E-commerce Platform

A full-stack e-commerce solution with modern UI, payment integration, and robust backend architecture.

Vue.js
Node.js
MongoDB
Tailwind CSS
Stripe
Docker
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Project Overview

Building a modern e-commerce platform from scratch presents unique challenges: handling real-time inventory, secure payment processing, and creating an intuitive user experience. This case study details my approach to creating a full-stack e-commerce solution that scales with business growth.

The Challenge

My client, a growing retail business, needed to transition from a basic online store to a comprehensive e-commerce platform that could handle:

  • Complex product catalogs with variants, inventory tracking, and dynamic pricing
  • Secure payment processing with multiple payment methods
  • Order management with real-time status updates
  • Admin dashboard for inventory and sales management
  • Mobile-responsive design for optimal user experience across devices

Technical Architecture

Frontend (Vue.js + Nuxt.js)

  • Vue 3 Composition API for component logic
  • Nuxt.js for server-side rendering and SEO optimization
  • Pinia for state management
  • Tailwind CSS for responsive design
  • Headless UI for accessible component primitives

Backend (Node.js + Express)

  • Express.js RESTful API architecture
  • MongoDB with Mongoose for data modeling
  • JWT authentication and authorization
  • Stripe API for payment processing
  • Cloudinary for image management
  • Redis for caching and sessions

Infrastructure

  • Docker containerization for consistent deployment
  • AWS EC2 for hosting
  • AWS S3 for file storage
  • CloudFront CDN for global content delivery
  • GitHub Actions for CI/CD pipeline

Key Features Implemented

1. Product Catalog System

// Product model with variants support
const productSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
  name: { type: String, required: true },
  description: String,
  category: { type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: "Category" },
  variants: [
    {
      sku: String,
      price: Number,
      inventory: Number,
      attributes: Map, // size, color, etc.
    },
  ],
  images: [String],
  status: { type: String, enum: ["active", "draft", "archived"] },
});

2. Shopping Cart with Persistence

<template>
  <div class="cart-summary">
    <h3>Cart Summary</h3>
    <div v-for="item in cartItems" :key="item.id" class="cart-item">
      <img :src="item.image" :alt="item.name" />
      <div class="item-details">
        <h4>{{ item.name }}</h4>
        <p>{{ formatPrice(item.price) }}</p>
        <QuantitySelector
          :quantity="item.quantity"
          @update="updateQuantity(item.id, $event)"
        />
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="cart-total">Total: {{ formatPrice(cartTotal) }}</div>
  </div>
</template>

<script setup>
import { useCartStore } from "@/stores/cart";

const cartStore = useCartStore();
const { cartItems, cartTotal } = storeToRefs(cartStore);
const { updateQuantity } = cartStore;
</script>

3. Secure Checkout Process

// Stripe payment integration
app.post("/api/checkout", authenticateToken, async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const { items, shipping } = req.body;

    // Calculate total and validate inventory
    const lineItems = await validateAndPrepareItems(items);

    // Create Stripe checkout session
    const session = await stripe.checkout.sessions.create({
      payment_method_types: ["card"],
      line_items: lineItems,
      mode: "payment",
      success_url: `${process.env.CLIENT_URL}/success?session_id={CHECKOUT_SESSION_ID}`,
      cancel_url: `${process.env.CLIENT_URL}/cart`,
      metadata: {
        userId: req.user.id,
        orderId: generateOrderId(),
      },
    });

    res.json({ sessionId: session.id });
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(400).json({ error: error.message });
  }
});

4. Admin Dashboard

<template>
  <div class="admin-dashboard">
    <DashboardHeader />

    <div class="dashboard-grid">
      <StatsCard
        title="Total Sales"
        :value="stats.totalSales"
        :trend="stats.salesTrend"
      />
      <StatsCard
        title="Orders Today"
        :value="stats.ordersToday"
        :trend="stats.ordersTrend"
      />
      <StatsCard title="Active Products" :value="stats.activeProducts" />
      <StatsCard title="Low Stock Items" :value="stats.lowStockItems" warning />
    </div>

