Step-by-Step Guide: Building a Facebook Clone with Adalo

This comprehensive tutorial will walk you through building a Facebook-style social networking app using Adalo's no-code platform. You'll create a functional app with news feeds, user profiles, friend connections, posts, comments, likes, and messaging features using Adalo's built-in components and templates.

Prerequisites and Initial Setup

Step 1: Create Your Adalo Account

1. Go to Adalo.com and sign up
2. Choose a plan: Starter ($45/mo billed monthly or $36/mo billed annually)
3. Access the Adalo editor dashboard

Step 2: Start with the Social Media Template

1. Click "Create New App"
2. Select "App from Template"
3. Search for "Social Media Feed" template
4. Name your app (e.g., "FacebookClone")
5. Choose your primary brand color (Facebook blue: #1877F2)
6. Select "Mobile App" for best social experience
7. Click "Create App"

Learn more about Feature Templates

Setting Up the Database

Step 3: Configure the Users Collection

1. Click Database icon in left sidebar
2. Select the "Users" collection (pre-built)
3. Add these properties (click "+ Add Property"):
   
   • Full Name (Text)
   • Username (Text)
   • Bio (Text - check "Multiline")
   • Profile Photo (Image)
   • Cover Photo (Image)
   • Birthday (Date)
   • Location (Text)
   • Work (Text)
   • Education (Text)
   • Joined Date (Date & Time - Automatic)
   • Profile Views (Number - default: 0)

Step 4: Create Posts Collection

1. Click "+ Add Collection"
2. Name it "Posts"
3. Add properties:
   
   • Content (Text - Multiline)
   • Image (Image)
   • Video URL (Text - for video links)
   • Created At (Date & Time - Automatic)
   • Updated At (Date & Time)
   • Privacy (Text) - Values: "public", "friends", "private"
   • Likes Count (Number - default: 0)
   • Comments Count (Number - default: 0)
   • Shares Count (Number - default: 0)
   • Location (Text)
   • Feeling (Text)

Step 5: Create Comments Collection

1. Click "+ Add Collection"
2. Name it "Comments"
3. Add properties:
   
   • Text (Text - Multiline)
   • Created At (Date & Time - Automatic)
   • Likes Count (Number - default: 0)

Step 6: Create Messages Collection

1. Click "+ Add Collection"
2. Name it "Messages"
3. Add properties:
   
   • Content (Text - Multiline)
   • Image (Image)
   • Created At (Date & Time - Automatic)
   • Is Read (True/False - default: false)

Step 7: Create Conversations Collection

1. Click "+ Add Collection"
2. Name it "Conversations"
3. Add properties:
   
   • Last Message (Text)
   • Last Message Time (Date & Time)
   • Unread Count (Number - default: 0)

Step 8: Set Up Friend Relationships

1. In Users collection:
   
   • Click "+ Add Property"
   • Select "Relationship"
   • Choose "Users" as related collection
   • Select "A User can have multiple Users, and a User can have multiple Users"
   • Name it "Following"
   • Repeat and create "Followers"
2. In Posts collection:
   
   • Add "Author" → Users (Many to One)
   • Add "Liked By" → Users (Many to Many)
   • Add "Comments" → Comments (One to Many)
3. In Comments collection:
   
   • Add "Author" → Users (Many to One)
   • Add "Post" → Posts (Many to One)
   • Add "Liked By" → Users (Many to Many)
4. In Messages collection:
   
   • Add "Sender" → Users (Many to One)
   • Add "Recipient" → Users (Many to One)
   • Add "Conversation" → Conversations (Many to One)
5. In Conversations collection:
   
   • Add "Participants" → Users (Many to Many)
   • Add "Messages" → Messages (One to Many)

Learn more about databases

Building the Home Screen & News Feed

Step 9: Design the Home Screen Layout

1. Select the "Home" screen
2. Add App Bar component at top:
   
   • Add Text: "Facebook Clone"
   • Background color: #1877F2
   • Add Icon buttons for Search and Messages
3. Add Tab Bar at bottom:
   
   • Home, Friends, Create, Notifications, Profile icons

Step 10: Create the News Feed

1. Add Custom List component below app bar:
   
   • Data source: Posts collection
   • Filter: Privacy equals "public" OR Author equals Logged In User OR Logged In User > Following > Contains > Current Post > Author  
   • Sort: Created At (Newest First)
2. Enable "Load Items as User Scrolls" for performance
3. Set maximum items to 20 initially

Step 11: Design Post Cards

1. In the Custom List, design each item:
   
   • Add Rectangle for card background
   • Add Image component (40x40, rounded) for profile photo
   • Add Text for Author name (Magic Text: Current Post > Author > Full Name)
   • Add Text for timestamp (Magic Text: Current Post > Created At)
   • Add Text for post content (Current Post > Content)
   • Add Image component for post image (conditional visibility)

