What is a CRUD app and how do you build one?

Facebook, Trello, Shopify, WordPress, Salesforce – you probably would have interacted with at least one if not all of these platforms at some point in your life. These are, what some would like to call, glorified CRUD apps. Let’s see how.

CRUD, in its most basic sense, refers to CREAT, READ, UPDATE, and DELETE. Operations that one may perform on a data. Now, think about what a user does on Facebook, Trello, or Salesforce. There is some form of data interaction, where the data is often presented creatively, so it is intuitive to the user to perform the intended action – read their friend’s latest post, update the status of their tasks on Trello, add a new lead to Salesforce and so on.

We perform CRUD operations every day. A lot of the time without acknowledging. CRUD apps make work organized and simpler by digitizing business processes. However, a lot are not aware of what CRUD apps do or how easy it is to build one. In this post, we break down the basics into the following sections: 

1. What is a CRUD app 
2. Why is CRUD important
3. CRUD app ideas
4. How to build CRUD apps with low-code

What is a CRUD app?

CRUD is a foundational concept in computer programming, databases, and application design.

Just about everything you develop is a CRUD app; a skin over a database; an interface to interact with a database in a controlled fashion.

It is a specific type of application that supports the four basic operations: Create, read, update, and delete. Broadly, CRUD apps consist of the database, the user interface, and the APIs.

Modern web applications have a user perform at least one of the following operations on a database – creating (new record), reading/viewing (existing records), updating (existing records), or deleting (a record). Or shortly, CRUD. If you have worked with a database, you have most likely worked with CRUD without realizing it.

CRUD apps are used daily by several businesses and organizations to maintain their day-to-day workflows. HR uses CRUD apps to manage staff records and track keeping of employee leaves, and attendance. Sales use CRUD to manage lean information, customer success uses CRUD apps to resolve customer tickets, and so on. Take a look at blogging sites. You as a user can Create/Publish a post, Read/Show your post, Update/Edit your post and Delete your post. Blogs are classic CRUD apps.

Parts of a CRUD app

1. Database The starting point where you store your data is your database. Based on whether you are using SQL (relational) or NoSQL (documents), there will be a database management system that you opt for to store the data.
2. User Interface The user interface (UI) is the front-end that the end-user interacts with the database with. And the rising popularity of great applications is now moving organizations to prioritize user interface design and user experience.
3. APIs Finally, the back-end informs your databases of what functions to perform. These functions can be modelled in different ways, but they are designed to perform four basic CRUD operations.

Get hands-on experience on how to build a CRUD app for your database. Book a tutorial

What are the four CRUD operation components?

CRUD software has its roots in database records. Most modern web and mobile applications contain some form of CRUD operations. In addition, most programmers have to deal with CRUD operations at some point. So, a CRUD application would utilize forms to retrieve and return data from a database. In databases, each row represents a record and each column in the row represents a specific attribute of the data set. Users can configure CRUD operations to perform different types of operations on the database. 

Let’s consider an employee information management app that is connected to your employee database.

1. CREATE: Naturally, the app should be able to create new employee records as you onboard new members to your team. The CREATE operation can be performed by providing a form in the CRUD app that contains form fields like text, numbers, and email for input and a submit button to add the new record to the database so that, When we hit the submit button for our form, then a POST HTTP request would be sent to our API and add this new Recipe into the DB.
2. READ: This READ function should allow the end-user to see records – search for a specific employee, and use filters to result in a list of employees matching the search criteria. This function does not change the information displayed, however, you can further configure the action to allow the next steps like updating details. Most advanced tools enhance their CRUD interfaces by integrating with tools and services such as email-sending tools
3. UPDATE: You look at the employee information and notice that their information is incomplete or outdated. The UPDATE function lets you change the information. You first edit the record, and add the new information over a form interface. Next, you would submit to update the database with the new information.
4. DELETE: Some employees have moved on from your enterprise and you realize you no longer need all their information and can remove it from the database. The DELETE function helps you remove particular records you no longer need. This can take the shape of a delete button or an “X” next to the employee record displayed on the user interface that upon clicking triggers a DELETE HTTP request and removes the record from the database. 

