The beginning of a long journey - Webflow, MemberStack, Airtable, Zapier

Community Help
#1

Hi there,

After a long time trying to build a marketplace using (hacking) out-of-the-box solutions, I finally decided to take the Webflow + MemberStack path. I’m happy I did! I know it will be a long journey to learn and implement the solutions, but I’m sure it will be worth it.

So, I want to start with a more general question to make sure I understand the basic concept right.

My understanding is that:

  1. The user fills up and submits a signup form on Webflow.
  2. The user’s info gets added to Memberstack.
  3. Zapier sends the info from Memberstack to Airtable.
  4. Zapier sends the info from Airtable back to Webflow CMS.

So, my questions are:

  • Is this the correct approach?

  • Why do I need Airtable (or Google Sheets) in between? Can’t I just have the info bouncing between MemberStack and Webflow?

  • Couldn’t it be problematic to have 3 copies of the same database (memberstack, airtable and webflow)?

  • I’d appreciate any resource I can get my hands into to learn more about these integrations.
    ( After watching the Webflow Basic tutorial and reading several posts here, I’m starting to get my head around it)

Thank you very much!

#2

Hello!

Just curious have you seen this? https://www.connorfinlayson.com/ncc

Connor gave an overview of how to build a marketplace with nocode tools at the No Code Conf! His slides are available at that link.

1 Like
#3

Thanks for the link @belltyler! Yes I had seen Connor’s slides. It helped me understating how his system works. But it’s still not clear for me the role of Airtable.

Why using Airtable (or sheets) as the database when we already have Memberstack’s database?

I know that’s something I will probably figure out as I start implementing, but thought I’d just ask.

#4

I guess @finlayconn just answered my questions with his new video explaining how he build unicornfactory.nz

Thanks Connor!

3 Likes
#5

That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing!

2 Likes
#6

@gusvd how are you going building the nocode marketplace? I got stuck on creating a zap between Airtable and Webflow, as the slug field keeps getting rejected.
I can’t make the slug optional on Webflow but I’m not sure what to pass from Airtable into it - I’ve tried all lowercase words, full URL, leaving it empty, changing the Airtable field type to URL or short text, but nothing works!

1 Like
#7

Hi @cassiecarmine!
Unfortunately I got super busy with my primary work and had to put the marketplace on hold. I will get back at it from Monday on. I haven’t got as far as you yet, but If I find a solution I’ll post here.

It seems like I’ve seen a couple of videos mentioning this slug issue.

1 Like
#8

Same as me, did you ever get past this? @cassiecarmine@gusvd

#9

I’ve been doing this without issue. For me I always store the slug in Airtable and pass it into Webflow. Is this not working for you?

#10

In my case I just leave the slug blank and Webflow creates one automatically (based on the name of the CMS item).

I’m using Integromat, but it should work the same way in Zapier.

#11

Gotcha. What you want to do is either create the slug yourself (I typically use the MemberStack “ID” for this) or you’ll need to pass whatever Webflow auto-creates for you with the form via a hidden element. Then everything else will work for you.