Case Study
Building a Scalable Web Portal for Online Course Enrollment
Problem Statement
An edtech startup offering skill-based online courses was growing quickly. However, its existing enrollment system couldn’t keep up. During new course launches, the site crashed often, and the user experience suffered. In addition, the system lacked payment gateway integration and automated communication. The company needed a modern, scalable full-stack solution that could deliver smooth enrollments, handle high traffic, and support future growth.
Challenge
The team faced several challenges during development:
Performance Issues: The outdated system was slow, especially when many users tried to enroll at once.
Manual Enrollment: Most of the enrollment process was manual, which led to delays and errors.
Limited Payment Options: The platform did not support multiple currencies or modern payment gateways.
No Personalization: Students couldn’t track their progress, access all their resources, or download certificates easily.
Scalability Concerns: As the number of users grew, the system couldn’t scale to meet demand.
Solution Provided
To solve these issues, the team built a full-stack portal using the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js). This modern approach helped create a fast, secure, and flexible platform.
User Interface (UI): A React-based responsive front-end offered smooth navigation on all devices.
REST API Integration: The backend, built with Node.js and Express, connected the front end to the database securely.
Smart Database: MongoDB was optimized with indexing and sharding for fast data access.
Payments: Stripe and Razorpay were integrated to handle global and domestic transactions securely.
Admin Panel: A backend dashboard allowed admins to create courses, track users, and issue certificates.
Development Steps
Requirement Analysis
Worked with the client to define user journeys, enrollment workflows, and access control needs.
Design & Architecture
Set up microservices-based architecture with React frontend, Node.js backend, and MongoDB database.
Frontend Development
Developed modular UI components in React using Tailwind CSS and integrated Axios for API communication.
Backend Development
Built scalable APIs using Express and JWT-based authentication for secure access control.
Deployment
The portal was deployed on AWS using Docker containers and CI/CD pipelines for continuous integration and delivery.
Monitoring
Implemented monitoring via Prometheus and Grafana for real-time system health insights.
Results
Reduced Load Times
Page load speed improved by 60%, enhancing user experience even during high traffic.
High Uptime
The new system maintained 99.9% uptime even during enrollment peaks.
Increased Enrollment Efficiency
Automated enrollment reduced errors by 85% and saved admin time.
User Growth Supported:
The system handled a 3x increase in active users without any performance degradation.
Positive Feedback
User satisfaction scores rose, with students citing easier navigation and faster access to courses.