Adding Features to Your Bolt.new App

Bolt creates great prototypes but usually lacks: user authentication, database persistence (often uses mock data), payment processing, email sending, file storage, and any background processing. The frontend is usually solid — the backend is where the gaps are

Database integration (Supabase, PlanetScale, or Prisma). User auth with email and social login. Stripe payments for one-time or recurring billing. Transactional emails. File uploads and storage. Real-time features. Admin panel for content management

Almost every SaaS app needs payment processing. Stripe is the standard — it handles credit cards, subscriptions, invoices, and payouts. The key pieces: a checkout flow for collecting payment, webhooks to update your database when payments succeed or fail, and a customer portal for managing subscriptions. Bolt.new might generate a basic checkout page, but the webhook handling and subscription lifecycle management usually need to be built by hand.

Your app needs user accounts with secure login. The easiest options: NextAuth (for Next.js), Supabase Auth, or Clerk. These handle email/password login, social login (Google, GitHub), password resets, and session management. Don't build auth from scratch — the security implications are too complex for a first implementation.

Transactional emails — welcome emails, password resets, order confirmations — require an email service provider. Resend is the simplest to set up, SendGrid is the most established, and Amazon SES is the cheapest at scale. You'll need email templates, a sending service, and proper DNS configuration (SPF, DKIM) so your emails don't land in spam.

If a feature requires deep technical expertise (payment compliance, data privacy, real-time systems), it's faster and safer to get professional help than to iterate with AI tools. Our team adds features like these to Bolt.new apps every week — we know the patterns and the pitfalls.