Christmas project part 1
For the first time, I have actually built out a functional web app. Actually, scratch that. I have coded two (basic) web apps. Wow.
I have dabbled in basic C++ in college and HTML/CSS when everyone was crazy into creating blogskins (it still exists but I can’t recall what my blogskin submissions were) ages ago but never really went beyond that.
This year though, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to develop an application for use with my friends. I had attended several Ruby on Rails (RoR) workshops hosted by Techladies (which you should check out), and I decided to create an auction-style web app.
What it is: It is a bid-based auction to collectively raise funds for a cause. Listers are to list items and services that relate to their own abilities. Examples include “Indonesian cooking lesson,” “personal uber driver,” and “flower delivery.” Others can bid on these items which will go to the highest bidder. But this platform isn’t just about raising money. It is also about affirming that we each have unique talents which we can use to bless others with.
Who it is used by: Currently, this app is being used exclusively by my church friends as a project which will end on Christmas day.
What the money will be used for: 100% of the funds raised from this platform will be donated towards an agreed cause.
This article will be part of a series to document the journey of this project, not only in terms of app enhancements and fixes, but also reflections and sharings as we reach the end of this year.
Now onto the app!
Birthdate of this app is November 20, 2016 ❤
It’s hosted on herokuapp and it is very basic. A registered user can sign in and start listing items.
Below is how the homepage UI looks like (as per my local machine, live app’s homepage is not shown for privacy reasons) where it lists all items currently available for bidding. Users can only bid on items posted by others.
Fixes I have made:
- Set up email configuration so that users can reset their passwords
- Made instructions into a modal
Issues to work on:
- Improve instructions modal UI to be consistent. I will have to specify the deadline too..
- Improve the About page with clearer steps on how to use the app
- Beautify the homepage UI - it looks too basic and boring
I am so not assigning myself Jira tickets for this.. although Asana’s newest feature, Boards, sounds promising.
Credits: I couldn’t have done this without the help of a tutor. So thank you and to all those who have contributed feedback and advice.
