Project Overview
This e-commerce platform was built to provide a complete shopping experience with modern UI, robust backend, and secure payment processing. The project demonstrates my ability to create full-stack applications with complex functionality and thoughtful user experience.
Key Features
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User authentication and profile management with JWT tokens
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Product catalog with filtering, sorting, and search functionality
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Shopping cart and wishlist management with local storage synchronization
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Secure checkout process with Stripe payment integration
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Admin dashboard for product management, order processing, and analytics
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Responsive design that works perfectly on all devices
Technical Implementation
The frontend was built with React, utilizing Redux for state management and React Router for navigation. The UI was designed with a combination of custom CSS and Material UI components to create a clean, modern interface.
For the backend, I created a RESTful API using Node.js and Express, with MongoDB as the database. The API handles user authentication, product management, order processing, and integrates with the Stripe API for payment processing.
To ensure security, the application implements JWT authentication, password hashing, and HTTPS. The codebase follows best practices for structure, readability, and maintainability.
Challenges and Solutions
Challenge: Cart Persistence Across Sessions
Users needed their cart items to persist across sessions, even when not logged in, and then merge with their account when they log in.
Solution:
Implemented local storage synchronization that stores cart items for non-logged-in users. When a user logs in, we merge the local cart with their account cart, prioritizing the most recent changes.
Challenge: Real-time Inventory Management
Multiple users shopping simultaneously could lead to inventory conflicts and overselling products.
Solution:
Implemented a reservation system that temporarily holds inventory during checkout, with a timeout mechanism that releases items if the checkout isn't completed within a certain timeframe.
Challenge: Performance with Large Product Catalog
The application needed to handle thousands of products without sacrificing performance.
Solution:
Implemented pagination, lazy loading, and database indexing to optimize query performance. Also added Redis caching for frequently accessed product data to reduce database load.
Results and Takeaways
The e-commerce platform successfully launched with positive user feedback, particularly regarding the intuitive UI and smooth checkout process. The project achieved its goals of providing a secure, feature-rich shopping experience.
Key metrics include:
- 99.9% uptime since launch
- Average page load time under 1.5 seconds
- Cart abandonment rate 15% lower than industry average
- Mobile conversion rate on par with desktop
This project significantly improved my skills in full-stack development, particularly in areas of state management, security implementation, and API design. I also gained valuable experience in designing for scale and performance optimization.
