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What if you could get back 5 hours of your work week with one simple tool?

Imagine never having to copy and paste between apps, manually update spreadsheets, or send those repetitive email notifications again. The secret? Any repetitive task you do in software can be automated – without writing a single line of code.

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You can read on for a detailed tutorial, but here’s the quick version of how you can start automating your work in Zapier:

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1. Create a new Zap

2. Choose a Trigger app - the app where your automation will start. Choose an event for your trigger, as well. 

3. Sign in to authorize the app. 

4. Configure your trigger. Select the data that your automation should watch for updates.

5. Test your trigger. Testing will pull in some sample data you can use to build the rest of your Zap. 

6. Add an action. Choose the app where you want to run an automated action.

7. Select the event you want to automate, and authorize the app

8. Configure your automated action. Specify what you want to create or update, using dynamic data retrieved from the trigger for easy variability. 

9. Test your automated action. You’ll see the newly created data in your app. 

10. Add any further actions, searches, or flow control you want, and publish your Zap to begin using it.

What is Zapier – and why should you care?

Zapier is your gateway to the world of no-code automation. It connects the apps you already use, allowing them to talk to each other and perform tasks automatically when specific events happen.

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These automations – called "Zaps" – follow a simple pattern: 

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When something happens in one app → automatically do something in another app.

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For example:

• When you receive a new order in your Shopify store → add the order details to Quickbooks

• When a lead reaches a certain stage in Hubspot or Pipedrive → have AI draft a personalized follow-up email via Gmail

• When someone fills out your contact form on your website → send them an email via Gmail → notify your team in Slack

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These are just basic examples. Zaps can include several steps, as well as flow control tools like filters, loops and paths. 

With over 8,000 connected apps, Zapier can automate nearly any workflow you currently handle manually. The result? You save hours each week while creating more consistent, reliable processes.

Building your first Zap in under 10 minutes

Let's build a simple Zap together so you can see exactly how it works. Our simple automation will consist of just two apps:

When a new row is added to a spreadsheet in Google Sheets, send an email with Gmail. 

Don't worry if you don't use these specific apps—the concepts apply universally across Zapier.

Step 1: Create your Zap

Sign in to Zapier. You can follow along with a free account. Select “Zaps”, then click "Create” in the top right corner. 

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Make a new folder to stay organized (trust us, you'll thank yourself later)

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Then, create a Zap inside your new folder

Step 2: Add your trigger

Every Zap starts with a trigger—the event that kicks everything off. Whenever your trigger event occurs, your automation will start running. 

Our example automation is triggered whenever a new row is added to a specific sheet in Google Sheets. 

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Click the empty trigger in your new Zap

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Search for the app you want to use. For our example, that’s Google Sheets.

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Optional: expand the builder to give yourself a little more room to work with. 

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Select the trigger event

Choose the specific trigger event you want to watch for. In our example, that’s “New Spreadsheet Row”. 

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Step 3: Authorize your trigger app

In order to connect it to Zapier, you’ll need to sign in to your trigger app and authorize it. Click “Sign in” and follow the instructions that proceed. 

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In most cases, you’ll just have to sign in as you normally do and grant Zapier some basic permissions. If you need any more advanced credentials (e.g., an API key), Zapier will typically explain where to find them. 

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Once you’ve authorized your app, click “Continue”. 

Step 4: Configure your trigger

Next, you’ll need to identify the data that you want your trigger to watch – the folder, document, or other item it should check for new or updated material. 

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For our Google Sheets trigger, that means we need to identify the specific spreadsheet to watch for new rows. You can typically select data like this from a simple dropdown menu. In the screenshot below, we’ll select the test Sheet that we’ve prepared for this automation. 

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Pro Tip: Always have test data ready before building your Zap. This lets you see exactly what information will be available to your automation.

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With your trigger configured, click “Continue”. 

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Step 5: Test your trigger

You can now test your trigger. Testing your trigger will prompt Zapier to check the specified item and retrieve any data it finds. 

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All of the retrieved data will be displayed as a list of variables, with a title tag and content for each variable.

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For instance, with our Google Sheets trigger, you’ll see every column and its contents displayed as variables, along with some other data. 

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You can reference all of this data from the trigger in the future steps in your automation. 

Get expert Zapier support from LowCodeEngineers

Need quick support building Zapier automations? 

With LowCodeEngineers, you can get expert guidance from a hand-picked engineer in 48 hours or less. 

