Are you dreaming of creating your own delivery app to get your goods to your clients quickly? But are you hesitant about building your app because you don’t know how to code?
Lucky for you, there’s an easy solution.
Today, you can create your own delivery app without any technical skills or coding experience required. In this article, we’ll show you how to build a delivery app.
How To Build A Delivery App: Getting Started
Before you start creating your delivery app, you’ll need a plan. Just like when a carpenter begins working on a house, you’ll need a blueprint and all the necessary materials on hand.
Before you learn how to create a delivery app, make sure you have the following:
- A membership to Adalo: You’ll use Adalo, a no-code app-building platform, to create your delivery app. Adalo is one of the best no-code mobile app-building platforms today. If you can turn on a computer and sign up for a social media account, you’re more than skilled enough to use Adalo.
Adalo features an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that serves as your primary building tool. You’ll use your cursor to drag elements, like forms, buttons, icons, and anything else you want in your app, onto a building canvas.
Adalo also lets you connect third-party tools, like Stripe for payments, or Twilio to send text messages to your clients from your app.
- Sketches of your delivery app: If your drawing skills never progressed past stick figures, don’t worry. All you need are rough mock-ups of how you want each screen to appear and where you’ll put features like buttons, forms, and images on each screen.
- A list of your app’s features: You'll need a geolocation feature because you’ll be delivering goods or food from your brick-and-mortar to your clients. You’ll also need an integration with a payment platform (like the one with Stripe that we mentioned above).
What other features do you want to showcase? Adalo has loads of them — like an e-sign feature for clients who need to sign for their goods, a chatbox for communication between your company and client, and many, many more.
Understanding How Your Delivery App Will Work
Learning how to create a delivery app requires first knowing an app’s components. Knowing these will help you better understand how your app will function.
All apps have the following three parts:
- The Frontend: Your clients will see and use your app’s frontend, also called the “user interface.” All your app’s visual pieces, like screen color, text boxes, pictures, and more, are part of the frontend.
- The Backend: The backend is your app's brain and central nervous system. When a user submits an order on the front end, the backend brings the order to your team so they can start working on delivering it.
The backend also pulls up user profiles, connects with third-party platforms, and more.
- The Database: Technically a part of your backend, all your delivery app’s data will be stored in your database. The following are some examples of data a typical delivery app might have:
- Client Info: Names, physical and email addresses, order history, etc.
- Product Data: Each product listed on your app, pricing, quantity, etc.
- User Data: A record of how long your clients spend on your app.
- Purchase Data: Best-selling items, the total amount of revenue per item, etc.
- Other Data: A record of client communication, special offers data, etc.
Don’t worry about knowing how to create your own database. Adalo conveniently comes with its own database that you can configure. But if you already have a database with Google Sheets, Airtable, or Xano, Adalo easily integrates with them.
How To Make a Delivery App: 7 Steps for Building a Delivery App without Code
Now that you have your plans, Adalo membership, and knowledge about an app’s parts, it’s time to construct your delivery app!
This building guide provides enough detail to let you hit the ground running. However, you’ll probably have some technical questions during your app-building journey.
Adalo’s got you covered: It has an enormous ecosystem filled with guides, video tutorials, helpful documents, and more. These resources can help you overcome almost any issue you encounter:
- Adalo’s Forum: If you have questions about using specific tools, post them on the forum. An experienced Adalo user will respond quickly.
- The Adalo Academy: With over 70 lessons on using specific tools, building certain features, and using advanced components like APIs, Adalo’s Academy will help you level up your app-building acumen.
- Adalo’s YouTube Channel: Packed with over 150 videos, you’ll learn how to add components, integrate with other apps, and more.
Let’s go!
Step 1: Select a Delivery App Template
Adalo has a selection of nearly 40 templates, including a special delivery app template. This template comes with everything you need to make your delivery app. Here’s a rundown of the main features that are included in Adalo’s delivery app template:
- A Signup Page: Let your regulars order easily by creating a profile that takes their name, address, and credit card details so they can execute transactions with just a few button presses.
- Menu Page: Your clients will see and select your goods from this page. Once they’ve finished picking items, they’ll hit confirm and be directed to the checkout page.
- Checkout/Ordering Page: This is where people see all the goods in their order and pay for their orders. Customize this to allow non-signed-up users to set their location.
- Orders Page: Only you can see the orders page, which is the master list of all your app’s orders.
Step 2: How to Customize Your App To Your Exact Tastes
Now it’s time for the real fun stuff: Using Adalo’s intuitive, no-code building interface to make your app unique. You'll see a drop-down dashboard on the left side of your screen. This is your building interface’s toolbox; we’ll discuss it below.
Smack dab in the center of your screen is your building canvas. It has your app’s screens and shows how each screen is connected to the others with arrows. At your screen’s very top is the navigation bar, which lets you toggle between projects, access your profile, and see how your app appears live.
Back to Adalo’s toolbox or the drop-down dashboard on the left-hand side of your screen. It has 8 different tools, which are shown as icons. Hover above each one with your cursor to see its role. Starting at the top of the dashboard, here are the jobs each one will carry out:
- Add Screen/Add Component (“+”): This builds new screens, adds buttons, pictures, text boxes, and much more — it has the most functionality for creating your frontend out of all the buttons.
- The Branding Button (appears as artist’s palette): Press this to change your app’s colors and fonts.
- View Screens: This function shows a list of all your screens. Using this function, you can quickly navigate to your desired screen.
- Databases: Press this to access your database, where Adalo records and saves all your business’s and clients’ info. We’ll do a database deep dive in Step 3.