As can be seen, CRUD is a cyclical concept. From the creation of records to deletion. There can be several combinations of CRUD operations in any given application. For example, a user signs up for your newsletter by CREATING an account, they UPDATE their information for a more personalized experience, ADD something to their cart, DELETE items from the cart.

CRUD app ideas and examples

Similarly, you can look at CRUD apps for more use cases like: 

Personal Finance Manager:

• Create: Input income sources, expenses, and savings goals to create a comprehensive financial profile.
• Read: Monitor spending habits, track account balances, and generate reports for budget analysis.
• Update: Adjust budget allocations, savings targets, or investment strategies as financial priorities evolve.
• Delete: Remove outdated or redundant financial entries to streamline data management.
• Unique Feature: AI-driven insights and recommendations for optimizing spending, saving, and investing habits based on personalized financial data.

Travel Planner:

• Create: Plan upcoming trips by adding destinations, dates, accommodations, and activities.
• Read: Access detailed itineraries, maps, and travel guides for seamless trip navigation.
• Update: Make changes to travel plans in response to unforeseen circumstances or new discoveries.
• Delete: Remove cancelled or postponed trips to declutter the itinerary list.
• Unique Feature: Integration with weather forecast services to provide real-time weather updates and recommendations for packing and activities.

Lead management system:

• Create: Input new leads, contacts, and customer information into the CRM database.
• Read: Access detailed profiles of customers, including their interaction history, preferences, and purchase patterns.
• Update: Edit customer records, update contact information, or add notes based on recent interactions.
• Delete: Remove duplicate or inactive leads to maintain a clean and organized database.
• Unique Feature: Integration with email marketing platforms for targeted communication and campaign management.

Project Management Tool:

• Create: Create new projects, assign tasks to team members, and set project milestones and deadlines.
• Read: View project progress, track task completion, and access project documentation and files.
• Update: Modify project details, adjust task assignments, or update project timelines as needed.
• Delete: Archive completed projects or remove outdated tasks and documents to declutter the workspace.
• Unique Feature: Collaboration tools such as real-time chat, file sharing, and task comments to facilitate team communication and coordination.

Expense Reporting System:

• Create: Record business expenses, including receipts, invoices, and expense categories.
• Read: Access detailed expense reports, categorize spending, and track reimbursement status.
• Update: Edit expense entries, add notes, or attach additional documentation for clarification.
• Delete: Remove duplicate or erroneous expense entries to ensure accurate financial reporting.
• Unique Feature: Integration with accounting software for seamless expense tracking and reconciliation.

Inventory Management System for Retail:

• Create: Add new products to the inventory database, including item details, pricing, and stock levels.
• Read: Monitor inventory levels, track product sales, and generate reports for inventory analysis and forecasting.
• Update: Adjust stock levels, update product information, or add new product variants as needed.
• Delete: Discontinue or remove discontinued products from the inventory to optimize storage space.
• Unique Feature: Integration with point-of-sale (POS) systems for real-time inventory updates and automated reordering.

HR Management Platform:

• Create: Onboard new employees, input employee details, and manage employee records, including performance reviews and training certifications.
• Read: Access employee profiles, review performance metrics, and track employee attendance and leave requests.
• Update: Modify employee records, update job titles, roles, or department assignments.
• Delete: Deactivate employee accounts for terminated or resigned employees to maintain data security and compliance.
• Unique Feature: Integration with payroll systems for seamless salary management and benefits administration.

How to build a simple CRUD app with DronaHQ

DronaHQ is a web-based tool for building internal tools and applications on top of your data. Developers use the tool to connect to all modern databases (Postgres, MySQL, MongoDB, and even Firebase) and any REST API, as well as third-party APIs like Google Sheets, Stripe, Slack, Twilio, and many more.

Use this tool to go from query to a table, list, chart, search, and button with the drag-and-drop builder and create full-featured apps that support CRUD operations, data visualizations, and much more. At DronaHQ, we understand how critical CRUD applications are for internal operations. So we have made the process to build a CRUD app absolutely seamless. So much so that it would take you a matter of one hour to get your first CRUD app – with the user interface, the frontend logic, and the access permissions – up and running.

