Exclusive Online Books a E-commerse Site
Overview:To create a user-friendly, safe, and responsive E-commerse website for Exclusive Online Books a well known library to be known for holding the secrets of the Universe.
Role: UX/UI Developer, UX Researcher
Toolkit:Figma, Visual Studio Code
Test Project Prototype
1. UX Research
1. Overview
- Project Scope
Exclusive Online BooksThe project entails creating a responsive, fully operational e-commerce platform for South African bookstore Exclusive Books. This platform will function as an online bookshop, making it simple for users to peruse and buy books. Important elements on the website will be order tracking, secure payment methods, shopping cart functionality, user registration, and book catalogue administration. The platform will provide a consistent user experience across devices and be consistent with Exclusive Books' brand identity. Database design, system testing, and documentation for scalability and future maintenance are also included in the scope.
Desired outcomes and milestones
Create the platform for the online bookshop:
Build Exclusive Books a user-friendly, safe online store.
Create a database structure:
that conforms to the third normal form and is scalable to ensure optimal performance, efficiency, and integrity.
Put essential e-commerce features into practice:
Provide functions including order processing, secure payment processing, shopping cart management, user registration, and book catalogue management.
Responsiveness and Accessibility:
Make sure the website is responsive to mobile devices. It should function properly on PCs, tablets, and smartphones.
Customization & Interaction:
To improve consumer involvement, incorporate review systems and personalized recommendations.
Extensive testing and documentation:
Make sure the platform works as intended by conducting extensive testing. Also, offer thorough documentation for upcoming updates and maintenance.
Functional requirements
Book catalog featuring thorough descriptions, classifications, and search options. recommendations that are specific to you based on your browsing and purchasing history. Book reviews and ratings from customers. admin panel for controlling website content, client orders, and inventory.
Functional requirements
elevated security requirements for managing user information and virtual transactions. Smooth functioning and quick load speeds, even with peak traffic. Scalability to support both potential growth and an expanding clientele
4. Project Timeline with Milestones:
5. Tools and Technologies:
2. UI/UX Design
UX Design
Wireframes
I went with a clean flexible layout with a Dark and Yellow color scheme.
Each Wireframe is designed to mimic the design of the actual website.
Navigation Bar is designed to be on the left side of the page instead of the top of the page.
UI Design
UI Components
Custom created components which includes, icons, images, tables and layouts.
Timeframes and Technologies are extracted from the UX research
Images was downloaded from Wallpaper Flare
3. Usability Testing
Prototype
This is a prototype I made for Exclusive Online Books. This prototype will showcase what the website will look like. Its not just a normal e-commerse site it is also a content management system.
Exclusive Online Books a well known library asked me as a developer to create a basic Content Management System for a ECommerse site. They want to increase sales by selling and renting books online, and they need a website to sell their books and to spread their online presence to increase their profits.
Outcome
Overall the Testing and Prototyping was a huge success. Everyone loved it. It has some minor issues but easy to fix.
4. Test Project Prototypes
User and Admin Prototype
5. Key Takeaways
Challenges Met
Database Optimization & Normalization
Ensuring the database follows Third Normal Form (3NF) while maintaining efficiency can be complex, especially with relationships between books, customers, and orders.
User Authentication & Security
Implementing secure authentication, password hashing, and user role management (admin vs. customer) without security vulnerabilities like SQL injection or session hijacking.
Payment Integration
Connecting a secure payment gateway (e.g., PayPal, Stripe) and handling transactions smoothly while ensuring data privacy and compliance.
Performance & Scalability
Handling high traffic and optimizing database queries to prevent slow load times. Implementing caching mechanisms and indexing strategies to improve website performance.
Things I've learned
Advanced PHP & MySQL Development
Writing optimized SQL queries, stored procedures, and database transactions. Managing user sessions, authentication, and admin functionalities securely.
Front-End Technologies & UI Design
Implementing modern CSS frameworks (Bootstrap, Tailwind) to enhance the website’s design. Learning JavaScript/jQuery for interactive elements like AJAX-based cart updates.
Security Best Practices
Implementing prepared statements to prevent SQL injection. Understanding cross-site scripting (XSS) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF) protection.
Performance Optimization
Learning how to use caching, database indexing, and efficient queries to speed up the website. Understanding CDN (Content Delivery Network) integration for faster asset loading.