Structuring bases in Airtable

This article details best practices for building and enhancing bases.

How can I improve base performance in Airtable?

• Create individual views that use filters and hidden fields that only display individual collaborators and associated information.

• Delete any unused records.  

• Remove non-essential formulas, linked records, or rollup fields .

• Reduce API usage or insert pauses between calls, when possible.  

What base design behaviors improve Airtable performance?  

Base performance, including things like speed, collaboration, and usability, is often related to redundant tables—all living in the same base. The following behaviors should be avoided:

• Creating multiple tables in the same base with similar fields that don’t use linked records.

• Creating multiple tables in the same base with similar structures and uses.

• Creating tables that summarize information in other tables without using linked records in the same base.

• Creating multiple tables in the same base, tracking different stages of projects.

• Creating individual tables for different time-frequencies (weeks, months, quarters).

• Creating individual tables for categories (products, projects, types of events).

• Creating individual tables for each collaborator.

What base design behaviors improve usability?

• Creating collaborator, text, or select fields to assign tasks to individual collaborators and group records to keep them separate instead of creating tables for each collaborator.  

• Using views to section out related data instead of having data unnecessarily spread across multiple tables.

What base design behaviors result in needing to add more tables to a base?

Base owners or creators may need to create additional tables if they continuously:

• Enter the same information into the same table multiple times on your to-do list).

• Use a single table to track the same thing using multiple records.

• Use a single table with more than one select field where those select fields commonly relate to one another.

How can I reduce the amount of information I see or share in bases?

Check out our Limiting linked record selection to a view article to learn how limit what information is viewable.

How can I customize my base’s appearance?

Check out our Creating and managing Airtable bases to learn how customize base appearance.