Centralization of content and access required building a single, secure gateway, replacing reliance on multiple private social channels and ensuring seamless user onboarding.
The core difficulty was developing a system to accept, calculate, and rank competition submissions in real-time. This demanded efficient MongoDB aggregation and fast API response times from the Node.js server.
Integrating disparate member data including subscription tiers, historical engagement, and contact information—from various spreadsheets and external systems into a unified and flexible MongoDB schema.
Crucially, the platform required robust mechanisms (via JWT and backend checks) to ensure only valid, current subscribers could access premium features, content, and the competition portal.
Implementing a secure and reliable process for users to upload various content (text, media) while protecting the server. The workflow needed an efficient moderation queue implemented in the backend.
Ensuring the React frontend delivered a consistent, high-quality user experience across all devices (desktop and mobile browsers) despite the complexity of the integrated features (dashboards, forms, leaderboards).
The Gifts Module required complex backend logic to verify member eligibility (e.g., must be subscribed for X months OR must have placed in the top Y of a competition) before allowing redemption.
Given the potential for rapid community expansion, the platform needed to be inherently scalable. The Node.js architecture had to be optimized for handling a growing number of concurrent users and database queries without performance degradation.
