How to create a time-tracking web app

Tracking time efficiently is essential for freelancers, teams, and businesses looking to improve productivity. A time-tracking web app allows users to log their work hours, track ongoing projects, and generate reports –ideally from a simple and accessible interface.

Traditionally, building such an app would require coding knowledge, database setup, and UI design. However, with Hostinger Horizons, an AI-powered web app builder, you can create a fully functional custom time tracker without writing a single line of code.

In this guide, I’ll show you how I built a time-tracking web app using Hostinger Horizons, from planning and design to deployment and testing.

Time tracker web app planning and design

As a freelancer, keeping track of billable hours was always a hassle. Most third-party tools felt too complex or came with features I didn’t need.

I wanted something simple – just a way to log my time, organize tasks by project, and generate quick reports to see where my hours were going.

So, instead of settling for another bulky app, I built my own, following some best practices for web app design. Here’s what I knew my time tracker needed:

✅ Start/stop timers to track time spent on different tasks

✅ Manual time entries for users who forget to start the timer

✅ Project categories to organize tasks efficiently

✅ Basic reporting to review logged hours

✅ User authentication to keep entries private

Since I wanted a quick and easy way to develop my app, I decided to use Hostinger Horizons. Here’s why:

• No coding required. Just describe the app you want, and the AI will generate it.
• Instant updates. You can tweak features, improve UI, and fix bugs directly in the chat.
• One-click deployment. Once you’re happy with your app, you can publish it instantly.

Getting started is easy, too: Hostinger Horizons comes with a free plan (5 messages/day) for all hosting users, and paid plans start at RM86.99/month for more flexibility.

If you’re new, check out our guide on getting started with Hostinger Horizons to explore features and setup options.

How I created a time tracker web app with Hostinger Horizons

With my plan purchased, it was time to bring my time-tracking web app to life.

Using Hostinger Horizons, I could build and refine my app in real-time, making adjustments as needed – without writing a single line of code. Here’s how I did it.

Step 1: Setting up the project

To start, I went to hPanel → Websites → Websites List → Add Website → Hostinger Horizons. This opened the project’s start screen, where I described my app idea.

Prompt example:

Create a simple time-tracking web app where users can start and stop timers, manually log time entries, and generate reports. The app should have a login system and allow users to organize time logs by project.

The tool instantly generated a basic interface with start/stop buttons, and a time log for recent entries:

Step 2: Refining the app logic

The initial version worked, but I wanted to enhance its functionality and user experience before deploying it. I also wanted to make sure to avoid common mistakes first-time web app builders make.

Key improvements I made included:

✅ Added project categories. Users can now assign tasks to specific projects.

✅ Improved timer accuracy. Ensured that tracking continues even if the page is refreshed.

✅ Better UI design. Adjusted button placement and text fields for a cleaner look.

✅ Implemented user authentication. Enabled login functionality so each user could have their own time logs.
✅ Optimized reporting. Added a summary feature to track the total hours worked per day and week.

With these refinements, my app was now fully functional for tracking time, managing multiple users, and generating reports.

Prompt example:

Improve the UI by making the start/stop button larger and adding a dropdown to select project categories.

This is what the AI came up with:

Next, I wanted to add the user login functionality and enhance the reporting further.

I asked the tool to add login functionality, and in a few moments, it became possible for users to sign up for an account:

Hostinger Horizons is great at suggesting other things that I might find useful to add to my app next:

In my prompt, I told it to add all of these, so I could work on getting the reporting features up and running.

Now, my app was fully functional for tracking how much time was spent on different tasks. I could also invite other team members and create reports to get a better idea of how we were spending our time:

Step 3: Testing and debugging

Once my app was functional, I followed key web app testing steps to make sure everything worked properly.

I tested different scenarios, such as:

• Starting/stopping timers across multiple sessions.
• Manually logging time entries.
• Checking if time logs were saved correctly.

When I found a small bug in the manual entry logging, I asked the tool to fix it.

Troubleshooting prompt example:

Manual entry doesn't work,can you fix it?

The AI analyzed the problem and provided a fix instantly:

And after the AI had finished working, I was able to manually add entries in a pop-up:

Once, the preview stopped working, but the tool was clever enough to suggest how to fix it:

Time tracker web app deployment and testing

After refining my app, I deployed it with one click from the editing interface. It could now be accessed by others online:

To give my app a custom domain, I simply connected it to one – directly through Hostinger Horizons. You can also do this through hPanel → Websites List for full control.

If you want to try my tracker, feel free to create an account and take it for a spin.

Testing it in real-world scenarios helped me identify further improvements, and thanks to Hostinger Horizons’ instant updates, I could tweak features on the fly.

For example, after using the tracker for a few days, I realized I needed a summary report feature. Instead of starting from scratch, I simply asked:

Prompt example:

Add a daily and weekly summary of total tracked hours.

Within seconds, the AI updated my app with a dashboard showing total hours per day and week.

Conclusion

Building a time-tracking web app from scratch would normally take weeks of coding – but with Hostinger Horizons, I had a working version within minutes.

Now, I use this app daily to track my work, and I can easily update it anytime I need new features.

If you’re looking for a custom time-tracking solution, give Hostinger Horizons a try and build your own in minutes. It’s risk-free, too – if you’re not happy with the result, we offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.