Prototyping with Airtable

Chapter Outline

Chapter 2: Prototyping with Airtable

Before jumping into code, we’ll start with a no-code prototype using Airtable. This gives you a fast feedback loop without writing a single line of backend code.

In this chapter, we’ll:

  • Learn the basics of Airtable forms and prefilled fields.
  • Build a simple “Was this helpful?” button connected to Airtable.
  • Grow by embedding Airtable results into your blog as a lightweight dashboard.

2.1 Why Airtable?

Airtable is a spreadsheet–database hybrid. It’s approachable like Excel, but also powerful enough to serve as a temporary backend.

Why Airtable works well for prototyping feedback:

  • Free (with generous limits).
  • Easy to set up forms.
  • Supports prefilled fields (e.g., capture blog post slug automatically).
  • Embeddable into blogs or static sites.
  • API available if you want to grow later.

2.2 "Was this helpful?" Button

Step 1 — Create Airtable Base

  1. Log into Airtable.
  2. Create a new base called Blog Feedback.
  3. Add a table named Feedback with columns:
    • Post (Single line text)
    • Helpful (Single select: Yes / No)
    • Comment (Long text, optional)
    • Timestamp (Created time)

Step 2 — Create Airtable Form

  1. In the Blog Feedback base, click Forms tab → New form.
  2. Ensure that the fileds: Post, Helpful, Comment are included.
  3. Ensure that the Feedback is selected.
  4. Click Create form, and the Publish.
  5. Copy the form link (we’ll use this in the button).

Step 3 — Add Prefilled Post Data

Airtable supports prefilled values via query parameters:

bash
https://airtable.com/shrXXXXXXXX?prefill_Post=My+Blog+Post

If you insert the blog slug dynamically, Airtable automatically records which page the feedback came from.

Step 4 — Embed Button in Blog

Add a button to your blog HTML/Markdown:

html
<a href="https://airtable.com/shrXXXXXXXX?prefill_Post=Intro-to-Feedback" target="_blank">
  Was this helpful?
</a>

When clicked, the reader is taken to the Airtable form with the blog post prefilled.

2.3 Embed a Feedback Dashboard

You can embed Airtable results directly into your blog.

  1. In Airtable, switch to Grid view of your feedback.
  2. Click Share view → Embed this view on your site.
  3. Copy the <iframe> embed code.

Example:

html
<iframe class="airtable-embed" src="https://airtable.com/embed/shrYYYYYYYY"
  frameborder="0" onmousewheel="" width="100%" height="500">
</iframe>

Now you have a live feedback dashboard visible inside your blog.

2.4 Case Study Example

  • Your blog post on “FastAPI Basics” now includes:
    • A "Was this helpful?" button that records responses in Airtable.
    • An optional embedded dashboard at the bottom, showing vote counts.

Within minutes, you’ve gone from no feedback to a working system without writing backend code.

2.5 Summary

In this chapter, you:

  • Created an Airtable base for feedback.
  • Built a form and prefilled blog post data.
  • Embedded a “Was this helpful?” button into your blog.
  • (Optionally) displayed live feedback with an embedded dashboard.

This is the quick hack stage of our journey: fast, functional, and good enough to validate the idea.

2.6 Exercise

  1. Set up your own Airtable base and form.
  2. Add a “Was this helpful?” button to one of your blog posts.
  3. Submit feedback to test the flow.
  4. (Optional) Embed the Airtable grid view at the bottom of your blog page.

2.7 Next Step

In the next chapter, we’ll go beyond simple yes/no feedback. We’ll integrate discussion systems (Giscus or Disqus) so readers can leave richer, threaded comments on your blog posts.

Blog
Feedback
Web Dev

Feedback