Build SaaS with AI | Part 7 | Zapier Webhook, Styles, & Vercel Deployment

Introduction

In this final part of the "Build SaaS with AI" series, I will guide you through the process of publishing ready content using Zapier webhooks, updating CSS styles, and deploying our application with Vercel. We will leverage the capabilities of the app we've developed, remixing content using Cursor AI, along with Cursor Composer, which has quickly become my favorite feature.

Setting Up Zapier Automation

First, let's walk through setting up the Zapier automation. Our app will send ready-to-publish content to Zapier via a webhook, and Zapier will then determine which platform to publish the content on. For example, if the platform is Facebook, it will create a Facebook post; if it is LinkedIn, it will create a LinkedIn update.

Step 1: Trigger Setup

1. In Zapier, select Webhooks by Zapier as the trigger (note that this is a premium feature), and then choose Catch Hook. Click Continue.
2. You will not need to adjust any settings yet, so proceed by clicking Continue again. When the app begins sending tests to the webhook, you will see the incoming data.

Step 2: Adding Paths for Different Platforms

3. To handle various platforms, utilize Paths by Zapier. Create separate paths for each platform, renaming them as needed (e.g., "Facebook" and "LinkedIn").
4. Conditions should be set up to allow the path to continue only if the platform matches the incoming data. For instance, the Facebook path should continue if the platform contains "Facebook" and similarly for LinkedIn.

Step 3: Creating Platform-Specific Actions

5. For the Facebook path, add another step to create a Facebook page post. You will need to connect your Facebook account and input the text content and optional image from the webhook.
6. For LinkedIn, add a similar step using Create Share Update to post updates based on the data received from the webhook.

By using Zapier this way, you can create an efficient publishing workflow without getting bogged down with the tedious setup of social media accounts.

Sending Data

To send the data, grab the webhook URL from the trigger setup, which allows your application to send data to Zapier's automation seamlessly.

Implementing the Publish Button

Next, let’s implement the ‘Publish’ button within our application. This button will trigger a modal that prompts the user to enter their webhook URL whenever they want to publish the remixed content.

Steps to Create the Publish Mechanism:

1. Validation: Ensure that the webhook URL entered is a valid URL before submitting.
2. API Route: Build a server-side API route that will handle the webhook request instead of sending it through the client side, avoiding potential CORS issues.
3. Submission Handling: Once the user submits the form, send payload data—comprising the text content, optional image, and selected platform—to the specified webhook.

User Experience Enhancements

Ensure that any errors in input are gracefully displayed to the user, and show a success message after submitting the webhook.

CSS and Styling Updates

To enhance the visual appeal of our app, I decided to use Dribbble.com as inspiration for redesigning the sidebar and the table. By screenshotting a design I liked, I then input the image into Cursor AI to generate a new CSS stylesheet that maintained the color scheme, icons, and fonts.

Implementing Style Changes

1. Modify the sidebar and prompts table based on AI-generated suggestions.
2. Update layout issues such as element alignment and button containment.

Upon applying these style updates, our application looks significantly cleaner and more functional.

Deployment via Vercel

After styling the application, the next step is deploying it on Vercel. Here’s how:

1. Ensure your project is pushed to GitHub.
2. In Vercel, create a new project and select your repository.
3. Deploy the project and add necessary environment variables, mirroring those in your local .env file.
4. Once deployment begins, you can thankfully resolve any errors. For instance, if you encounter issues like unescaped characters in JSX, apply Cursor AI’s guidance accordingly.

Post-Deployment Testing:

After deployment, navigate to your application URL. Users can begin generating new prompts and check if the app is functioning correctly—all these features should now smoothly operate as intended.

Conclusion

This series showcased how to effectively leverage AI-driven coding to build an MVP from scratch, starting with an initial idea and ending with a fully functional application deployed online. I hope this walkthrough serves as a valuable resource for your own development endeavors.

Keywords

• SaaS
• AI-driven coding
• Zapier
• Webhook
• Deployment
• Vercel
• CSS styling
• Remixing content

FAQ

Q: What is the purpose of Zapier in this project?
A: Zapier is used to automate the publishing process by accepting webhooks from our app and creating posts on various platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Q: How do you validate the webhook URL?
A: The webhook URL must be checked to ensure it is a valid URL before submission, helping avoid errors during the publishing process.

Q: Can I use other platforms apart from Facebook and LinkedIn?
A: Yes, Zapier allows you to easily add more paths for any supported platform. You can expand the setup to include Instagram, TikTok, and more.

Q: What is the significance of deploying on Vercel?
A: Vercel provides an easy way to deploy web applications with global scalability and performance optimizations, making it an excellent choice for production applications.

Q: How does Cursor AI assist in this project?
A: Cursor AI aids in generating code, suggesting styling improvements, and managing the overall coding experience, streamlining the development process.