Step 12: Add Engagement Actions

1. Below each post, add horizontal group:
   
   • Like Button:
     
     • Icon: Heart
     • Action: Update Post > Liked By > Add Logged In User
     • Conditional: Change color if liked
   • Comment Button:
     
     • Icon: Comment
     • Action: Link to Comments Screen with Post data
   • Share Button:
     
     • Icon: Share
     • Action: Create new Post with reference

Learn more about lists

Creating User Profiles

Step 13: Build Profile Screen

1. Add new screen "Profile"
2. Add Image component for cover photo (full width)
3. Add Image for profile photo (100x100, circular):
   
   • Position: Overlapping cover photo
   • Border: 4px white
4. Add Text components for:
   
   • Full Name (Large, Bold)
   • Username (@username format)
   • Bio text
   • Location, Work, Education (with icons)

Step 14: Add Profile Stats

1. Create horizontal group with three columns:
   
   • Posts Count: Count of Posts where Author = Current User
   • Followers: Count of Current User > Followers
   • Following: Count of Current User > Following
2. Style with centered text and labels

Step 15: Create Follow/Unfollow System

1. Add Toggle component:
   
   • Label: "Follow"
   • Default state: Logged In User > Following > Contains > Profile User
2. Add Actions to Toggle:
   
   • When Turned On:
     
     • Update Logged In User > Following > Add Profile User
     • Update Profile User > Followers > Add Logged In User
   • When Turned Off:
     
     • Update Logged In User > Following > Remove Profile User
     • Update Profile User > Followers > Remove Logged In User

Learn how to allow users to follow others

Step 16: Display User's Posts

1. Add Custom List below profile info:
   
   • Data: Posts collection
   • Filter: Author equals Profile User
   • Sort: Created At (Newest First)
2. Use same post card design from news feed

Implementing Post Creation

Step 17: Create New Post Screen

1. Add new screen "Create Post"
2. Add Form component:
   
   • Connected to Posts collection
   • Include fields:
     
     • Text Input for Content (multiline)
     • Image Picker for photo
     • Dropdown for Privacy settings
     • Text Input for Location
3. Set form to create new Post record

Step 18: Configure Post Submit Action

1. On form submission:
   
   • Set Author to Logged In User
   • Set Created At to Current Time
   • Navigate back to Home screen
2. Add validation:
   
   • Content required OR Image required
   • Maximum content length: 500 characters

Step 19: Add Media Upload

1. In the form, add Image Picker:
   
   • Connected to Post > Image field
   • Add camera and gallery options
   • Set maximum size: 50MB
2. Add preview of selected image
3. Include remove image option

Building the Comments System

Step 20: Create Comments Screen

1. Add new screen "Comments"
2. Pass Post data as screen parameter
3. Display post content at top (condensed view)
4. Add Custom List for comments:
   
   • Data: Comments collection
   • Filter: Post equals Current Post
   • Sort: Created At (Oldest First)

Step 21: Design Comment Items

1. For each comment in list:
   
   • Profile photo (30x30, circular)
   • Author name
   • Comment text
   • Timestamp
   • Like button with count
2. Add reply button (link to same screen with parent comment)

Step 22: Add Comment Input

1. At screen bottom, add input group:
   
   • Text Input (multiline, auto-grow)
   • Send Button
2. Send action:
   
   • Create Comment record
   • Set Post to Current Post
   • Set Author to Logged In User
   • Clear input field
   • Update Post > Comments Count + 1

Creating the Messaging System

Step 23: Build Conversations List

1. Add new screen "Messages"
2. Add Custom List:
   
   • Data: Conversations
   • Filter: Participants contains Logged In User
   • Sort: Last Message Time (Newest First)
3. Display for each conversation:
   
   • Other participant's photo and name
   • Last message preview
   • Timestamp
   • Unread indicator (conditional)

Step 24: Create Chat Screen

1. Add new screen "Chat"
2. Add Custom List for messages:
   
   • Data: Messages
   • Filter: Conversation equals Current Conversation
   • Sort: Created At (Oldest First)
3. Style messages:
   
   • Sent messages: Right aligned, blue background
   • Received messages: Left aligned, gray background

Step 25: Implement Message Sending

1. Add input bar at bottom:
   
   • Text Input for message
   • Image Picker button
   • Send Button
2. Send action:
   
   • Create Message record
   • Update Conversation > Last Message
   • Update Conversation > Last Message Time
   • Navigate to updated list

Learn more about chat

Adding Friends Management

Step 26: Create Friends List Screen

1. Add new screen "Friends"
2. Add Tab Bar with three tabs:
   
   • All Friends
   • Friend Requests
   • Find Friends
3. For "All Friends" tab:
   
