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Airtable & Webflow: Get the best of both tools

Aug 17, 2022by Scroll
Airtable & Webflow : tirez le meilleur de ces deux outils
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Why link Airtable and Webflow together? Scroll tells you everything

No-code tools are numerous and increasingly powerful. To create complex solutions, some allow you to connect them to each other. It’s possible to combine multiple tools to significantly expand your creative possibilities. Airtable and Webflow are two tools that connect easily with each other to combine their strengths. We explain it all!

Airtable and Webflow: two no-code tools

What is no-code?

No-code is a solution that allows users to develop and manipulate digital content without writing code. This is typically done through no-code platforms that rely on drag-and-drop interfaces. These no-code platforms are used by businesses of all sizes to create websites, web or mobile apps, and various digital tools.

No-code platforms empower users to create digital tools, regardless of their coding skills, simply by learning the tool. They also offer businesses an alternative to traditional developers, who are often in high demand and expensive: no-code developers.

No-code platforms are changing the way tools are created and used. They enable businesses and individuals to develop products and solutions differently, ones that were previously only possible with code.

One question comes before any integration of this kind, and it determines the architecture: is the data copied into Webflow, or read live from Airtable when the page loads? Copying, through an automation that feeds Webflow collections, gives fast, indexable pages, at the cost of a lag between the two systems and a synchronisation to monitor. Reading live guarantees freshness but adds a network call at load time, which weighs directly on Largest Contentful Paint, whose recommended threshold is 2.5 seconds, and exposes an API key in the browser unless the call is proxied by a server. For public content meant to be indexed, copying almost always wins. On the synchronisation side, a Make plan bills every module executed: a scenario walking a thousand rows consumes a thousand times the number of modules in the path, which is worth costing before discovering it.

What is Airtable?

Airtable is a cloud-based collaborative platform that allows users to manage their work with greater flexibility and efficiency. Airtable offers a variety of features that enable users to customize their workflows, including:

One technical point decides feasibility as soon as Airtable feeds another tool, and it is rarely mentioned: API throughput. The Airtable documentation sets 5 requests per second per base, and 50 requests per second across all traffic from a personal access token. Beyond that the API returns 429 and you must wait 30 seconds before calls succeed again. The practical consequence: a synchronisation walking thousands of rows has to read in batches, space out its calls and implement retry logic with back-off. It is also what disqualifies Airtable as the backing store for a high-traffic application, not the size of the data, but the permitted throughput.

- A flexible database that can be easily customized to meet the needs of any organization.

The tiers are worth knowing before building on them, because the limit that bites is not the price but the number of records. According to the Airtable plans documentation, the free plan stops at 1,000 records per base and 1 GB of attachments; the Team plan goes to 50,000 records and 20 GB, the Business plan to 125,000 and 100 GB. Those limits apply per base, not per workspace: splitting a large project across several bases raises the ceiling, at the cost of cross-base links that are harder to maintain. On price, the public pricing page shows $20 per user per month for Team and $45 for Business on annual billing: the cost therefore follows the number of people who access the base, not the volume of data.

- A variety of templates that can be used to get started quickly.

- A robust set of features for collaboration and communication

- A flexible pricing model with multiple pricing tiers that allows users to pay only for the features they need.

What is Webflow?

Webflow is a cloud-based web development platform that allows users to design, build, and launch responsive websites without coding.

With Webflow, you can create custom website designs using a drag-and-drop interface. You can also build dynamic solutions with pre-built interactions and animations. 

Webflow is an ideal platform for those looking to develop powerful, custom websites without coding.

Why use both tools?

Although Airtable and Webflow are both no-code tools, they serve very different purposes. Discover why you might need both:

Why use Airtable?

If you're looking for a way to organize your data, Airtable is an excellent option. Airtable is a cloud-based database that lets you store and manage your data in a flexible, visual way. You can create custom views of your data so you only see the information you need. Airtable also makes it easy to share your data with others, enabling collaboration on projects.

Why use Webflow?

Want to stand out from the competition, gain visibility, and take your business to the next level? You need a website! With Webflow, create the website of your dreams without worrying about code. Webflow lets you build all types of websites, one-page, showcase, e-commerce, and more.

Why connect Airtable and Webflow together?

Airtable and Webflow are two powerful tools that can work together to help you manage your website more efficiently. Here are some reasons why you should consider combining them:

Easier data management

Airtable gives you a flexible, spreadsheet-like interface to manage your data. This makes it easy to keep track of all the information you need for your website, such as content, products, customers, etc. Webflow, on the other hand, provides a visual way to build and manage your website. By connecting the two, you can easily update your website’s content without manually editing HTML or CSS code.

Greater flexibility

Connecting Airtable and Webflow gives you the best of both worlds in terms of flexibility. Airtable’s spreadsheet interface is easy to use and lets you make quick changes to your data. And if you need more advanced features, you can always switch to Webflow’s visual editor.

Better collaboration

Both Airtable and Webflow have built-in collaboration features that allow team members to work together on a website. By connecting the two tools, you can easily keep everyone on the same page and ensure everyone has access to the latest information.

In conclusion, Airtable and Webflow are two powerful tools that can help you manage your website more efficiently. If you're looking to gain flexibility and improve collaboration, consider combining them.

Scroll helps you with your project on Airtable and Webflow

Whether you have an Airtable project, a Webflow project, or one that combines both solutions to get the best of both tools, at Scroll we’re here to support you! Our Airtable agency brings together true no-code experts ready to develop custom solutions with you that perfectly meet your needs. Don’t hesitate to contact us!