Knack is a no-code development platform that lets businesses build simple web apps and online databases. The platform lets users import data from spreadsheets or define it from scratch. From there, users can build interfaces to display and manage that data using elements like forms, tables, and searches. Apps can be easily embedded into any website and then further styled or manipulated via jQuery.
Capabilities |
|
---|---|
Segment |
|
Deployment | Cloud / SaaS / Web-Based |
Support | 24/7 (Live rep), Chat, Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support |
Training | Documentation |
Languages | English |
The flexibility Knack offers, you can build out a database app to manage incredibly simple or complex amounts of data that connect and interact in a multitude of ways
System can be kind of slow, can be difficult to figure out specific connections between different data objects, but overall is relatively easy to learn.
Database management with a high influx of records, constantly changing data needs are able to be addressed due to Knack's flexibility.
Knack allows anyone to create a quite complex backend and frontend for their web-app. For those with knowledge in code, Knack provides a vast amount of customization using an API and custom CSS and JS built-in.
The frontend needs a bit of an update. Thankfully, this is now on Knack's planning list so it'll be implemented very soon.
The original plan was either to create a custom web-app using Google Sheets APIs. However, thanks to Knack, we were able to get it up and running in a matter of weeks, not months.
Knack for Business has many CRM features, making it easier for you to rely on one system. Their system also works on many types of devices.
I think Knack for Business needs a refresh of its interface. A CRM system must also be easy to navigate and understand.
I liked having all of my invoices, notes, and contact info within one dashboard.
Great tool for a customized CRM. Building your website is intuitive and simple for a moderately tech-savvy employee
Knack servers were built in the stone age - we have problems loading pages every day - if I had a nickel for everytime Knack was slow, I could quit my job
Knack is great because you can customize with no limits. The issue with this is that it requires a ton of background knowledge on who it all works. You can pretty easily build something that will function for your intended purposes but without someone who be committed to engineering it full time, you're better off with a CRM like base or sales force
Veyr easy to get a site going, reporting facilities are adequate.
The API is beyond ridiculous. All fields have meaningless names like "field_1542" and "object_67". The API does not return the values you write into it. It is insanely slow, needing multithreaded requests just so you get above 2 updates per second. That is if your updates come through, because we're hitting "504 Server Error: Gateway Time-out for url" frequently. The technology looks like it's been put together by a student early in his career, and not a talented student at that.
Easy reporting on daily corona stats.
Knack offers a great variety of webnairs that demo which is super useful. It is nice to have access to all inclusive data.
I dislike being logged out from the site occasionally. For a multi tasker like myself, I am going back forth from multiple windows.
There are some bugs on the mobile app that can be easily fixed. Benefits include great customer service.
easy to use for background information on client background/ easy to keep digital forms
sometimes we cant locate client profiles
easy to store information on client skin background. Easy for staff to read prior to service
It was very easy to build our solution. We used a partner but it was all done in a couple of weeks for a very reasonable price.
Some of their competitors have more features.
Rapidly building low cost software solutions for our clients.
Development speed and Access control and localization
Some minor diffucult to inmprove the look and feel of the apps.
Organiza and control Information
You can do so much with Knack with little-to-no code and embed seamlessly into your website.
Lack of 2-way connectivity in database can impede functionality.
Creating a de facto social media application with matchmaking functionality.
It gives me the flexibility to modify and make changes on the fly. I can build all sorts of apps to work with our business.
I think the graphics could be better on the front end. If you want to highlight a row based on one value, you have to select each column and set it up that way. Linking the objects is a little confusing. I would like to be able to select what fields I want to match in order to link a table but I guess it is not designed to do that.
I have built an IT help desk site for managing tickets, new hires, and IT services. I have built an app for our sales admin teams to manage incoming orders for equipment. Based on what we are currently paying for we have definitely saved a lot of money compared to putting in our own server and doing our own development or finding another service.
The USABILITY and simplicity of the product. You can be up and running in under and hour and develop the product on the fly.
Lack of easy backup to prevent mistakes.
We eliminated many paper processes, enabled tracking and accountability, micro-managed approval of expenses, and are able to report in real time or on a weekly/monthly basis. Track expenses, employee approvals, dollar amounts, report performance, handle time off requests... If you can build it, your users will love it.
Knack reminds me of Squarespace for database builders. It makes building large and fast databases easy - even for novices like me!
International support would be good. It doesn’t deal well with diacritical marks.
I have built a data drive business using the system at a fraction of the cost had I built it myself.
Knack allows you to rapidly develop and deploy fully functioning web applications. It's a great tool and can be as simple or as complex as you need. The native functionality is powerful and if needed can be expanded through custom code.
The native UI of Knack is a bit bland. It is simple and effective but isn't as pretty as it could be. However, with custom JS and CSS it can be modified to be more modern.
Customer-facing portals are easily built allowing your users to interact with the data they need. It's very quick to set this up and integration with other platforms is possible through Zapier or API connections.
The simplicity of the platform, allowing to create new creative and complex solutions in a heartbeat.
It's not the cheapest one out there, but the support has been outstanding! I'm also still looking for user authentication solutions that integrate with our existing tech setup.
Custom-built engineering solutions are not realistic for small organisations like ours, and are expensive to maintain. Knack has instantly fixed this for us. And we are building a solution that allows us to manage the whole system in-house in a cost-effective way.
It is easy enough for someone with basic technical skills to pick up and learn fairly quickly. Once you have the basic grasp of how to build the database and app, it is easy to create and deploy secure apps for multiple different scenarios. For example, we were able to launch an app quickly to help collect data on our Covid-19 initiative in a matter of weeks, with minimal effort. Knack does all the heavy lifting in terms of security and back end support. All you need to worry about is how to build your app you need to solve your problem.
At times, it can be a bit unforgiving if you make mistakes and build relationships the wrong way for example. You have to learn that the hard way at times, but knack is improving at explaining best practices. While there isn't any version control per se either, the product does the job well it needs to do.
We are solving the problem of deploying secure apps for pilot projects in our organization that need quick turnarounds with small budgets. We are able to do this with Knack.
This incredible platform makes building just the right database with user friendly interfaces easy.
I would like more native integrations and more control over interfaces design
I am using knack to bring all of the company data across many platforms together and create a dashboard for strategic planning. I also build small apps for client questionnaires or employee surveys.
Easy to use interface. No programming required. I like how you can set up users and create place for them to edit the the content directly.
I haven't really found anything we dislike yet. I do find it can get a bit complicated when you have lots of objects in various relationships. Maybe if there was a way to visualize it more that may help.
We were able to create a database very quickly. We had all the data, but needed it to be accessible online in a mobile-friendly format. The cost to custom build a database was very high and included a long timeline. Using Knack was an amazing alternative that served our needs better than the custom solution!
I've looked at many online database providers, and I kept coming back to Knack because of the ability to have as many users as I want without any associated costs. My app has hundreds of users, and it costs me nothing. Every other database solution I evaluated charged per user. I also like the ease of use. I don't have to manage the API or the security of the system. Knack handles that, which frees my time.
I don't like that you can't see the internal IDs and foreign keys. Knack handles that b ehind the scenes, but it would be better if you could at least see them.
I have created an online database for all of the schools in our state. Each school creates an account and enters its staff members. The second they enter the data, it's available to all of our schools. I've also created an app that allows each school to request approval for playing an out-of-state team. This process is entirely digital now, where in the past, it involved fax or scanned documents emailed to schools and different state associations.