What are the limitations of default monday.com apps?

Default apps on monday.com come with pre-set features that may not fully align with your team’s unique workflows or project requirements.

For example, if you’re managing a marketing campaign that involves coordinating tasks across multiple departments—like design, content creation, and social media—you’ll likely need to rely on multiple monday.com apps for advanced task management, timeline tracking, and reporting. 

However, coordinating between these apps can be challenging and limiting, as each app is designed with general use cases in mind and may not fully meet your specific needs. 

As a result, you’ll have to manually bridge the gaps between these apps—like copying data from one to another, manually adjusting timelines, or compiling data for reports using external tools.

Default monday.com apps also have other limitations, including:

• Automation features that are limited to basic triggers and actions, making them less ideal for complex workflows requiring conditional logic and intricate task dependencies.
• A lack of deep customization options, such as creating highly specific automation rules, custom data fields, or tailored user interfaces that match your exact needs.
• Scalability issues for large enterprises with complex, multi-layered operations.
• Restricted integration with external tools your team already uses.
• Limited UI customization to better fit your workflow.

This is where building your own custom monday.com app becomes incredibly valuable. 

Why build a custom monday.com app using a no-code web app builder?

For small to medium businesses, building no-code monday.com apps  is a cost-effective solution, as there’s no need to hire developers—anyone can build. These apps are also scalable, allowing these businesses to easily evolve their tools to meet new challenges as they grow. 

Large enterprises, on the other hand, can benefit from the high level of customization Softr provides, enabling them to build apps that meet complex, enterprise-level needs. 

Additionally, these apps can seamlessly integrate with existing enterprise tools and platforms, ensuring that operations remain smooth and interconnected as the business scales.

For individual freelancers and solopreneurs, Softr enables quick deployment of custom apps that help manage projects, clients, and invoices, so they are agile and efficient in their operations. 

The flexibility Softr provides means that these users can customize their apps to meet their specific business needs without relying on external help, giving them the tools they need to succeed in a competitive market.

No matter the size of your business or the complexity of your operations, Softr provides the tools you need to create custom solutions that fit your unique requirements, making it a versatile and powerful option for building and using custom monday.com apps.

Step 1: Define your monday.com app’s purpose and features

Before you start the creation process, first identify the main goal your team wants to achieve or a major pain point they need the app to solve. 

This will ensure that the final product is tailored to your specific needs.

For instance, if your team struggles with tracking progress across multiple projects, the app could focus on creating a unified dashboard that provides real-time updates, displays key milestones, and highlights upcoming deadlines.

If managing client relationships is a challenge, the app could feature a client portal where clients can view project updates, submit requests, and communicate directly with your team, improving transparency and reducing the need for back-and-forth emails.

For teams that require deep insights into their operations, the app might focus on advanced analytics, pulling data from multiple monday.com boards to create detailed reports and visualizations that track performance against key metrics.

Perhaps your team spends too much time on manual data entry or repetitive processes. 

In this case, your app could automate these tasks, such as updating statuses, sending reminders, or generating reports, allowing your team to focus on more strategic work.

Step 2: Sign up on Softr if you haven’t already or log in 

If you don’t have an existing Softr account, sign up for free. But if you do, log into your Softr account to start building your monday.com app. 

Step 2.1: Select a template for the monday.com app you want to create

Softr has a library of responsive pre-built templates you can choose from, so you don’t have to build your monday.com app from scratch (unless you want to). 

After logging in or completing the sign-up process, click on “all templates” to choose the best one for your project. 

If you prefer to build from scratch, click on “start from scratch.” 

Step 2.2 Search for the right template

There are three ways to find the template you need. 

1. You can click on any of the categories and scroll until you find one that matches the monday.com app you want to build.

2. Scroll down the already highlighted “ALL” until you find one that matches the monday.com app you want to build.

3. Use the search bar to type a keyword for the template you want to use and hit “Enter.” 

For this example, we will use the client portal template. 

Step 2.3: Click on the template you want to use

After selecting a template, click “Preview” for an overview, and then click on the “Use Template” button to start building. 

Step 3: Connect Softr to monday.com

To continue creating the app on Softr using data from monday.com, you have to connect both apps. You can do it right away by clicking  the “Select data source” dropdown and select “Add another data source.” 

Or click “Connect later.” 

We recommend this option since the monday.com integration is currently unavailable for this template using the first option. But you can access it once you’re in the Softr Studio. 

Step 3.1 Choose the page and block to edit

Every Softr template includes various pages that make up the client portal you’re creating, and you can customize each one. To do so, click on Pages on the left side of your screen, then choose the pages you want to edit. We chose the dashboard page of the client portal template. 

