Development of a Stable, Cost-Optimized Mobile and Web Application for a Large Online Bartering Community

The client manages Canada’s largest online bartering community, facing challenges related to high operational costs, system instability, outdated codebase, and difficulty in implementing new features and optimizations. There is a need for a long-term digital partner to overhaul the platform, reduce technical debt, improve performance, and support new monetization and SEO strategies.

A large-scale online community platform facilitating item and service exchanges through a mobile and web app, serving hundreds of thousands of users and requiring scalable, reliable infrastructure.

• Reduce monthly operational infrastructure costs by approximately 70%, aiming to cut costs from $20K to $6K per month.
• Condense and streamline the codebase by approximately 70%, improving maintainability and scalability.
• Enhance platform stability and performance to support seamless experiences across web, Android, and iOS devices.
• Implement new features including monetization options (ad integration), advanced search and filtering, real-time chat, robust user profiles, geolocation services, and trade management tools.
• Optimize database architecture, improve search engine visibility through SEO enhancements, and facilitate organic growth.
• Transition infrastructure from less efficient systems to scalable, containerized environments utilizing Kubernetes and cloud services.
• Introduce test-driven development practices to increase system reliability and reduce bugs.

• User profiles with activity feeds, likes, comments, and rankings
• Secure wallet and internal currency management system
• Item and service trading workflows with lifecycle management
• Location services integration using maps, geocoding, and real-time geolocation features
• In-app chat for seamless communication between users
• Ad placement and display systems for monetization trials
• Search and filtering functionalities to enhance item discovery
• Referral bonus mechanisms and reputation/ranking systems
• Trade management tools with lifecycle oversight
• Visibility and ranking optimization through SEO best practices
• Support for multiple device platforms with performance optimization

• Google Maps & Places API for location services
• Geocoding API for address resolution and cost optimization
• Social authentication APIs for user login
• Messaging API for in-app chat
• Google Ads and AdMob for monetization experimentation
• Analytics and performance monitoring tools
• Referral system APIs

• Scalability to support hundreds of thousands of active users
• Reliable uptime with high availability
• Performance targets ensuring fast load times and responsive interactions
• Security standards including data encryption and secure authentication
• Cost-effective infrastructure management reducing operational costs by 70%
• Maintainability and extensibility through modular and test-driven development
• Observability with comprehensive logging, monitoring, and error tracking

The project aims to significantly improve operational efficiency by reducing infrastructure costs by approximately 70%, enhance system stability and user experience across all devices, support organic growth through SEO optimization, and enable flexible monetization strategies. These improvements are expected to lead to increased user retention, higher engagement levels, and a scalable foundation for future feature expansions and community growth.