Updated Oct 17, 2025

Step-by-Step Guide: Building a Monday.com Clone with Adalo

Table of Contents

This tutorial walks you through creating a functional project management app using Adalo’s no-code platform. You’ll replicate Monday-style essentials—boards, tasks, status columns, team collaboration, simple automation hooks, and reporting—without writing code.

What Is a Monday.com Clone and Why Build One with a No-Code App Builder

Monday.com is a work management platform built around configurable boards: items (tasks) move through statuses, teams collaborate with comments/files, and leaders get visibility via dashboards. Building your own version in Adalo lets you tailor fields, permissions, and views to your workflow while keeping data ownership and iterating quickly.

Core Features You’ll Replicate

Boards & Items: projects with task rows, custom fields, and status tracking
Assignments & Due Dates: who’s responsible and when it’s due
Comments & Files: threaded discussion and attachments per task
Views: board (kanban/table), calendar, and basic analytics
Roles & Permissions: owner/admin/member/guest visibility and actions
Automation Hooks: notifications, reminders, and external workflows

Why Choose No-Code Over Custom Development

No-code tools replace large portions of hand-coding with visual builders and prebuilt integrations. You focus on UX and business rules, not infrastructure. Timelines and costs vary by scope and team, but many teams find they can validate an MVP in weeks rather than months compared to traditional development.

Set Up Your Adalo Account

Step 1: Create Your Account & App

Go to Adalo.com → Sign Up
Verify your email, then click Create New App
Pick Mobile App (you can also publish a responsive web app)
Name your app (e.g., “ProjectFlow”) → Start from Scratch

Tip: Begin on the Free plan to prototype. Before publishing or relying on plan limits, check current details on the Adalo pricing page.

Design Your Database Structure

A clean relational model prevents duplication and makes filtering/permissions easier.

Step 2: Enhance the Users Collection

Add fields (Database → Users → + Add Property):

Full Name (Text)
Profile Image (Image)
Role (Text) – e.g., Owner, Admin, Member, Guest
Department, Job Title (Text, optional)
Notifications Enabled (True/False)
Timezone, Last Active (Text; Date/Time)

Step 3: Create Projects (Boards)

Fields:

Project Name (Text)
Description (Long Text)
Status (Text) – Planning, Active, On Hold, Completed, Archived
Start Date, Due Date (Date)
Priority (Text)
Color (Text) for visual tags
Progress % (Number)
Created Date, Updated Date (Date/Time – Automatic)

Step 4: Create Tasks (Items)

Fields:

Task Title (Text)
Task Description (Rich/Long Text)
Task Status (Text) – Not Started, In Progress, Review, Blocked, Completed
Priority (Text) – Low, Medium, High, Urgent
Start Date, Due Date (Date)
Estimated Hours, Actual Hours (Number)
Tags (Text; comma-separated)
Order (Number) for custom row sorting
Checklist JSON (Long Text, optional)
Attachments Count (Number)
Created Date, Completed Date (Date/Time)

Step 5: Create Comments

Fields:

Comment Text (Long Text)
Mentions (Text; store mentioned user IDs)
Is Edited (True/False), Edited Date (Date/Time)
Created Date (Date/Time)
Attachment URL/Type (optional)

Step 6: Create Files

Fields:

File Name (Text)
File (File Upload) or File URL (Text)
File Type (Text)
File Size (Number)
Uploaded Date (Date/Time – Automatic)

Step 7: Create Activity (Audit Trail)

Fields:

Activity Type (Text) – task_created, status_changed, comment_added, assignment_changed, file_uploaded
Activity Description (Text)
Related Item ID (Text)
Related Item Type (Text) – Task, Project, Comment
Created Date (Date/Time)
Icon (Text, optional)

Step 8: Add Relationships

Projects

Project Owner → Users (Many Projects → One User)
Team Members → Users (Many↔Many)
Tasks → Tasks (One Project → Many Tasks)
Files → Files (One → Many)
Activity → Activity (One → Many)

Tasks

Project → Projects (Many → One)
Assigned To → Users (Many → One)
Created By → Users (Many → One)
Comments → Comments (One → Many)
Files → Files (One → Many)
Activity → Activity (One → Many)
Optional: Subtasks → Tasks (self-reference)

Comments

Task → Tasks (Many → One)
Author → Users (Many → One)

Files

Task → Tasks (Many → One)
Uploaded By → Users (Many → One)

Build Core Screens

Step 9: Welcome / Auth

Welcome: logo/image, tagline, buttons → Sign Up and Login
Sign Up: Form (Users) → Email, Password, Full Name, Role → on submit → Dashboard
Login: Login form → on submit → Dashboard

