Plan features & wireframe in Figma

~30 min

Plan your app's features and create quick wireframes before jumping into Bubble. This prevents costly rework later.

1. Open Figma and create a new project - use a simple wireframe kit from the Community library
2. List your app's core features in Notion first: what does a user do? What data does the app store? What are the main screens?
3. Wireframe the 4-5 essential screens: landing/signup page, main dashboard, core feature page, settings page, and any detail views
4. Map out the user flow: how does someone go from signup to getting value? Draw arrows between screens
5. Keep wireframes low-fidelity - gray boxes and text are fine. Focus on layout and user flow, not visual design

Build the app interface in Bubble

~45 min

Create your app's pages and user interface in Bubble using the visual drag-and-drop editor.

1. Create a new Bubble app and choose a blank template
2. Set up your pages based on your wireframes - create pages for: index (landing), dashboard, your core feature, and settings
3. Build the landing page with a signup/login form using Bubble's built-in user authentication
4. Design the dashboard with reusable elements: navigation bar, sidebar, and content area
5. Add responsive settings to each element so your app works on desktop, tablet, and mobile

Set up database & workflows in Bubble

~45 min

Define your data types, set up the database, and create the business logic workflows that power your app.

1. Go to the Data tab and create your data types - for example: User (built-in), Project, Task, or whatever your app needs
2. Add fields to each data type: text fields, numbers, dates, yes/no booleans, and relationships between types
3. Create workflows for user actions: "When Sign Up button is clicked → Sign the user up → Navigate to dashboard"
4. Add workflows for CRUD operations: creating new items, displaying lists, editing items, and deleting items
5. Set up privacy rules in the Data tab to control which users can see and edit which data

Connect Stripe for payments via Zapier

~20 min

Use Zapier to connect your Bubble app to Stripe for payment processing without any complex integrations.

1. Sign up at zapier.com and create a new Zap
2. Set the trigger: "When a new thing is created in Bubble" (e.g. when a user upgrades to a paid plan)
3. Set the action: "Create a Checkout Session in Stripe" with the appropriate price ID and customer email
4. Alternatively, use Stripe Payment Links directly - create a Payment Link in Stripe and link to it from a button in your Bubble app
5. Create a second Zap: "When a Stripe payment succeeds → Update the Bubble user's subscription status"

Test, iterate, and launch

~30 min

Thoroughly test your app, fix issues, and deploy it live for real users.

1. Test every user flow end-to-end in Bubble's preview mode: signup, core feature usage, payment, and settings changes
2. Test on mobile devices - use Bubble's responsive viewer to check every page at different screen sizes
3. Fix any workflow errors in Bubble's debugger (the bug icon in preview mode shows every step of every workflow)
4. When everything works, click "Deploy to Live" in Bubble to push your app to production
5. Share your app URL, gather feedback from 5-10 early users, and iterate based on what you learn