Best Admin Panel Builders | No Code, Low Code & More
Mariam Ispiryan • June 2, 2022 • 13 min read
Building an admin panel is going to be difficult if you don’t have a background in coding or design. Even if you do, it’s got to be easy to use and super fast to set up.
That’s why you’re looking for an admin panel builder to get your business up and running (without setting you back $8,000).
If you don’t want to start from scratch, there are four main approaches to building an admin panel: no-code tools, low-code tools, frontend libraries, and backend libraries. But they’re not all going to suit you.
In this article, you’ll read about the different types of admin panel builders so you can make the right choice depending on your coding knowledge and requirements.
If you’re looking for a specific answer, use the links below to navigate through the article:
- What type of admin panel builder is right for you?
- Easiest no-code admin panel builder (it’s Softr.io)
- Other admin panel builders you should consider
- Frontend admin libraries
- Backend admin libraries
You don’t have to know anything about coding to build admin panels
Skip the jargon and create the perfect admin panel in minutes with Softr
What type of admin panel builder is right for you?
Choosing the right admin panel builder depends on your coding experience. But all in all, a powerful admin panel needs to be simple, well-designed, user-friendly, and secure.
There are four main ways to approach building yours without starting from scratch. You can use
- No-code tools if you don’t have any background knowledge of coding,
- Low-code tools if you have some technical knowledge and are looking for fast deployment,
- Frontend admin libraries if you can code and are looking for ready-made user interface components for your frontend,
- Backend admin libraries if you can code and need a fully customizable solution for your backend.
Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these approaches.
No-code tools
Building your admin panel using no-code tools is by far the easiest and fastest solution. There’s no need for design or coding experience from your side and it’s much more affordable than hiring someone to do it for you. These admin panels are also much easier and cheaper to maintain since you don't have to depend on developers. You have all the control.
For example, if you’re trying to build an admin panel for your e-commerce web app or website, all you’d need to do is assemble the necessary building blocks into the layout of your choice, connect your database solution, like Airtable, set up some automations, and you’re good to go.
The drawback of this method is that your admin panels might not be as customizable or have a flexible design as those built using templates from front-end and back-end libraries.
Low-code
Low-code tools are a perfect solution for users who have some knowledge of coding and need a somewhat customizable UI interface. Using these tools is still pretty cost-effective but they're mostly targeted at developers. That’s because users have more advanced options like extending the app’s functionalities with additional custom code.
Businesses can use low-code admin panels for everything from marketplaces to hotel booking websites to inventory management.
Frontend admin library
Frontend admin libraries, like jQuery or Bootstrap, support the frontend components needed to build the UI of admin panels. These libraries are explicitly targeted to developers since its users need to be able to write code and connect APIs and sophisticated databases like Microsoft SQL.
Generally speaking, frontend libraries add specific features and components to the frontend of your website, web app, or mobile app (the frontend is the part of your platform or site that end-users interact with). Using these libraries makes it much easier for developers to build a maintainable UI that can stand the growth of the platform.
Frontend admin libraries are like IKEA. They provide the furniture, or UI elements like widgets, needed to fill a house, a website, or app, and make it comfortable to live in or use.
Sidebar: developers still need to write the code that connects these frontend components to the backend.
Backend admin library
Backend admin libraries, like Django, make it easy to develop the backend of an application, by abstracting away the lines of code developers need to write.
Some libraries eliminate the need for writing any code, while others either need some code, or to be connected to a frontend.
These libraries are useful because they allow for customization and protect your website against admin users breaking things accidentally.
Easiest no-code admin panel builder: Softr.io
Softr is an all-round no-code platform that allows users to easily turn their Airtable databases into powerful websites and web apps like internal tools, resource directories, and marketplaces. By providing ready-made templates, drag-and-drop capabilities, and building blocks, this tool allows you to have your admin panel up and running in minutes.
Softr is a flexible and user-friendly tool that turns your Airtable base into powerful web apps and internal tools.
Category: No-code
Pricing: Free plan, then starts at $29/month
Pros:
- Zero learning curve
- Highly security: permissions, google and server-side authentication
- Powered by AWS for maximum performance and scalability
- Wide variety of templates available
- Has a large and engaged community of users to provide support
- Video and written tutorials are available
Cons:
- Limitations on the lower plans (editing and user count)
- Lower customizability
You don’t have to know anything about coding to build admin panels
Skip the jargon and create the perfect admin panel in minutes with Softr
Other admin panel builders you should consider
If you already have a basic knowledge of coding and are looking for internal panel builders that allow for more customization, then you should consider the following low-code software for building internal tools:
- Jet Admin
- Retool
- Appsmith
- UI Bakery
Jet Admin
Jet Admin is a low-code tool that allows users to build business apps, internal tools, and client portals by simply dragging and dropping ready-made components. After connecting a data source, users can either stick to the platform’s base functionalities or extend the app with code and queries.
With Jet Admin, users can either build their apps using the platform’s basic components or extend the app with code and queries if they have coding knowledge.
Source: Jetadmin.io
Category: No-code / low-code
Pricing: Basic functions available with free plan, then starts at $30/month per user
Pros:
- Visual builder
- 50+ available drag and drop UI components
- Airtable integration is available
- Well-written documentation
- Reliable infrastructure
Cons:
- Users need to pay for application viewers
- Limited functionality on lower plans (custom components, app branding, and custom domain)
Retool
Retool is another low-code internal tool builder that’s catered to developers and allows technical teams to leverage templates and build powerful tools quickly.