Step 10: Dashboard

Top bar: logo/search/notifications/profile
Quick stats (tap to drill in):
- Due Today (Assigned To = Logged In User; Due = Today)
- Overdue (Assigned To = L.I.U.; Due < Today; Status ≠ Completed)
- Completed This Week (Assigned To = L.I.U.; Completed Date ≥ start of week)
Recent Projects list: Team Members contains Logged In User → sort by Updated Date (newest first)

Step 11: All Projects (Filterable)

Filters: Status (All/Active/Planning/Completed) + Search by name
List item: name, status badge, team avatars, progress bar, due date
Edit/Delete buttons visible only to Owners/Admins

Step 12: Project Details

Header: name, description, status, progress, quick actions (Edit Project, Add Task)
Tabs:
- Board (kanban/table)
- List
- Calendar
- Files
- Team
- Activity

Board, List & Calendar Views

Step 13: Board View (Kanban)

Horizontal scroll container → a column per Task Status
Each column: section header (status + count) + list of tasks filtered by Project & Status
Task card: title, priority badge, assignee avatar, due date, small icons for comments/files/subtasks
Optional drag-and-drop via a marketplace component (see Marketplace section)

Step 14: List View (Table)

Custom table list (Project filter) with columns:
- Complete (checkbox)
- Title (link to Task Detail)
- Priority (badge)
- Status (badge/dropdown)
- Assignee (avatar/name)
- Due Date (color coded)
- Progress (from subtasks)
- Row actions (edit/delete)
Multi-select for bulk status updates and bulk assignment

Step 15: Calendar View

Install a calendar component (Marketplace)
Show tasks by Due Date with month/week/day toggles
Click on a task → open Task Detail
Click empty date → create a new task with that Due Date

Create & Manage Tasks (CRUD)

Step 16: New Task Modal

Form (Tasks): Title (required), Description, Project (pre-filled when opened from Project), Assigned To (project members), Priority, Status (default Not Started), Start/Due Dates, Estimated Hours, Tags
On submit:
- Create Task
- Set Created By = Logged In User
- Log Activity (task_created)
- Notify Assignee if different from creator
- Close modal & refresh list

Step 17: Task Details

Header: inline edit Title, Status dropdown, Priority badge, “More” menu (edit/duplicate/delete)
Sections:
- Description (rich text)
- Dates (start/due; editable)
- Assignee (change via modal; show workload count)
- Tags (add/remove)
- Subtasks (optional nested list)
- Files (upload, preview, delete if allowed)
- Activity (chronological feed)

Step 18: Quick Status & Assignment

In table/board cards: Status dropdown → if status becomes Completed, set Completed Date = Now and recalc project progress
Assignee dropdown → update Assigned To; log Activity (assignment_changed) and notify the new assignee

Roles & Permissions

Step 19: Visibility Rules

Create Project: show if Role = Admin/Owner
Edit Project: show if Role = Admin/Owner or Logged In User = Project Owner
Delete Project: Owner only
Task Editing: allowed for assignee, creator, admins; guests read-only
Message/Comment Moderation: authors edit/delete own; admins/owners can moderate/pin

Step 20: Team Invitations

Project → Team tab: Invite Member (pick an existing user) → add to Team Members
Optional: send in-app or push notification
For more advanced flows (email invites, tokens), wire up Zapier/Make (see below)

Automation & Integrations

Step 21: In-App Rules

When Task Status changes to Completed:
- Set Completed Date
- Recalculate Project Progress (completed/total)
- Log Activity
- Notify Task Creator/Owner (optional)
If status reverts from Completed: clear Completed Date and recalc

Step 22: Zapier (External Workflows)

Enable Zapier
Common Zaps:
- New Task → Slack channel message
- High/Urgent Completed → Email to project owner
- Daily at 8AM: find overdue tasks → log to Google Sheets / send digest

Step 23: Make (formerly Integromat)

Use Make for multi-step logic and branching
Examples:
- Approval loop (status → “Review” triggers approver email; branch on approve/reject)
- Time tracking (start on “In Progress”, stop on “Completed”, write Actual Hours back)

Step 24: External Data (Scale with Xano/Airtable)

Use External Collections for larger datasets or complex queries
Backends: Xano (custom API & logic), Airtable (flexible base and collaboration)

Step 25: Payments (Stripe)

Install a Stripe component via Marketplace
Add Subscription Plans collection (Plan Name, Price, Features, Stripe Price ID)
Upgrade screen: show plans → checkout → on success set user plan; gate features via visibility rules

Marketplace Components (Kanban, Calendar, Charts, Rich Text)