Whether you need to set up an automation, website, or database, our team at LCE will help you get it done and learn how it all works with one-on-one collaborative calls. 

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There’s no long-term commitment – just schedule as much time as you need on a flexible, hourly basis. 

We guarantee that you’ll make progress in every session, getting one step closer to accomplishing your goals with Zapier, Make, Airtable, Softr, or any other low-code app. 

Just go to lowcodeengineers.com to reach out and schedule your first hour. 

Step 6: Add an action

Once your trigger is set, it's time to make something happen automatically. 

Click “Continue with selected record” to create your Zap’s first action. Just like with the trigger, you’ll need to choose the app you want to use. 

For our example, we’ll choose Gmail. 

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Pro tip: use the keyword search to quickly find your app. 

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Step 7 : Select the event you want to automate

Next, you’ll need to select the specific event that you want to automate. This will typically be creating a new item, or updating an existing one. 

For example, in our automation, we’ll be sending a new email through Gmail (creating an item).

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Authorize the app you want to automate

Just like the trigger, you’ll need to sign into the app used in your automated action and allow Zapier to access it on your behalf. 

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Step 8: Configure the automated action

Now, you can configure your automated action to create or edit data however you’d like. 

The exact options will depend on the app you’re automating, but in general, you’ll see all of the same options that you’d have access to if you were creating/editing the same item manually in your app. 

Any required fields will be marked with an asterisk.

For instance, in our “Send email” step, we see standard email fields – “To”, “Subject”, “Body”, etc. 

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Using dynamic data

To enter static data, you can type directly into each field. For instance, if you always want to use the same “From name”, you can just type out the name you want to use. 

However, if you want the data to be unique for each automated run, you’ll need to use dynamic data instead. 

Click on the plus button (+) or type forward slash (/) to access the Zap’s dynamic data. You’ll see all of the variables retrieved in the trigger, or earlier steps in the automation. 

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Then, click any variable to insert it into the field. For instance, we’ll use the “Email Address” variable in the “To” field, ensuring that the email automatically goes to whoever filled out the form. 

Step 9: Test your automated action

Once you’ve configured all of the fields in your action, click on “Continue”. This will take you to the “Test” tab. 

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NOTE: before testing, be aware that testing an automated action in Zapier will actually perform that action. 

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For example, testing a “Send email” step will send an email as configured with your test data. 

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Make sure that you’re using appropriate test data, such as an email address that you have access to. 

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You can review the test data you’re using on the test screen before firing off the actual test. 

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Once you click “Test Step”, Zapier will start processing the action. You should see a success message after a few seconds. 

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You can confirm the test by checking the app involved in your action. For instance, we’ll check our GMail inbox for a new message. 

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In the inbox, we can see a message exactly as configured in the Zap. 

Step 10: Publish your Zap

Once your Zap is all set, click “Publish” to turn it on. 

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Once activated, your Zap will run automatically whenever the trigger condition is met. 

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Pro Tip: If something isn't working, check the "Zap History" (the clock icon in the left sidebar) to see detailed logs of each run. This is invaluable for troubleshooting.

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Taking your Zapier skills to the next level

Your first simple Zap is just the beginning. Here's a few ways you can build more powerful automations in Zapier. 

Add additional steps in other apps

Chain multiple actions together to create comprehensive workflows. Each step can use data from any previous step.

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Use filters

Make your Zaps smarter by adding conditions. Zaps will only proceed past the filter if the data they’re processing meets your specified condition. 

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Create branching paths

You can build branching logic into your Zaps using Paths. Different data can trigger different sequences of actions, like routing high-value leads to your sales team and informational requests to your support team.

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Incorporate AI

Use ChatGPT, Claude or other AI tools to generate content, analyze data, or make decisions within your automations.

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You can check out our tutorial here to learn more about automating ChatGPT/OpenAI with Zapier. 

Use formatter steps to transform data

With formatter steps, you can easily transform data between steps – fix dates, extract information from text, perform calculations, and more.

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Start your automation journey today

With no-code automation tools like Zapier, manual busywork becomes a thing of the past. Every hour you invest in setting up automations now will save you dozens or hundreds of hours in the future.

Begin with a simple automation for one repetitive task you handle regularly. Once you see how easy and powerful it is, you'll quickly find dozens of other processes to improve.

And if you need help with your Zapier automations, just reach out to LowCodeEngineers for quick support from vetted low-code experts.