I was fortunate to join this ambitious project that gave me loads of experience and new skills. As part of the team, I played a crucial role in the project's mid-development phase. My tasks were diverse and involved developing a chat module for seamless client communication, migrating the app to TailwindCSS for improved styling, ensuring a responsive design across various devices, and creating visually appealing landing pages and emails. Unfortunately, the founders of the app faced significant challenges related to funding and intense competition, ultimately leading to the closure of the project shortly after its release.
THE STACK:
Nuxt.js
LESS
TailwindCSS
WebSockets
Purpose & Goal
The goal of the project was to create a platform that would make professional translations easily accessible and cheaper for all people. The idea was to simplify the process, allowing users to effortlessly upload documents, photos, or text and receive high-quality translations within a short timeframe. To ensure the best quality, we had a team of skilled editors who meticulously reviewed each translation to guarantee its correctness. Additionally, the app included a convenient chat module that enabled clients to communicate directly with the translators, facilitating effective collaboration and addressing any specific requirements or details related to the translation process.
Lessons Learned
The biggest takeaway I gained from this experience is that the success of a project isn't solely dependent on its quality alone. It's essential to recognize that factors such as the market and competition play a significant role. Even if you have a brilliant idea and a top-notch product, it doesn't automatically guarantee success. It's crucial to develop a clear vision of how you will reach your target audience and differentiate yourself from competitors before diving into product development. Equally important is having a solid business plan and a well-defined funding strategy. Without these critical elements, it's easy to become overwhelmed by the sea of competitors and lose sight of your objectives.
Problems & Solutions
The biggest challenge I faced during this project was developing a chat module that would allow clients and translators to communicate. I implemented a WebSocket-based solution that enabled real-time communication between the two parties. One of the problems of WebSocket connections is that they can be terminated unexpectedly, so I had to implement automatic reconnection and 'ping-pong' mechanisms to ensure that the chat module would remain functional even if the connection was lost.
Another interesting part of the project was developing e-mails, wild adventure. I had never created e-mails before this project and I was surprised how much work it takes to make them look good and work properly. Not to tear my hair out in frustration, I stuck to a framework called Foundation for Emails 2 (formerly Ink) that really eased the process of creating responsive templates.
Another valuable lesson I gained from the project was my experience with Tailwind CSS and LESS. It was an opportunity for me to explore different styling approaches. However, I came to the realization that SCSS was far superior to LESS in terms of functionality and flexibility. Tailwind CSS, on the other hand, is a great tool for prototyping and creating quick mockups, but, to my mind, it's an arguable choice for large-scale projects.
A hotel website for a local business, built from the ground up leveraging power of Nuxt.js, SCSS, and Pug. The fully responsive design ensures a seamless experience across all devices, while advanced optimization techniques guarantee fast loading times. This project allowed me to gain even more valuable experience in frontend development, user experience design, and project management, while successfully bringing the client's vision to life.
A tabletop games companion app. As an avid player of Dungeons & Dragons, I joined the development of this project in my spare time. What once began as one person's endeavor has now grown into a collaborative effort with a team of passionate enthusiasts. Together, we are building a comprehensive companion for tabletop games, catering to a thriving community of players and visitors. It's a labor of love that combines my passion for D&D with my frontend expertise, and I'm excited to contribute to the growth and success of this project.
Formulas creator app. During my trip around Southeast Asia, I encountered the recurring challenge determining the most favorable money exchange options — whether it was cash, card, or cryptocurrency. Inspired by this need, I developed this app as a solution. It allows you to create and save personalized formulas, name variables and expressions, and conveniently reuse them whenever required. Moreover, you can easily share your formulas with others who might find them helpful. To enhance usability, I implemented PWA support, ensuring that you can access the app even offline.
