There are many amazing low-code and no-code development tools available today. Whether it’s for a non-technical person needing to bridge their skill gap or a technical person that can realize a productivity boost, such tools are quickly reshaping the world’s conception of Who, What, and How software gets developed. Simply put, more people with wildly varying skillsets can create software using low-code and no-code development tools.

Just like every development framework has its unique pros and cons, so do low-code and no-code development tools. While some tools might be too limiting from a design standpoint, others are limited in allowing meaningful data to be worked with. This is a serious handicap for those people looking to build real-world applications using low-code and no-code development tools, rather than simple marketing sites.

Most of the tools available today are geared towards front-end development (visual interface design) for marketing sites mainly. Of this category, Webflow is a poster-child — and one of the most flexible visual website builders around! Whereas a platform like 8base can handle the entire backend of an application. See where this is going?

In this tutorial, we’re going to explore how we can leverage a tool like Webflow to build a true web-application rather than a website by using a Backend-as-a-Service for authentication and creating custom user profiles.

What you need to get started

There are a couple of things you’re going to want to set up before getting started. They are:

1. Webflow Account — Website Basic plan $15/mo

2. 8base Account — Free plan or Developer plan $25/mo

Simple as that! Please complete the tutorial sections in order, as one does rely on the other…

Authenticating Users on Webflow

Authentication is a core requirement to almost all applications — as well as a core frustration to most teams! Regardless, in this tutorial we’re going to implement a strategy for letting users sign up, sign in, sign out, and recover passwords in Webflow. Additionally, we’re going to do it all on custom Webflow pages so that you get total design control.

To get started, we’re going to want to log into Webflow and create a new project or use the initial project. It doesn’t matter the styling of the project! So feel free at any time to change up the way things look if you care to.

Once the new project is open, navigate to the Project Settings > Custom Code tab, and first add the script tag below in the “Head Code” section.

<script src=”https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/vue/2.6.12/vue.min.js" crossorigin=”anonymous”></script>

Vue.js is a very lightweight front-end JavaScript framework that we’re going to be using. It will allow us to take dynamic control over certain sections of our Webflow site.

Next, we’re going to be adding another script right under that last one in our “Head Code”. This one is a custom script that I encourage you to read through, or you can just copy and paste in — except for the config section! Essentially, it is initializing a small module to that we’ll be able to access anywhere on our Webflow site.

<script defer>  /* Accessible globally on webflow site */  window.EightBase = ((config) => {    /**     * Helper object for handling local storage. This will allow us     * to easily set and retrieve user data and authentication data     * in the browser's localStorage object.     */    const store = {      /* Access value in localStorage */      get: (key) => {        return JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem(key));      },/* Set value in localStorage */      set: (key, value) => {        localStorage.setItem(key, JSON.stringify(value));return value;      },/* Remove Item from localStorage */      remove: (key) => {        localStorage.removeItem(key);      },/* Clear values from localStorage */      clear: () => {        localStorage.clear();      },/* Helper for determining if user is authenticated */      isAuthenticated: () => {        let auth = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem("auth"));return Boolean(auth) && Boolean(auth.idToken);      },    };/**     * Whenever a page loads, this piece of code will look for     * whether the current route is private (as defined in the     * config object). If it is private and the user is not     * authenticated, it will redirect the user to the logoutRedirect     * route (also defined in the config object).     */    let isProtectedRoute = config.routes.private.some((p) =>      window.location.pathname.match(p)    );if (isProtectedRoute && !store.isAuthenticated()) {      window.location.replace(config.routes.logoutRedirect);    }/**     * API is a module that we'll use to execute calls to     * the 8base API. Webflow includes jQuery by default,     * and Ajaxs will work great for a graphQL Client.     */    const api = {      request: (opts = {}) => {        return $.ajax(          Object.assign(            {              type: "POST",              url: config.endpoint,              contentType: "application/json",              /**               * Unless overridden, the idToken will get retrieved               * from localStorage before ever request and set as               * a bearer token.               */              beforeSend: (xhr) => {                var { idToken } = store.get("auth");xhr.setRequestHeader("Authorization", "Bearer " + idToken);              },            },            opts          )        );      },    };return {      config,      store,      api,    };  })({    /**     * CONFIG!     *     * This object supplies some required info to the module.     * You're  */    endpoint: "<PUT_YOUR_8BASE_API_ENDPOINT>",    authProfileId: "<PUT_YOUR_8BASE_AUTH_PROFILE_ID>",    routes: {      loginRedirect: "/profile",      logoutRedirect: "/sign-in",      private: ["/profile"],    },  });</script>

In the last part of the script, you’ll see two values that read <PUT_YOUR_8BASE_API_ENDPOINT> and <PUT_YOUR_8BASE_AUTH_PROFILE_ID>. We’re going to replace those with values we’ll find in 8base. The values in the routes object are all customizable, though I recommend leaving them as-is for the sake of this tutorial.