- Settings: Press this to name your app, write a short description, add an app icon for the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and connect APIs.
- Publish: Press this button to launch your app. It goes without saying, but you’ll only use this function after you’ve finished making your app and are ready to publish it to the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and the web. We’ll talk more about publishing in Step 6.
- Analytics: Press this button to see stats about your app. These stats include the daily number of users and where they’re from, the most popular screens so you can predict your next best seller, and more.
- Version History: Work on other versions of your delivery app here. You can only publish one, but you can have up to 10 versions. This allows you to test different features to publish the best possible version of your app.
Step 3: Customizing Your Data
As mentioned earlier, your delivery template will come with a pre-packed database.
Adalo’s database is made up of two components: Collections and properties.
Collections are groups of data that appear like an Excel or Google Sheets spreadsheet, with vertical-dropping columns and horizontal-running rows. For instance, the delivery template has five collections: Users, order items, menu items, and more. You can customize the name of each collection to suit your business needs.
Properties are the vertical-dropping columns in each collection; their data is stored in horizontal-running rows. Properties for the “Menu Items” collection include menu item names, prices, descriptions, pictures, and more.
To customize your database, click on the collection to open up a drop-down bar or each collection’s properties. You can type in new property names and even add entirely new properties by clicking “Add Property” at the bottom of the list.
Step 4: Adding New Screens, Elements, and Features
Although Adalo’s templates include everything you need, you can create or delete new screens. You can do this by pressing the “Screens” button on your left-hand side’s drop-down bar.
If you want to delete a screen, find the one to bid farewell to on your “Screens” list. Press the “vertical dots” button and select “Delete.” Then, that screen will be gone.
Adding new screens is just as simple. To do so, click the “Add Component/Add Screen” (“+”) button at the top of the drop-down dashboard. Press “Add Screen,” and you’ll be given a menu of different screen types to add. Select the one you want, and it’ll appear on your canvas.
Putting on buttons, forms, lists, pictures, and other elements is a breeze. Hit the “Add Component/Add Screen” button and find the element you need — you also have the option to upload pictures from your computer here as well. Then, drag the element over to your canvas. Easy peasy.
Step 5: Previewing Your App
After you’ve put in some elbow grease, you’ll probably want to see how your app appears live. Go to your navigation bar, select the “View App” button, and click “Staging Preview” from the menu.
You can choose to view your apps from different device screens, like an iPad, Galaxy S20, or iPhone 13 Pro. Click through your app as if it were live.
Ready to share your app with a few friends? From the “View App,” select the “Share Your App” option. You can send your app to people via SMS or just send them the link. They can download or visit your app using browsers on their desktops, phones, or other mobile devices.
Step 6: Publishing to the App Stores
You should publish your delivery app to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store to get it in front of billions of users.
You’ll need to follow these three steps when publishing to the app stores:
- Create an Eye-Grabbing Icon: Once your app is listed on the app stores, you’ll want it to stand out. Create a unique icon that reflects your business’s brand and grabs attention.
You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create a great icon. Just sign up for a service like Looka and build your icon yourself.
- Write a Smart Meta Description: Before launching your app, do a search for “delivery apps” on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. For instance, if you’re releasing a book delivery app, search for “book delivery apps” in the app stores. Read the top 3 listing’s meta descriptions, and be on the lookout for keywords.
Weave the keywords you find into your meta description. You’ll also need to ensure that your meta description clearly and concisely describes all your app’s features so your audience will know precisely what it gives them.
- Upload Head-Turning Screenshots: It goes without saying, but you should include professional-looking screenshots showing your delivery app’s top features to get more downloads. Poor-quality screenshots will reflect poorly on your professional reputation.
How to publish to the Apple App Store
First, go to the iOS developer web page and sign up. After filling out the form and paying your $99 annual iOS fee, you can test your app using Testflight. This program allows Apple users to test and provide feedback about your app. Implement any necessary changes that testers suggest.
Next, on Adalo’s building interface, select the “Publish” button. After finishing the steps, the iOS developer page and follow their final directions. You can expect your app to be available in the Apple App Store in as little as a few weeks and as much as a few months.
How to publish to the Google Play Store
To create a developer account, go to the Google Play Console website. Pay the $25 one-time fee and fill out the instructions. Just like with Apple, Google has an option for letting users test your app on the Google Play Console. Opt-in for this and take the testers’ feedback into consideration.
Go back to your Adalo account, press the “Publish” button, and follow Adalo’s instructions. You’ll be happy to know that Google’s waiting time is much shorter than Apple’s — only up to a few weeks max.
In need of more information about publishing to the app stores? We wrote an in-depth guide that outlines how to publish and how much it might cost.
Step 7: Taking Payments
Helpfully, Adalo has Stripe integration, allowing you to take payments directly from your app. You can set up this payment feature in minutes by setting up a Stripe account.
After you’re set, return to your Adalo account, press that colorful “Add Components” button, and find the Stripe form in the menu. Click on it and fill out the needed info. Then, drag the form over your payments screen, and you’re good to go!
Next Steps: Getting Users, Tracking and Analytics, Maintenance
Now that you’ve published your app, you’ll need to attract users and ensure it’s always humming like a well-oiled machine. Getting users beyond your loyal customers and social media followers is a long game that requires daily effort. Check out our strategy guide for marketing your delivery app to get more app downloads.
Create the habit of checking your analytics daily. Doing this will give you a better understanding of your users and what app features they enjoy most. If your app has issues or users report problems, fix them immediately. Your app should always function flawlessly.
Building a delivery app takes some time, but with this guide, you can do it entirely on your own, with no coding required. Happy building!
