---
title: "Structuring Airtable bases"
slug: "structuring-your-airtable-bases-effectively"
description: "This article details best practices for effectively structuring Airtable bases to ensure the best performance possible."
updated: 2025-12-24T18:22:17Z
published: 2025-12-24T18:22:17Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.airtable.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Structuring Airtable bases

| **Plan availability** | All plan types |
| --- | --- |
| **Platform(s)** | Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app |
| **Related reading** | - [Understand your Airtable bases home screen](https://support.airtable.com/docs/airtable-home-screen#bases-and-interfaces) - [Creating, duplicating, and deleting bases](/docs/creating-a-new-empty-base) - [Troubleshooting Airtable base performance](/docs/troubleshooting-airtable-performance) - [Using views to section out related data](/docs/using-views-to-section-out-related-data-in-airtable) - [Understanding linked record relationships](/docs/understanding-linked-record-relationships-in-airtable) |
| **Airtable terminology** | **Base** - a collection of data in Airtable, designed to contain all of the information a user needs for a project or workflow. Bases can have multiple tables, each containing data; within each table, there are records, with data for each record stored in fields. |

This article details best practices for effectively structuring Airtable bases to ensure the best performance possible.

## How can I improve base performance in Airtable?

- Create [individual views](/docs/views-overview)that use [filters](/docs/guide-to-filtering-records-using-conditions) and [hidden fields](https://support.airtable.com/docs/airtable-field-actions#hiding-and-unhiding-fields) that only display individual collaborators and associated information.
- [Delete](https://support.airtable.com/docs/adding-duplicating-and-deleting-airtable-records#deleting-and-archiving-records-in-airtable) any unused records.
- Remove non-essential [formulas](https://support.airtable.com/docs/en/formula-field-overview#adding-formula-fields-in-airtable), [linked records](/docs/linking-records-in-airtable), or [rollup fields](https://support.airtable.com/docs/rollup-field-overview) .
- [Reduce API usage](https://support.airtable.com/docs/managing-api-call-limits-in-airtable#rate-limit-management-strategies) or insert pauses between calls, when possible.
- [Refer to to this section of the base performance article](https://support.airtable.com/docs/troubleshooting-airtable-performance#can-i-resolve-or-prevent-base-performance-issues) where you will learn more about how automations and syncs can affect base performance.

## What base design behaviors degrade 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 whenever possible:

- Creating multiple tables in the same base with similar fields that don’t use [linked records](/docs/linking-records-in-airtable).
- Creating multiple tables in the same base with similar structures and uses.
- Creating tables that summarize information in other tables without using [linked records](/docs/linking-records-in-airtable) 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](/docs/field-types-overview), [text](/docs/field-types-overview), or [select](/docs/field-types-overview) 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](/docs/using-views-to-section-out-related-data-in-airtable) instead of having data unnecessarily spread across multiple tables.

## 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](https://support.airtable.com/docs/limiting-linked-record-selection-to-a-view#limiting-linked-record-selection-to-a-view-in-airtable) to learn how limit what information is viewable.

## How can I customize my base’s appearance?

Check out our [Creating and managing Airtable bases](/docs/creating-a-new-empty-base) to learn how customize base appearance.