Let’s see how to build CRUD functionality for a Mutual fund dashboard on top of Google Sheets

A CRUD app allows users to Create, Read, Update, and Delete data within a specific system or application. In the context of a mutual fund dashboard, this CRUD functionality enables users to seamlessly manage and manipulate the details associated with their mutual fund investments.

Let’s dive into what this CRUD app will offer:

1. Create: Users can easily add new mutual fund entries to their dashboard, providing essential information such as the fund name, rating, etc.

2. Read: The app will provide a comprehensive view of the existing mutual funds, displaying important details such as the fund name, rating, address, etc.

3. Update: Users will have the ability to modify the details of their mutual fund holdings.

4. Delete: If users decide to remove a mutual fund from their portfolio, the app allows for easy deletion of the respective entry.

Get Started

Our CRUD app development process involves three primary steps: firstly, configuring DronaHQ to suit your requirements; secondly, establishing a connection to your database; and finally, designing a user interface that seamlessly integrates with the app.

Configuring DronaHQ

If you have a DronaHQ studio account then login to the studio otherwise you need to first sign up to the studio. Once, you logged in, click on Blank app and create an app, then give your app a name and description, then click on “Create app” Once successfully done, your app will be created.

Establishing a connection to your database

Within the DronaHQ platform, you have the flexibility to choose from a wide array of supported databases and third-party applications, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, Mongo, and various others. However, for the purpose of our CRUD app, we will streamline the process by utilizing Google Sheets as our database solution.

Actions:

1. Go to connectors, add Google Sheets as a connector
2. Select your account
3. Select the action “GetAllRows” category from options like “GetSheetDetails, FindRows, and more”

4. Then configure all the details inside “GetAllRows” action like sheet name, start row, end row and more.

5. Click on “test & finish”, if successful then your app will get connected to Google Sheets.

Designing the user interface

Once the connection with the database is done, you can start designing the interface of your app. On the left side of your app, you can see a section named “controls”. DronaHQ provides you with 150+ pre-built UI controls that includes table grid, button, charts, and many more.

For the CRUD app, we will require a table grid to fetch the data from Google Sheets and four action buttons for CRUD functionality. Each action button can have a separate app screen consisting of an input form with necessary information fields that need to be updated, deleted, edited, or searched.

Adding Update functionality

1. In the app, on the left side you can see an option of adding “Screens”
2. Add a new screen, and give it the name “Update”
3. In the update screen, now add text input controls from the control sections
4. Keep the input sections according to the columns you want to update
5. Then, at last, add an action button

6. In the action button, set up an action flow
7. In the action flow, add Google Sheets connector
8. Then select “FindRows” category
9. Now configure the “FindRows” action according to the requirements
10. Then again select the Google Sheets connector and select “UpdateRows” category
11. Now configure the “UpdateRows” action according to the requirement

Your update functionality will be set up successfully.

Configuring Edit, Delete, and Search Functionality

Crafting an intuitive and visually appealing interface plays a pivotal role in the success of any application. In the case of our CRUD app, designing the interface becomes even more crucial as it needs to encompass key functionalities such as search, update, delete, and edit. To delve more into the intricacies of creating an efficient CRUD interface that seamlessly integrates these functionalities, we invite you to explore our comprehensive tutorial. This tutorial will provide you with step-by-step guidance, enabling you to master the art of designing a compelling CRUD interface for your mutual fund dashboard app.

CRUD benefits

CRUD offers many other benefits including:

1. CRUD facilitates secure access to databases to end-users: You can control who can view, create, update or delete records by configuring various access permissions to meet your organization’s security policies. 
2. CRUD simplifies and assists in application design and makes it easily scalable. It simplifies the process and provides an easy framework for new developers to learn

Build your CRUD apps with DronaHQ

DronaHQ gives you a complete set of powerful building blocks for building internal tools and CRUD apps: Assemble your CRUD app in minutes by dragging and dropping from 100+ pre-built controls like table grids, form fields, lists, buttons, charts, etc. Connect to pretty much anything with a REST, GraphQL, or gRPC API. Get started for free >