How to Create Tailwind CSS Dashboard Using Low Code [Tutorial]
Tags: tailwindcss, lowcode, html, tutorial
Published: 2023-07-05 18:12:40

SaaS dashboards play a vital role in providing users with a visual representation of data. They enable you to monitor important metrics and make informed decisions. To create robust and user-friendly SaaS dashboards, it is important to use the right tools. This article explores the advantages of using Tailwind CSS and Low Code for building SaaS dashboards.

**Is Tailwind CSS hard to learn?**
- Learning Tailwind CSS can be a bit challenging at first due to its extensive utility classes, but breaking it down into smaller components, practicing with hands-on projects, and utilizing the available documentation and online resources can make the learning process more manageable and enjoyable.

In this tutorial, we will use [Loopple](https://www.loopple.com/), which offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface for building Bootstrap, Tailwind CSS or React dashboards effortlessly. Loopple simplifies the development process, allowing users to build dashboards faster and significantly reducing development time. 

The Dashboard we build in this Tailwind CSS tutorial will have three pages:

1. **Index**
![Index Page](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/9qh8xl3hw030rtswy054.png)

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2. **Profile**
![Profile Page](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/vuo2tdcxf471qdf2hzm1.png)

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3. **Orders**
![Orders Page](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/kyxk3d0ap7ax38kh0a7a.png)

As we explore the implementation details of each interface in the following sections, these images will serve as a visual guide.

**Table of contents:**
- [How to Create New Project](#new-project)
  - [Creating the Index Page](#index-page)
  - [Create the Orders Page](#orders-page)
  - [Create the Profile Page](#profile-page)
- [Final Thoughts](#final-thoughts)

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<h2 id="new-project">How to Create New Project</h2>

Once you've signed in to your account by visiting the [Loopple website](https://www.loopple.com), you'll be given the option to [launch a new project](https://www.loopple.com/new-project). 

You can use any of the options listed below to create a dashboard. However, in this tutorial, we'll focus on how to use the [Soft UI Dashboard Tailwind CSS design](https://www.loopple.com/theme/soft-ui-dashboard-tailwind). 

Select it, give your project a name, and then click "Create."


![Create new Tailwind CSS project](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/jjo28px3g8khxg7wvyey.png)

<h3 id="index-page">Creating the Index Page</h3>

Let's go over step-by-step instructions for making the index page. Here is our blank template. As you can see it has three major sections. On the Left of the page, you have the sidebar. At the top, you can add a nav bar. There is a large area in the middle that include elements that will be shown when you navigate through different pages of the dashboard. 

![Create the index page](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/fe00mf5d2hs9435l7hna.png)

### **Step 1: Select a Sidebar**

The following modal will open by clicking on the "+" button on the sidebar. As you can see, Loopple provides 2 sidebar types and users are free to use any sidebar they like. However, in this case, I'll go with the "sidebar simple" template. Once, I click it, all the elements in that template will be added to my sidebar. 


![Select Sidebar](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/qhh2uepxffuyzpnkt70y.png)

### **Step 2: Select the Navbar**

Next, we have to select the navbar. By clicking on the "+" button on the top, we can choose a model for the navbar.


![Select Navbar](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/z4w18mscsnavkn5v5iup.png)

In the navigation models, there are three choices. In this case, I have chosen the "navbar with the logo" option. You are free to use any of them depending on your preference. 

### **Step 3: Modify the texts that are offered in the models.**

To edit or rename a text, simply double-click on it. A box will then appear in the upper right corner of the screen. You can add any text you desire.


![Modify sidebar title text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/2ghpht94eh70jgmklpnw.gif)

The Tailwind dashboard comes with elements that have prewritten text. Most of these texts won't work for your dashboard. For example, you may want to change the Software UI Dashboard to SaaS Dashboard or something like Your "product name" dashboard.