Step 26: Kanban Board

Browse the Adalo Marketplace for “Kanban/Board”
Add to Project Details as an alternative view
Columns: Not Started / In Progress / Review / Blocked / Completed
Drag between columns updates Task Status

Step 27: Calendar / Timeline

Install a Calendar component
Show task due dates & milestones
Click events → open Task Detail
For Gantt-style timelines, use a premium component or embed an external view (e.g., Sheets → chart)

Step 28: Charts & Rich Text

Charts (donut/line/bar) for analytics and progress
Rich Text Editor for task descriptions and long comments

Testing & Feedback

Step 29: Preview & Device Testing

Click Preview in the builder (web)
For mobile: use Adalo’s preview app to scan the QR code and test on real devices
Validate auth flows, permissions, performance, and error handling

Step 30: Structured QA

Auth: sign up, login, reset password
Projects: create/edit/delete (permissioned), add/remove team
Tasks: create/update/assign/complete/delete
Comments/Files: post, edit, upload, download, delete
Permissions: verify role-specific visibility and actions

Step 31: Collect Feedback

Invite a pilot group (5–10 users)
Provide scenarios (“Create a project and assign 3 tasks”, “Post a comment with @mention”, “Upload a file”)
Gather notes via an in-app form or quick interviews
Prioritize fixes by frequency, severity, and effort

Publishing to Web, iOS, and Android

Step 32: Web App

On a paid plan with custom domains, open Settings → Publishing → Web
Configure favicon, SEO, and analytics
Add a custom domain following the DNS instructions (SSL handled automatically)
Domain pricing varies by registrar/TLD; DNS changes can take up to ~48 hours to propagate

Step 33: Apple App Store (iOS)

Requirements:

Apple Developer Program ($99/year)
Icons, screenshots, privacy policy URL, listing metadata

Process:

Adalo → Publishing → iOS
Upload assets & metadata
Generate IPA
Upload via Apple Transporter to App Store Connect
Submit for review
- Note: Apple doesn’t guarantee review times; many reviews complete within a few days, but timing varies by app and queue

More: Adalo iOS publishing

Step 34: Google Play (Android)

Requirements:

Google Play Developer account (one-time $25)
Icons, screenshots, privacy policy, content rating

Process:

Adalo → Publishing → Android
Upload assets & metadata
Generate AAB (App Bundle; required for new apps)
Upload to Play Console, complete listing & questionnaires
Submit for review
- Note: Personal developer accounts created after Nov 13, 2023 must run a closed test with ≥20 testers for ≥2 weeks before production release (per Google). Review times vary.

More: Adalo Android publishing · Google policy

Why Adalo Works Well for Monday-Style Project Management

Built-in relational DB: Users ↔ Projects ↔ Tasks ↔ Comments ↔ Files ↔ Activity — Database help
Cross-platform publishing: Ship to iOS, Android, and web from one project (test per platform for nuances) — Adalo publishing
Marketplace components: kanban boards, calendars, charts, rich text, advanced lists — Marketplace
Integrations: APIs, webhooks, external data/services — Custom Actions · External Collections

Cost & Resources

Adalo plans/limits: always verify current details — https://www.adalo.com/pricing
Developer programs: Apple $99/year — https://developer.apple.com/programs/ · Google Play $25 one-time — https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6112435
Android testing policy (new personal accounts): closed test with ≥20 testers for ≥2 weeks — Google Play policy
Automation: Zapier — https://zapier.com/apps · Make — https://www.make.com/

Additional Resources

Adalo Help Center — https://help.adalo.com/
Adalo Marketplace — https://www.adalo.com/marketplace
External Collections (docs) — https://help.adalo.com/integrations/external-collections-with-apis
Custom Actions (docs) — https://help.adalo.com/integrations/custom-actions
Responsive Design (MDN) — https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn_web_development/Core/CSS_layout/Responsive_Design
Xano Integration — https://www.adalo.com/integrations/xano
Airtable Integration — https://www.adalo.com/integrations/airtable
Zapier — https://www.zapier.com/ · Make — https://www.make.com/
iOS Publishing — https://www.adalo.com/ios-app-apple-app-store
Android Publishing — https://www.adalo.com/native-android-app-google-play-store

Note: This Monday-style build is a prototype using Adalo’s UI and database. For true real-time co-editing, heavy analytics, enterprise auth/SSO/SCIM, very large datasets, and large-file storage, pair Adalo with external backends (e.g., Xano) and storage (e.g., AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage) via External Collections / Custom Actions. App-store policies, plan limits, marketplace availability, and third-party capabilities change—re-verify before publishing. Always performance-test on real devices and confirm your privacy/compliance posture (e.g., GDPR/CCPA).