product
Sheetbase is for people who need to create and maintain simple operational datasets without commissioning a custom app. They are spreadsheet-comfortable users, technical operators, and API consumers working inside a browser-based tool backed by PostgreSQL.
Users are usually in a task: defining a Sheet Form, entering rows, checking data, sharing an API endpoint, or operating a Linux server process. The interface should help them stay oriented in dense information without becoming decorative.
Sheetbase turns spreadsheet-like data entry into real PostgreSQL tables exposed through a PostgREST-style API. Success means a user can define fields in a Header Row, enter data in cells, and immediately have a trustworthy database-backed resource.
Quiet, precise, capable.
The product should feel like a serious operations tool: calm enough for repeated use, polished enough to trust with production data, and direct enough that users always understand where the data lives.
Avoid marketing-page SaaS gloss: oversized heroes, decorative gradients, floating card piles, bubbly illustrations, and one-note purple or beige palettes.
Avoid spreadsheet cosplay that copies Excel chrome. Sheetbase should feel familiar to spreadsheet users, but it should look like a modern database product, not a web clone of desktop Excel.
Avoid overbuilt admin dashboards with heavy shadows, loud sidebars, large empty margins, and modal-first workflows.
Use Attio as the primary UI reference for palette, density, and feel: white workspace, cool gray structure, blue action states, and soft colored pills.
- Database confidence: every screen should make it clear that the data is structured, saved, and API-addressable.
- Spreadsheet speed: data entry should feel direct, keyboard-friendly, and low-friction.
- Quiet density: show a lot of information without visual shouting.
- Schema without ceremony: Header Rows and field controls should expose structure without turning the experience into a wizard.
- Operations stay visible: managed PostgreSQL and PostgREST should feel understandable to operators, not hidden behind magic.
Target WCAG 2.2 AA. Body text and placeholders must meet contrast requirements. Keyboard navigation is a core requirement for the Spreadsheet UI, not an enhancement. Motion should be brief, state-driven, and reduced under prefers-reduced-motion.