You can easily change the text of the elements by double-clicking on it. In my demo, I will change the test of these elements into the following:

- Software UI Dashboard --> SaaS Dashboard
- Navbar Brand --> SaaS Dashboard
- Dashboard --> Dashboard
- Table --> Analytics
- Billing --> Invoice
- Virtual Reality --> Messages
- RTL --> Settings

### **Step 4: Change the Icon Color of “Analytics”**

To accomplish this task, you need to select the border of the icon as we will be modifying its entire color. Afterward, you will notice the presence of an editor tab containing various labels. These labels describe the current design of the icon, and you have the ability to delete and add new styles. Here, I deleted the "From-purple-700" and "to-pink-500" labels and added "from-indigo-600" and "to-blue-600" to give the icon a blue color.


![Change Tailwind CSS icon classes](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/0ywb07qvnjvagpbiuh0g.gif)

### **Step 5: Add a Card Section**

To begin, let's position the card by adding a "grid" before incorporating it into our project. Next, navigate to the menu and select "Card section" under the "Sections" category. Once done, you can easily drag and drop a card design of your choice into the workspace. For this demonstration, I am using the first design option.
Now, to modify the colors of the icons, refer to "Step 4" and follow the instructions accordingly. In my case, I changed all the icons to a blue hue. Additionally, feel free to adjust the text as desired. In my dashboard, I made the following changes listed below.

- Today's Money → Revenue
- $ 53,00 → $ 5,400
- Today's Users →Users
- -2% → +5%
- $103,430 → 970

Following these steps should result in the output shown below:


![Cards section change texts](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ttxpehmvojzm0e1p5bkc.png)

To modify the text color for "+5%", simply click on the "+5%" text. In the "classes" text input, add "text-lime-500" to apply a green color to the text and remove "text-red-600".


![Modify text color using Tailwind CSS class](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/wbj8eilzjahom6ashmgj.png)

### **Step 6: Add a Grid**

To add a grid, select "Grid with 2 columns" from the "Grid" by clicking the "Grid" tab, then drag and drop it onto an empty workspace. This grid will divide the workspace into two columns.


![Add Tailwind CSS grid](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/0bwt31z64dze2ttu6lf0.png)

### **Step 7: Add Charts to the Grid**

To incorporate charts, begin by selecting the "Charts" section from the component tab. You have the option to choose between two models. In my case, I opted for the "Chart Line" model and proceeded to drag and drop it into the left-hand column. Following that, I selected the "Chart Bar" model and placed it on the right side of the screen.

To make the text more relevant to your product, you can customize it accordingly. Here are the changes I made to the text:

📈 On the "Chart Line": 
- Sales Overview → Reports 
- 4% more in 2021 → 4% more in 2023

📊 On the "Chart Bar": 
- Active users → Analytics 
- Users → Sales 
- Clicks → Distribute 
- Sales → Churn 
- Items → Return

### Step 8: Adding Tables

Next, we need to divide the workspace into two columns, which can be done by following step 5. Once that is accomplished, we can proceed to add tables to the workspace.

To add tables, navigate to the "Components" tab and select "Tables". You will find a selection of available table templates displayed there. Currently, the "Table product" template is chosen and placed in the left-side column. Additionally, the title has been modified from "Top Selling Products" to "Recent Orders".

Furthermore, we include the "Table country" table template in the right-side column.


![Add table country](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/7vb6q0vptr9qnqcz2zyh.png)

The creation process of the "Index.html" page is now finished. To save the file, simply click on the "Save" button located in the center of the screen. If you wish to preview your creation, you can click on the "Preview" button to see the result.

<h3 id="orders-page">Create the Orders Page 📄 </h3>

### **Step 1: Add a new page to create a new file.**

Click on the "Page" tab located in the upper right corner. Select "Add Page" to create a new page.

### **Step 2: Copy the sidebar from the "Index" page.**

We want to include the same sidebar on this page as well. Just like we did on the Index page, let's add a sidebar using templates. Now, click on the "Pages" tab and select "Index" to go back to "Index.html". Choose the sidebar and click on "Edit Code" in the "Sidenav" section.


