you need full two-way syncing - where changes in iCloud reflect in your app - you’ll need middleware like Zapier or Make to handle CalDAV requests. Users will also need to generate an app-specific password in their Apple ID settings since their primary password won’t work with third-party integrations. Additionally, because iCloud doesn’t support webhooks or push notifications for third-party apps, you’ll need to use a polling system to detect changes. That said, for most calendar apps, the "Add to Calendar" button provides plenty of functionality without the complexity of full CalDAV integration.
Adalo makes it easy to deploy your app as a progressive web app or as native iOS and Android builds - all from a single codebase.
Step 5: Test and Publish Your Calendar App
Before releasing your app, make sure it’s thoroughly tested. Start with Adalo’s preview mode, then move on to testing on a physical iPhone. This helps identify issues that only show up on real devices, like battery usage, touch sensitivity, or how notifications behave in real-world conditions.
Preview and Test Your App
Start testing within Adalo’s editor using the preview panel. Check if events save correctly, reminders trigger as expected, and the screens flow seamlessly. This step helps catch obvious bugs quickly but isn’t enough on its own.
Move on to testing on actual devices. Simulators can’t fully replicate real-world scenarios like battery consumption, hardware functionality, or network fluctuations. Test your app on multiple iPhone models if possible - different screen sizes and iOS versions can reveal layout glitches or compatibility issues. Confirm that the app works offline and syncs data properly when the connection is restored. Pay special attention to recurring events, push notifications, and error-free editing of events.
To gather broader feedback, distribute your app using TestFlight. Apple allows up to 10,000 external testers per build, with each build remaining active for 90 days. Internal testing (up to 100 users) skips Apple’s review process, making it ideal for quick updates within your team. External testing, however, requires an initial Beta App Review and provides access to a larger pool of users who can uncover usability problems you might miss. Assign specific tasks to testers, like syncing with iCloud or setting reminders, to ensure thorough feedback.
Publish Your App to the Apple App Store
Once testing is complete, prepare your app for submission by ensuring it complies with Apple’s guidelines and requirements.
To publish your app, you’ll need an Apple Developer Account and a paid Adalo plan (Starter, Professional, Team, or Business). Make sure your Bundle ID follows the format com.appname.ios with no extra spaces. Even if your app doesn’t use push notifications, you must enable them in the Apple Developer portal - Adalo requires this for a successful build.
In Adalo’s settings, generate an App-Specific Password from your Apple ID account (this is different from your main password). Keep a trusted Apple device nearby to approve the two-factor authentication prompt. Customize any permission request text for features like notifications or location access - Apple won’t approve apps using Adalo’s default placeholder text. Also, keep your app name under 30 characters and avoid using special characters like ~ or quotation marks.
Once you start the build, it usually takes about 30 minutes for the status in App Store Connect to change from "Processing" to "Ready to Submit." Most apps get approved within 48 hours. If you’re worried about potential bugs affecting all users at once, use the Phased Release option. This gradually rolls out your app over seven days, giving you time to address any critical issues before full distribution.
Conclusion
You've reached the finish line: a fully functional custom calendar app for iPhone. From signing up and designing your database to incorporating key iOS features and publishing on the App Store, you've tackled each step with precision. Along the way, you’ve built intuitive screens, integrated features like push notifications and Siri shortcuts, and ensured everything runs smoothly through thorough testing. Now, you have a polished app ready to meet real scheduling demands.
Adalo makes this process seamless. It offers the tools to create a sleek, fully functional app without writing a single line of code. Riley Jones, an Adalo Maker, sums it up perfectly:
"One impressive feat is how quickly Adalo allows you to put up a simple and clean design that's hooked up to a database. Pushing the data between screens becomes seamless once you get how the actions work".
Your app is now production-ready, offering full control over its design, branding, and functionality. It can sync with existing calendars, send automated reminders, and handle complex scheduling tasks with ease.
Whether your app is for personal use, business, or clients, it’s built to address real-world scheduling needs. Plus, the process you've followed ensures it's ready for future updates and enhancements, making it a flexible solution that grows with your vision.
FAQs
What does it cost to create a custom calendar app for iPhone using Adalo?
If you're looking to create a calendar app for iPhone, you can get started with Adalo at no cost. The free plan allows up to 200 records per app, which is great for testing and initial development. However, to publish your app on the App Store, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan. The Starter plan begins at $45 per month, with additional tiers priced at $65, $200, and $250 per month, offering more features and flexibility based on your requirements.
Adalo also offers optional add-ons to enhance your app. You can add extra app editors for $15 per month each or purchase additional app actions for $5 per 1,000 actions, giving you the ability to scale and customize your app as it grows.
How do I add Siri Shortcuts to my custom iPhone calendar app?
Integrating Siri Shortcuts into your custom calendar app can make adding events as simple as a voice command. Here's how you can set it up:
Start by creating a shortcut in the Shortcuts app. Design it to add a new calendar event, mapping inputs like the event title, date, and location. Save this shortcut with a clear and descriptive name, such as Add Calendar Event, and enable options like Show in Share Sheet and Allow Siri to make it accessible via voice commands.
Once your shortcut is ready, you’ll need its URL scheme. Add the shortcut to your Home Screen, then copy the URL. In your app, create a button (for example, using Adalo) and set its action to open this URL. Be sure to format dates and times in the U.S. style (MM/DD/YYYY hh:mm AM/PM) to ensure Siri interprets the details correctly. Finally, test the setup by either tapping the button or using a Siri voice command, like “Hey Siri, run Add Calendar Event,” to confirm everything works smoothly.
This integration allows your users to add events effortlessly, enhancing their experience with a voice-enabled feature in your no-code app.
How can I publish my custom calendar app to the Apple App Store?
To get your custom calendar app for iPhone published on the Apple App Store, here’s what you need to do:
- Join the Apple Developer Program: Sign up for an account and pay the annual membership fee. This is a must for submitting apps to the store.
- Set up a Bundle ID: Create a unique identifier for your app within your Apple Developer account.
- Generate an app-specific password: Head to your Apple ID settings to create a password that Adalo can use to securely upload your app build.
- Configure your app in Adalo: Input your Apple credentials, Bundle ID, and other details like your app’s name, keywords, and permissions.
- Submit your app through Adalo: Use Adalo’s build tool to send your app to App Store Connect. Then, complete the submission process by adding screenshots, setting pricing, and providing privacy information.
- Send your app for Apple review: Once submitted, Apple will review your app. After approval, you can officially release it on the App Store.
By following these steps, you’ll have your custom calendar app ready for users in no time!
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