Theta
Prototyping and testing in production#
Prototype and test dynamic user interfaces with instant fly-on-air updates. You can update the user interface without rebuilding it. You can directly set up remote A/B tests and see the analysis to improve UX and sales.
Traditional app development often necessitates frequent rebuilding and deployment cycles with every code change. Although some solutions exist and are really good, they are often limited in scope. For instance, Flutter's experimental push code (like Shorebird for Android) only targets expert developers, while no-code builders like FlutterFlow may compromise on code quality while still necessitating additional programming for complex features.
Why Theta#
Building a Flutter app means you will take little time to program it from scratch, but you will spend almost all your time updating and testing it to improve UX and sales.
But testing and updating even small parts of our app's UI (e.g., paywalls, news dialogs, or even text copy) is a mechanism that requires putting hands on code and wasting a lot of time with each change.
This is crazy, which is why I created a tool to update and test apps in production with a few clicks. Integrate Theta to get started right away: buildwiththeta.com
Developers shouldn't hardcode UI components#
Server-driven design systems focus on creating dynamic user interfaces (UIs) that can be updated in real-time via APIs. Instead of hardcoding design components into the app, they are stored remotely. This allows central updates that are propagated instantly across all instances of the app, without the need for user downloads.
Theta offers several advantages:
- ️ Fast integration: Theta provides a UI editor for designing the UI that can be integrate directly into your project with SDKs. Theta doesn’t limit what you can do with the rest of your app. You can embed complex platform-specific widgets like maps, web views, media players, and camera feeds within your remote UI, or add a UIBox() inside an existing custom page to make it dynamic.
- 🔀 Set tests remotely with instant effects: Set up numerous A/B tests on your UI components to improve the user experience and sales of your app. Everything can be done visually on Theta, with a direct connection (and effect) to your customers' apps without wasting time.
- 🧋 Team collaboration and version control: Theta provides tools for team collaboration, project logs, and branches, facilitating efficient teamwork in app development. The version control feature allows tracking and management of different versions of the your design system components, a crucial aspect for maintaining app quality and addressing bugs or issues.
- 💫 Efficiency: Remote design systems like Theta allow for design updates to be rolled out instantly via API, across all instances of the app. This bypasses the traditional cycle of updating and downloading new app versions. Also, because the design system is centralized, it ensures a consistent look and feel across all platforms, enhancing the user experience.
Getting Started with Theta#
Discover how to create a UI project in Theta and stream a component seamlessly within your code.
Our instructional video will guide you through:
- Designing a responsive app bar.
- Streaming a UI component directly into your code.
- Make UI changes without rebuilding.
Integrate tonight#
Sign up#
- To begin your Theta journey, sign up for Theta on the buildwiththeta.com website.
Get your API key#
To share your remote UI in your project, you'll need to obtain your API key from the project settings.
- 📚 Follow our guide
Integrate in your codebase#
Use Theta.initialize(anonKey: "") at the root of the project, then use UIBox("component name") to display a remote component within your view.
- 📚 Follow our documentation for Flutter
Should I use Theta?#
Theta is a tool for enhancing the efficiency of your app development process, especially when you need to rapidly design and integrate dynamic UI components. It is particularly beneficial for projects that require a mix of no-code and custom-coded solutions.
However, if your project requires highly specific features that fall outside of Theta's current capabilities, a more custom solution might be a better fit. As Theta continues to evolve, more features will become available to accommodate a broader range of project requirements.
Remember, Theta is designed to complement your existing development workflow rather than replacing it entirely. It is worth exploring Theta if you want to reduce the time spent on rebuilding and deploying your app for every UI change, and if you value the flexibility of mixing no-code and custom code.