    <div class="dashboard-charts">
      <SalesChart :data="salesData" />
      <OrdersChart :data="ordersData" />
    </div>

    <RecentOrders />
  </div>
</template>

Performance Optimizations

1. Image Optimization

  • Lazy loading for product images
  • WebP format with fallbacks
  • Responsive images with different sizes
  • CDN delivery for global performance

2. Database Optimization

  • Indexed queries for fast product searches
  • Aggregation pipelines for analytics
  • Connection pooling for efficient database usage
  • Read replicas for scaling read operations

3. Caching Strategy

// Redis caching for product data
const getProduct = async (productId) => {
  const cached = await redis.get(`product:${productId}`);

  if (cached) {
    return JSON.parse(cached);
  }

  const product = await Product.findById(productId);
  await redis.setex(`product:${productId}`, 3600, JSON.stringify(product));

  return product;
};

Security Measures

1. Authentication & Authorization

  • JWT tokens with refresh token rotation
  • Role-based access control (RBAC)
  • Rate limiting on API endpoints
  • Input validation and sanitization

2. Payment Security

  • PCI DSS compliance through Stripe
  • Webhook signature verification
  • Encrypted sensitive data at rest
  • HTTPS everywhere with HSTS headers

3. Data Protection

// Sensitive data encryption
const crypto = require("crypto");

const encryptSensitiveData = (data) => {
  const cipher = crypto.createCipher("aes-256-cbc", process.env.ENCRYPTION_KEY);
  let encrypted = cipher.update(data, "utf8", "hex");
  encrypted += cipher.final("hex");
  return encrypted;
};

Results & Impact

Performance Metrics

  • Page load time: Reduced from 4.2s to 1.8s
  • Core Web Vitals: All metrics in “Good” range
  • Conversion rate: Increased by 35%
  • Mobile performance: 95/100 Lighthouse score

Business Impact

  • Revenue growth: 150% increase in online sales
  • Order processing: 90% faster order fulfillment
  • Customer satisfaction: 4.8/5 average rating
  • Inventory accuracy: 99.2% accuracy rate

Technical Achievements

  • Scalability: Handles 1000+ concurrent users
  • Uptime: 99.9% availability
  • Security: Zero security incidents in production
  • Maintenance: 60% reduction in support tickets

Lessons Learned

1. User Experience is King

Investing in UX research and testing paid dividends. Simple changes like one-click checkout and guest purchasing significantly improved conversion rates.

2. Performance Matters

Every 100ms of latency cost approximately 1% in conversion. Implementing proper caching and CDN usage was crucial for success.

3. Security Cannot Be an Afterthought

Building security into the foundation saved countless hours of remediation later. Regular security audits and penetration testing are essential.

4. Monitoring and Analytics

Implementing comprehensive monitoring from day one helped identify and resolve issues before they impacted users.

Future Enhancements

Phase 2 Features

  • AI-powered product recommendations
  • Advanced search with filters
  • Multi-vendor marketplace capabilities
  • Progressive Web App (PWA) features

Technical Improvements

  • Microservices architecture for better scalability
  • GraphQL API for more efficient data fetching
  • Kubernetes deployment for container orchestration
  • Machine learning for inventory prediction

Conclusion

Building a comprehensive e-commerce platform requires balancing multiple concerns: user experience, performance, security, and scalability. This project demonstrated the importance of:

  1. Choosing the right technology stack for long-term maintainability
  2. Implementing proper testing throughout the development process
  3. Focusing on performance from the beginning
  4. Building with security as a core requirement
  5. Planning for scale even in early stages

The platform now serves as a foundation for the client’s growing business, with the flexibility to adapt and expand as requirements evolve.

Technology Stack Summary

Frontend: Vue.js 3, Nuxt.js, Pinia, Tailwind CSS
Backend: Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB, Redis
Payments: Stripe API
Infrastructure: Docker, AWS EC2, S3, CloudFront
DevOps: GitHub Actions, Docker
Monitoring: DataDog, Sentry

Interested in seeing the code or learning more about specific implementation details? Feel free to reach out or check out the project on GitHub!