   • Custom List of Users
   • Filter: Logged In User > Following AND Logged In User > Followers (mutual)

Step 27: Build Friend Requests

1. In "Friend Requests" tab:
   
   • List Users where Followers contains Logged In User
   • BUT Following doesn't contain those Users
2. Add Accept/Decline buttons:
   
   • Accept: Add to Following
   • Decline: Remove from Followers

Step 28: Create Friend Search

1. In "Find Friends" tab:
   
   • Add Search Bar (Text Input)
   • Custom List of Users
   • Filter: Full Name contains search term OR Username contains search term
   • Exclude: Current friends
2. Add "Add Friend" button for each result

Implementing Notifications

Step 29: Set Up Push Notifications

1. Add Request Notification Permission in your onboarding (required on iOS and on Android 13+)
2. Use Trigger Notification actions on events (new Like, Comment, Follow) 
3. (Optional) Server-initiated notifications: use Send Push Notifications via API — Team/Business plans only; API can’t deep-link to a specific screen and can’t target multiple users in a single call

Step 30: Create Notification Triggers

1. On new Like:
   
   • Send to Post Author
   • Title: "New Like"
   • Body: "[User] liked your post"
2. On new Comment:
   
   • Send to Post Author
   • Title: "New Comment"
   • Body: "[User] commented on your post"
3. On new Follow:
   
   • Send to Followed User
   • Title: "New Follower"
   • Body: "[User] started following you"

Learn how to trigger push notifications

Optimizing Performance

Step 31: Implement Performance Best Practices

1. Limit List Items:
   
   • Set maximum 20-30 items per list
   • Enable "Load Items as User Scrolls"
2. Use Count Properties:
   
   • Store likes_count, comments_count as numbers
   • Update via actions instead of calculating
3. Optimize Images:
   
   • Adalo already uses Imgix for image delivery; optimize by using reasonable dimensions and thumbnails in lists
   • Set appropriate image dimensions
   • Use thumbnails for lists

Step 32: Database Optimization

1. Avoid nested relationships beyond 2 levels
2. Pre-calculate frequently used values
3. Use simple filters over complex conditions
4. Limit list items, use progressive loading, and pre-compute counts

Testing and Launch

Step 33: Test Core Features

1. Create multiple test accounts
2. Test all user flows:
   
   • Sign up and profile creation
   • Creating and editing posts
   • Following/unfollowing users
   • Liking and commenting
   • Sending messages
   • Receiving notifications

Step 34: Prepare for Publishing

1. Upgrade to a paid plan — Starter is required for publishing ($45/mo monthly, $36/mo when billed annually)
2. Configure app settings:
   
   • App name and description
   • App icon (1024x1024px)
   • Splash screen
   • Privacy policy URL
3. Set up analytics — Use the official Mixpanel integration; for advanced tracking, send events via Custom Actions or automation tools Zapier / Make

Step 35: Deploy Your App

1. For Web App:
   
   • Publish to Adalo subdomain or custom domain
2. For Mobile Apps:
   
   • Generate builds for iOS/Android
   • Submit to App Store/Google Play
   • Follow platform guidelines

Working with Platform Limitations

Step 36: Handle Missing Features

Cannot Implement:

• True real-time (websocket) message/list subscriptions
• In-app, socket-driven live notifications (push is supported; no server-pushed in-app toasts)  
• Native hosting/streaming of large video files (>~50MB uploads aren’t supported by Adalo’s native uploader)  
• Push notifications via API that deep-link to arbitrary screens or target multiple users in one call  
• Built-in scheduled background jobs / automatic record expiration (no native cron)  

Workarounds:

• Add pull-to-refresh on lists
• Use modals for quick interactions
• Implement pagination for large datasets
• Cache user data in properties

Additional Resources

• Adalo App Academy
• Social Media Feed Template
• Component Documentation
• YouTube Tutorials
• Database Best Practices

Important Considerations

Cost Breakdown:

• Free Plan: Testing only (cannot publish)
• Starter — $45/mo monthly ($36/mo annually), 1 published app
• Professional — $65/mo monthly ($52/mo annually)
• Team — $200/mo monthly ($160/mo annually)
• Business — $250/mo monthly ($200/mo annually)

Platform Limitations:

• 50MB file upload limit
• No real-time database updates
• 10,000 record CSV import limit
• Performance degrades with 50+ concurrent users
• No native group/pages functionality

Note: This Facebook clone provides core social networking features within Adalo's capabilities. While it won't match Facebook's advanced features, it delivers a solid foundation for a social networking app that can be enhanced with marketplace components and external integrations.