Tools let you add interactive web applications to your portal — calculators, dashboards, quizzes, assessment tools, and more — alongside your existing resources. Members access them directly from the portal, and the apps can optionally integrate with Orbit to identify users, check membership status, and save data.
How It Works
You provide a URL to any web application hosted online, and Orbit embeds it in your portal. Members see the app directly on the page, or can open it full-screen in a new tab. No coding is required on your part — you just paste the URL.
Tools support the same access control and pricing as other Orbit features: they can be free or paid, public or members-only, with optional member discounts.
What You Can Add
- Calculators — financial planners, ROI estimators, tax tools
- Dashboards — data visualizations, progress trackers, analytics
- Quizzes and assessments — with results saved per user
- Configurators — product selectors, plan comparison tools
- Custom apps — anything your members need, built with any web technology
Where Do Apps Come From?
Tools are web applications hosted anywhere on the internet. They can be built:
- With AI app builders — services like Lovable, Bolt, v0, Replit, or Claude Artifacts can generate a full web app from a description
- By a developer — using any web framework (React, Vue, Next.js, or plain HTML)
- By a third party — any hosted web app that your organization wants to offer to members
You don't need to be technical to use Tools. If you can describe what you want, an AI app builder can create it. If you have a developer (or a vendor building tools for you), they can read the developer documentation for deeper integration.
Adding a Tool
- Go to Tools in the admin portal
- Click Add Tool
- Paste the URL of the web application
- Orbit creates the tool with the app embedded on its page
Once added, you can customize the name, description, featured image, category, access level, and pricing — just like any other content in Orbit.
Access Control and Pricing
Tools use the same access and pricing system as resources, events, and courses:
- Public — anyone can discover and register to use the tool
- Members only — only users with an active membership can access it
Tools can be free (register for access) or paid (complete Stripe checkout). For paid tools, you can set a member price — a discounted rate for active members.
When a user registers for a tool, a confirmation email is sent automatically. Staff can view all registrations, add registrations manually, and export the list.
Deeper Integration with Orbit
A basic tool works out of the box — just paste a URL and it's embedded. But tools can go further by integrating with Orbit using the Orbit Connector SDK, a small JavaScript file that the app loads.
With the SDK, a tool can:
- Identify the user — know who's using the app (name, email)
- Check membership status — show different features for members vs. non-members, and check which plan they're on
- Save and load data per user — store settings, progress, results, or any data tied to each user (persists across sessions and devices)
- Send notifications to staff — alert admins when something happens (e.g., "Quiz completed — Score: 95%")
- Match the portal's branding — read theme colors to style the app consistently
This is designed to be simple for non-technical users: the developer (or AI app builder) handles the integration, and you just paste the app URL into Orbit.
Example: A Financial Calculator
A financial planning tool could work like this:
- Everyone sees the calculator and can run basic projections
- Members unlock detailed analysis, comparison tools, and the ability to save scenarios
- User data — each member's saved scenarios are stored automatically and available next time they visit
- Staff can see a summary of each member's usage from the admin portal
The app handles the membership check and data storage via the SDK. You just add it to your portal and manage access like any other feature.
For Developers
If you're building a tool (or working with someone who is), the full technical documentation covers the Orbit Connector SDK, authentication flows, API reference, and step-by-step integration guides:
- Tools Developer Guide — SDK setup, API reference, code examples, and tutorials for AI app builders