For culinary enthusiasts and aspiring pastry chefs, CakeSchool is an app that provides a mobile and web learning experience for mastering the art of pastry making. Developed for a pastry client passionate about offering a new and comfortable learning experience for students, CakeSchool leverages FlutterFlow's low-code platform to streamline the creation of engaging courses and recipes, making the art of baking accessible to a wider audience. The app was built by Appfyl Studio - an agency that has switched over to using FlutterFlow exclusively.
The Story of CakeSchool:
The client behind CakeSchool, head pastry chef Alina Makarova, has a portfolio that includes over 100,000 trained clients. Alina sought to revolutionize the traditional pastry school model by providing a digital platform that allows students to learn at their own pace, from the comfort of their own kitchens. She approached Appfyl, a Czech-based agency who switched to FlutterFlow exclusively for their clients, to execute the build. With a focus on convenience and accessibility, CakeSchool was designed to cater to both amateur bakers and seasoned pastry chefs looking to refine their skills. A few months after the application launched, it became the leading online school for confectioners in the Russian and CIS market.
Development Journey:
The development of CakeSchool began in April 2022, with a vision to create a comprehensive online platform that encompasses courses, recipes, and a recipe calculator. FlutterFlow's intuitive drag-and-drop interface and flexible page layout capabilities enabled the team to rapidly iterate and implement changing features, significantly reducing development time.
One of the standout features of CakeSchool is its complex course page structure, which allows the client to upload new courses through an admin panel. This feature ensures that the app remains up-to-date with the latest baking trends and techniques. Additionally, the app supports various types of content, which are hidden if the related content type is not filled, ensuring a seamless user experience.
Features and User Experience:
CakeSchool, a native app on iOS, Android, and the Web, offers a range of features designed to enhance the learning experience for pastry enthusiasts:
Courses: A curated selection of courses covering various pastry techniques and recipes.
Recipes: An extensive library of recipes, complete with detailed instructions and ingredient lists.
Calculator: A handy calculator for adjusting recipe quantities based on serving sizes.
The app’s user-friendly interface and engaging content structure makes it easy for students to navigate through courses and track their progress. The integration of forums within the app also fosters a community of learners who can share tips, ask questions, and support each other in their baking journey.
Development Tools:
CakeSchool utilizes a variety of tools and integrations to deliver a seamless learning experience. Specifically, it chose Firebase for its backend services and real-time database management and RevenueCat for managing subscriptions and in-app purchases.
Ilya, the founder of the Appfyl behind CakeSchool, cites that the main challenge has been to verify whether a user has completed the lesson and grant them access to the next lesson - essentially to verify within a specific module if the user has completed all lessons in order to unlock access to the next module. The team employed multi-step queries to Firebase and searched for intersections on the device to tackle this challenge.
Secondly, since the lesson content is very dynamic, the team utilized FlutterFlow data types with conditional visibility. If a lesson page contains a wide variety of content types that may appear or disappear depending on the lesson, the team resolves this issue in the application by using data types with conditional visibility logic. This particular feature was cited by Ilya to be extremely helpful for this build.
Results and Metrics:
Since its launch, CakeSchool has achieved notable success:
User Base: Over 50,000 users have joined the platform, with continuous growth as new features are added.
Engagement: The app has become a go-to resource for pastry enthusiasts, with users actively participating in courses and forums. It is on its way to be the leading online school for confectioners in the Russian and CIS market.
Conclusion:
CakeSchool is a testament to how individuals from all industries can create dynamic and user-friendly applications. By providing a platform for aspiring pastry chefs to hone their skills, CakeSchool is contributing to the growth of the culinary community and making the art of baking more accessible to everyone. Explore the world of pastry making by visiting CakeSchool on the App Stores - App Store, Play Store.