Let’s go ahead and quickly grab those two values from 8base. Log in to the 8base console and open up an existing or new workspace. On the dashboard of the workspace, you’ll see a card containing your API Endpoint. Copy and paste it to the <PUT_YOUR_8BASE_API_ENDPOINT> value in the config object.

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Next, navigate to the App Services > Authentication page in 8base and create a new Authentication Profile. Select the default “8base Authentication” option as well as “Open to all”. Finally, in the Roles section select “Guest” and click create.

What we’re configuring here is how our users are going to authenticate. More about the specific settings can be found here. However, with these settings, we’re saying that 1) anyone with an email address can sign up; and 2) a user is assigned the “Guest” role when they sign up.

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Once the Authentication Profile is created, it will display an idea in the far left column of the table. Copy and paste it to the <PUT_YOUR_8BASE_AUTH_PROFILE_ID> value in the config object of the Webflow Head Code script!

Make sure to save the changes made in Webflow, and now we’re ready to jump into authentication pages!

Building a Webflow User Sign-up Page

So what we’re going to do now is build a sign-up page. You can style however you like. If you look at the picture above, that’s what mine looks like. That said, there are a few really important things that need to happen for this to work.

To leverage Vue.js, we’ll be adding some custom attributes to our form elements. These attributes will essentially get mapped as values that bind our form elements to data on a Vue component. If that sentence made no sense, don’t worry about it! We’ll still make it work.‍

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We need to add Custom Attributes to the form elements — as seen in the picture above. On this sign up form, we’re going to be asking the user to supply their first name, last name, email, and password. Make sure that those form fields have the following Custom Attributes on them, as detailed in the list below.

First Name

• Attribute Name: v-model
• Attribute Value: form.firstName

Last Name

• Attribute Name: v-model
• Attribute Value: form.lastName

Email

• Attribute Name: v-model
• Attribute Value: form.email

Password

• Attribute Name: v-model
• Attribute Value: form.password

Once all the form fields are configured, we’re going to also add a Custom Attribute to the form’s submit button. This will serve to make the button’s click event with a custom method, rather than submit the form.

Submit Button

• Attribute Name: v-on:click
• Attribute Value: signUp

Okay, great work so far. If you’re not familiar with JavaScript, don’t let the next part intimidate you! It’s pretty simple and we’ll walk through what’s happening.

First off, we need to give the form you just created a unique ID. So in the form element’s settings, update the ID input to be sign-up-form. The reason we need this is that we’re going to need to tell the Vue component where to mount, which will give it visibility and control over the child elements (all the inputs nested within the form).

Once that ID is updated, we’re going to update the entire page with a script that goes before the body tag. The script is below and the screenshot shows exactly where the script needs to go.‍

Go ahead and copy and paste the script below into the page’s Before </body> tag input field. If you want to, read the in-code comments of the script to get a better understanding of what’s happening. However, once you save and publish, we’ll have a working sign up page!

<script>  (() => {    new Vue({      // Mounts component on the element with ID sign-up-form      el: "#sign-up-form",      data: {        errors: [],        // We'll store our data in a object with the key "form"        form: {          email: "",          password: "",          lastName: "",          firstName: "",          authProfileId: EightBase.config.authProfileId,        },        // This mutation is what the gql api will use to signIn the user after signUp        signInMutation: `        mutation(          $email: String!,          $password: String!,          $authProfileId: ID!        ) {          userLogin(data: {            email: $email,            password: $password,            authProfileId: $authProfileId          }) {            success            auth {              idToken              refreshToken            }          }        }      `,        // This mutation is what the gql api will use to sign up the        signUpMutation: `        mutation(          $authProfileId: ID!          $password: String!          $firstName: String          $lastName: String          $email: String!) {          userSignUpWithPassword(            authProfileId: $authProfileId,            password: $password            user: {              firstName: $firstName              lastName: $lastName              email: $email            }          ) {            id            createdAt          }        }      `,      },      methods: {        handleError(error) {          console.log(error);        },        // If there are no errors after signUp, this method logs in the user        login(result) {          if (result.errors.length) {            this.errors = result.errors;            return;          }/* Submit request to API */          EightBase.api.request({            data: JSON.stringify({              query: this.signInMutation,              variables: this.form,            }),            success: (result) => {              EightBase.store.set("auth", result.data.userLogin.auth);              window.location.replace(EightBase.config.routes.loginRedirect);            },            error: this.error,            /* Skips auth */            beforeSend: null,          });        },// This is the method we bound to our form button, which executes the sign up request.        signUp(event) {          if (event) event.preventDefault();          if (event) event.stopPropagation();console.log("Logging in user...");/* Submit request to API */          EightBase.api.request({            data: JSON.stringify({              query: this.signUpMutation,              variables: this.form,            }),            success: this.login,            error: this.handleError,            /* Skips auth */            beforeSend: null,          });return false;        },      },      watch: {        errors(errors) {          errors.forEach(console.log);        },      },    });  })();</script>

The sign-up page is technically working at this point. However, we don’t have the necessary pages for sign in, forgot password, or the profile page that will only be for authenticated users. So let’s go ahead and build the rest of those pages. ‍‍

Building a Webflow User Sign-In Page‍

You’ll see the sign-in page above. It’s essentially the sign-up page, without the name fields. So, to move fast just duplicate the page or copy and paste the sign-up page into a new page called “Sign In”.