![Copy the sidebar code](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/dlo5i8t7z0zhd34h0vbl.gif)

The HTML code for the sidebar will then appear. You can copy it just like you would in everyday life by selecting everything with "Ctrl + A" and then press "Ctrl + C" to copy.

Return to "Page 2" (**Orders.html**) under "Pages". Select the sidebar you added earlier, then click on "EditCode" under "SideNav" on the right-hand side. Replace the existing code with the copied code from "Index.html".

### **Step 3: Add the Navbar**

The instructions for the "Index" page's guide can be used for this as well. Select the Navbar template by clicking on the "+" sign, and then edit the left-side text to read "SaaS Dashboard".

### **Step 4: Rename the Page**

Let's give the page a meaningful name. Select the "Pages" tab. Edit the file's name to "Orders" by clicking on "edit" in the "Page 2" section.


![Rename the page](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/he7qjebn07ra55e13a56.png)

### **Step 5: Add and Edit typography**

Typography allows us to create visually appealing text styles. We can start by adding a grid for the main title. Since we want the title to span the full width, choose "Grid with column 1".

Next, go to the "Component" section and select "Typography". Pick a design, such as "Typography H2", from the available options. Customize the typography's appearance, change the text to "View All Orders", and adjust the heading tag from h2 to h4.


![Change heading tag from h2 to h4](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ce2ip1au5cb631t0v594.png)

If you wish to make the text bold, you can use the "<>" button to edit the HTML code and add the "font-bold" class in the "Classes" section under the "Editor" tab.


### **Step 6: Add a Table**

To display tabular data, let's add a table. Click on the "Component" tab and choose the "Tables" section. Select a suitable table template, such as "Table Product" for this page. Customize the table's appearance, and don't forget to change the title to "Orders".


![Change table header title](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/tsa19xh1jxfq15ctq3up.png)

You have successfully created the "Orders.html" file. Don't forget to save your progress and take a moment to preview the page.

Let's go ahead and create the Profile Page following the below steps.

<h3 id="profile-page">Create the Profile Page</h3>

### **Step 1: Add a New Page and Rename**

Just like we did for the "Orders" page, let's add a new page. Click on "Pages" and then select "Add Page". A new page labeled "Page 2" will be created. Go ahead and rename it to "Profile".


### **Step 2: Add a sidebar and Navbar**

To maintain consistency, we want the sidebar and navbar on this page to match the previous pages. Luckily, we can easily copy the code from the earlier pages. You can refer back to "Step 2" and "Step 3" under "Creating an Orders page" for the instructions on how to accomplish this.


### **Step 3: Add Profile Details**

Let's focus on the "Profile" section under the "Grid" tab. Drag and drop the first item from the "Profile" section to the workspace. Now, you can make changes to its appearance. For example, let's change the CEO's name to "Michael Ordan".


![Change card profile text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/dk7n8ctmd1egx4jxf2xy.png)

Next, drag and drop the last item from the "Profile" section to the workspace. This section is also editable.


![Drag and drop profile section](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/af4sf3rt1jzwo9j1l8e9.png)


You have completed the "Profile" page. Before wrapping up, remember to save your progress and take a moment to preview the page.

As you've reached the end of this task, you can now preview all three pages. Simply choose one page at a time and see how they look.


![Preview all pages](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/olppwnr8lloix8g72vsy.png)


<h4 id="final-thoughts">Final Thoughts 💬</h4>

With the assistance of Loopple Tailwind CSS and Low Code, you can now design visually appealing dashboards more effectively. You have the ability to implement modern user interfaces, customize fonts, create unique icons, and incorporate charts, graphics, and cards to bring your dashboard to life.
By following the detailed step-by-step instructions provided for each template, you can confidently create remarkable Tailwind SaaS dashboards that will captivate your users and enhance your applications.
Get ready to unleash your creativity and elevate your dashboard designs to new heights! 🚀

You can also check our video tutorial for this article on our Youtube channel here: [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma1cLkWr9RM).

Experience the power of low code by registering on the [Loopple website](https://www.loopple.com) and getting started with your own project today!