Retool is a low-code tool that allows technical teams to build internal tools using powerful building blocks.
Source: Retool.com
This tool offers some of the advanced capabilities associated with using a frontend admin library but wraps the user experience in a low-code blanket. Retool only needs to connect to your database or API, and it can make queries to manage and create anything from basic CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) operations to complex workflows.
Category: Low-code
Pricing: Free plan, then starts at $10/month per user
Pros:
- Drag and drop interface
- Feature-rich component library
- The ability to customize code manually
- Users have the option to self-host
- Allows for connecting to any database and nearly any API
Cons:
- Functionally is limited in basic plans (In the free plan, only editing is possible)
- Pricing increases dramatically as teams and applications grow
- Javascript knowledge is required to get the most out of Retool
- Can have a steep learning curve despite available templates
Appsmith
Appsmith was the first open-source low-code tool to allow developers to build powerful internal tools (for free) that they can then host on their own domain.
With Appsmith, users can build admin panels and simple CRUD apps that they can host on their own domain.
Source: Appsmith.com
To build an admin panel, users need to connect their database or API, connect queried data to pre-built widgets and customize with Javascript, and hit publish. Being able to drag common elements like tables, charts, and forms makes this process even easier for developers.
However, this tool’s pretty young so many features and certain pricing levels are still being developed.
Category: Low-code
Pricing: Free to self-host
Pros:
- Community contributors are welcome to add new features to the platform
- Cost-effective option for teams who choose to self-host
- New features and bug fixes are easy to implement by community developers
- A drag-and-drop building interface with predefined widgets
- Real-time in-built team collaboration
Cons:
- Requires development experience and knowledge of Javascript to use
- Not enough documentation
- Difficult to add advances workflows
- Support is mostly provided by the community only
UI Bakery
UI bakery is a low-code visual internal tool builder built by developers for developers. To be able to take full advantage of this tool, users need to have a general understanding of web apps, how to make requests to servers, use variables, and modify JavaScript snippets.
UI Bakery is a low-code tool made to help developers quickly build and deploy internal tools.
Source: Uibakery.io
UI Bakery has over 25 ready-made UI components, templates, and dashboards users can take advantage of and each new user has access to free training and documentation.
Category: Low-code
Pricing: Free plan, then starts at $49/month for single users
Pros:
- Drag-and-drop UI widgets
- Ready-made templates
- Ability to customize the looks and feel of widgets
- Connects to SQL databases
- Option to use an HTTP API as a data source
Cons:
- Pricey
- Requires a pretty high level of technical knowledge to get started
- Can’t plug in custom code
- Limited end-user mode on the free plan
Front-end admin libraries
Many front-end frameworks offer libraries that make it easy for developers to build apps and websites by providing ready-made components or templates. However, using these libraries requires coding knowledge as you still need to write code that connects your frontend to your database and APIs.
Some of the most popular libraries and frameworks for web development are React, jQuery, Bootstrap, and Angular. These libraries make coding frontend easier by providing developers with pre-made components. Using these components cuts down on the amount of lines users have to code, and by doing so, decreases the risk of making errors.
These HTML and CSS-based templates can be used for typography, forms, buttons, and other UI components.
Bootstrap offers many free admin templates to help developers reduce the amount of work required to build admin panels.
Source: Start Bootstrap
However, taking advantage of these libraries requires a knowledge of coding which makes it impossible for non-developers to use these templates. Additionally, these templates can be restricted in terms of design and customization requires a great deal of skill and time.
Backend admin libraries
Backend frameworks like Django or Laravel also offer libraries of templates and components that can help developers easily build the server configuration of tools like admin panels.
Using backend libraries is a great choice if your team is already using a respective backend framework. That’s because the learning curve will be short and your admin tool can be ready quickly.
Backend libraries make it easy for developers to build admin panels for apps by saving time and providing additional security.
Source: Creative Tim
Build your admin panel without going down a coding rabbit hole
Depending on your knowledge of coding, there are four ways to approach building an admin panel if you’re not coding from scratch:
- No-code tools like Softr that don’t require any coding or design knowledge
- Low-code tools like UI Bakery and Appsmith that require some coding knowledge
- Front-end libraries like Bootstrap that are made for developers
- Back-end libraries like Django that are also made for developers
Each of these approaches and tools have their pros and cons. Some approaches offer more customizability, while others are less flexible but much easier and more affordable.
However, if you’re a non-developer who’s looking for easy and affordable ways to get your admin panel up and running, no-code tools like Softr are your best bet. That’s because you can have your internal tool up and running in minutes and don’t need to go down a coding rabbit hole.
You don’t have to know anything about coding to build admin panels
Skip the jargon and create the perfect admin panel in minutes with Softr
Frequently asked questions about CRMs
The best admin panel templates for websites and web apps must be highly responsive and have: - A design that meets your goal - A live demo so you can get an idea of how the template works - Code that follows best practices - Meet your budget - Clear documentation guides - Customization functions - A high level of security - Positive reviews and ratings - Good support
Creating a custom admin panel can cost anywhere between $2,000 to $8,000. However, low-code and no-code options are more affordable with pricings that start from $0 to $30 a month.
The easiest and most convenient way to build admin panels is with no-code or low-code tools like Softr. These tools are affordable and require no coding or design knowledge from your side.
Some of the most popular examples of frontend libraries include: - Lodash - React - Underscore - jQuery