To start edit and choose the data source you want to use, click on one of the blocks you want to use to display your monday.com data, so that the editor panel slides in.

Step 3.2: Select the data source

The default data source for the client portal template is Airtable but you can change it by clicking on the “Source” dropdown and selecting “add another data source.”

Next, select monday.com as your data source and click continue. 

Follow the instructions that comes after to set monday.com as your data source.

After generating and copying your API token, paste it in the tab below “personal API token,” then click “continue.”

Once successful, you’ll see a successful message pop up on the screen below and the “source” dropdown change from Airtable to monday.com. 

Step 3.3: Select the workspace you want to show

You can now choose the data from which table you want it to be shown on this block. For this example, click on the ideal workspace options to select you which you want to display.

Step 3.4: Select the board you want to show

Click on the dropdown under “Board”and choose which Monday board you want to get the data from. 

You can also create conditional filters and use the dropdown under “Sort by” to select how you want to organize your data.

Step 4: Customize the app interface

With your data integrated, it’s time to design the app’s interface using Softr’s no-code builder. 

Softr’s drag-and-drop builder lets you easily create or rearrange the layout of your app. You can add sections, buttons, forms, and more to create an intuitive and functional interface.

Let’s go over a few ways you can make your app user-friendly

Step 4.1: Customize what data is displayed

You can choose the data you want displayed about each client at a quick glance. 

To do this, hover over the block and click on the eye symbol to hide or reveal blocks of information. If the eye is closed, it’s hidden. But if open, it means users can see the info on the card before clicking it.

Also, you can delete blocks that don’t have the option to hide them, meaning the ones that don’t have the eye symbol beside their name. Doing so will result in users only seeing the information when they click on the card. 

To delete, click on the three dots (...) and then click on “Delete.”

Step 4.2: Add a search bar and filter

Adding a search bar and filter allows users to easily find and filter specific information, improving navigation and usability within your app. To add these features, toggle the button beside the search bar and add filter options using the “+ add filter” button.

Step 4.3: Create action buttons

With action buttons, you can perform CRUD (create, read, update, delete) operations with the underlying data, plus navigation actions like opening a URL. 

Click on the Actions tab and scroll to the Items on click section, then click on the dropdown and select what a user should see when they click on a card. 

In our example, we selected the option “open details page,” so that users can see everything they need to know about the client.

Step 4.4 Adjust the style to match your branding

From the “styles” tab, customize the app’s style to align with your brand’s colors, fonts, and overall aesthetic. This makes the app visually appealing and ensures consistency across the app.

If you want to change the text, colors, and size of the layout and overal theme, click on “theme” at the left side of the screen and make changes as you see fit. 

Step 5: Set up visibility 

To control who can access your monday.com app, navigate to the Visibility tab. You have three options to choose from:

• All users: This includes both logged-in users and visitors who aren’t logged in.
• Logged-In users: Only those with login credentials can access the app.
• Non-Logged-In users: Only those without login credentials can access the app.

Decide who should have access to your app and on which devices they can use it. 

If you want to restrict access, choose “Logged-In Users” to ensure only authorized users can view the app. If you want the app to be publicly accessible, select “All Users.”

Softr also allows you to assign specific user groups to different access levels. 

These groups enable you to organize users into categories, ensuring that each group has access to the appropriate sections of your data. To limit access to a particular group, use the “Which User Group” dropdown and select the desired group.

You can also customize device visibility by clicking on the device icons next to “Device Visibility.” A red icon indicates that users can access the app on that device, while a black icon means access is restricted. 

For further control, you can toggle the “Hide If” button and set conditions to determine when certain information should be hidden from specific users or groups.

Step 6: Preview your monday.com app

After customizing your app, it’s important to preview it to ensure everything looks and functions as intended before sharing it with your team. 

To do this, click on the play icon at the top right corner of your screen. This will open a preview mode where you can see exactly how your app will appear to users.

In the preview mode, you can test your visibility settings by using the dropdown menu at the top left corner. This allows you to view your app from the perspective of different user groups, such as non-logged-in users, logged-in users, and specific user groups you’ve set up.

This is what your app will look like to users who haven’t logged in.

This is how your app appears to your clients, with the appropriate level of access.

This is the view for freelancers, tailored to their specific access permissions.

Notice how each user group has different levels of access and sees only the information relevant to them. 

This ensures that your app’s data is secure and only visible to the appropriate users.

Step 7: Publish and share your monday.com app

Once you’re satisfied with how your app looks and functions, you’re ready to publish it. Click on the “Publish” button in the top right corner of your screen.

You can choose to publish your app on a custom domain by following the “Click here” link, or you can publish it using Softr’s subdomain. After making your choice, click “Publish” to make your app live and share it with your team.