Delete the First Name and Last Name inputs from your form. On this page, we’re going to keep the same Custom Attributes on the email and password inputs, so there are no changes needed there. However, we need to update the Custom Attribute on the form button.

Email

• Attribute Name: v-model
• Attribute Value: form.email

Password

• Attribute Name: v-model
• Attribute Value: form.password

Submit Button

• Attribute Name: v-on:click
• Attribute Value: login

For the form element, update the form ID to be “sign-in-form”. This will be the unique ID that the component looks for, just like last time.

Now, we’re going to update the page with a very similar script to the one we used last time. Put the code below in the page setting’s Before </body> tag input.

<script>  (() => {    new Vue({      // Component mounts on the element with the ID sign-in-form      el: "#sign-in-form",      data: {        errors: [],        // Our form data gets updated with the form input values        form: {          email: "",          password: "",          authProfileId: EightBase.config.authProfileId,        },        // This mutation is the login mutation that will return an auth token        query: `        mutation(          $email: String!,          $password: String!,          $authProfileId: ID!        ) {          userLogin(data: {            email: $email,            password: $password,            authProfileId: $authProfileId          }) {            success            auth {              idToken              refreshToken            }          }        }      `,      },      methods: {        handleError(error) {          console.log(error);        },// On a successful login, we save the auth token in the store and then go to the login route        handleSuccess(result) {          if (result.errors && result.errors.length) {            this.errors = result.errors;            return;          }EightBase.store.set("auth", result.data.userLogin.auth);          window.location.replace(EightBase.config.routes.loginRedirect);        },// The login method is tied to the click event on our form's button        login(event) {          if (event) event.preventDefault();          if (event) event.stopPropagation();/* Submit request to API */          EightBase.api.request({            data: JSON.stringify({              query: this.query,              variables: this.form,            }),            success: this.handleSuccess,            error: this.handleError,            /* Skips auth */            beforeSend: null,          });return false;        },      },      watch: {        errors(errors) {          errors.forEach(console.log);        },      },    });  })();</script>

Building a Webflow User Forgot Password Page

Finally, we have our forgotten password page! As seen above… we’re down to 1 input now. So let’s move forward as we did with the last to pages. Copy the form over to a new page called “Forgot Password”.

The custom attributes that we’re going to need to add to the form elements are below. Additionally, we’ll want to update the form ID on this page to forgot-password-form.

Email

• Attribute Name: v-model
• Attribute Value: form.email

Submit Button

• Attribute Name: v-on:click
• Attribute Value: handleSubmit

This is the most simple form of all. Submitting it will send a password reset email. However, to make all the magic happen, we’re going to need to add our script! So let’s add the code below in the page setting’s Before </body> tag input.

<script>  (function () {    new Vue({      // Component mounts on the element with the ID sign-in-form      el: "#forgot-password-form",      data: {        errors: [],        form: {          email: "",          authProfileId: EightBase.config.authProfileId,        },        // The gql mutation to trigger the reset password email        query: `        mutation($authProfileId: ID!, $email: String!) {          userPasswordForgot(data: {            email: $email,            authProfileId: $authProfileId          }) {            success          }        }      `,      },      methods: {        handleError(error) {          console.log(error);        },// If the call was successful, we navigate back to the logoutRedirect route        handleSuccess(result) {          if (result.errors && result.errors.length) {            this.errors = result.errors;            return;          }window.location.replace(EightBase.config.routes.logoutRedirect);        },// The submit handler attached to our form button.        handleSubmit(event) {          if (event) event.preventDefault();          if (event) event.stopPropagation();/* Submit request to API */          EightBase.api.request({            data: JSON.stringify({              query: this.query,              variables: this.form,            }),            success: this.handleSuccess,            error: this.handleError,            /* Skips auth */            beforeSend: null,          });return false;        },      },      watch: {        errors(errors) {          errors.forEach(console.log);        },      },    });  })();</script>

Wrapping up Authenticating Users on Webflow

Nice work! We’ve successfully set up a sign in, sign up, and forgot password pages on our Webflow site. This encompasses a pretty complete authentication flow. So, how do we test it out?

Quickly create a new page call “Profile” and publish it. If you remember at the beginning of this tutorial, we added the private route “/profile” to our config object. If you try to navigate to this page. You will see that the site doesn’t let you access it. The browser will keep redirecting you to the sign-in page. This is because it knows you are not authenticated.

So now go ahead and either sign up or sign in. After successfully authenticating, you’ll be redirected to the profile route!

How do we set up an awesome profile page and let user’s log out? Coming soon…