About Project

I took over the React part of this project from a "recent grad" who was leaving the job to travel. I had to work around a lot of structure and decisions that wouldn't have been there if I were on the project from the start.

I was, at least, able to convince the end client to use Craft CMS and it's GraphQL API. Craft drives content for both the marketing/info site and the React app.

The Craft CMS Site

I wanted to give the end client as much access to the content and layout as possible. I created a lot of Global fields for "static" content like links to the app stores and university logos in the footer.

The React App

The original developer suggested using a headless cms service like Directus. I'm sure these services have many benefits but the end client wasn't happy with the monthly fee. It's no secret Craft CMS is my top choice and with their GraphQL module it was a great choice for this project.

The code I inherited from the original develop was very static and the design used Onsen UI design elements. It was easy enough to keep working on new functionality but I don't know that I'd use this design module again.

The end client was concerned about user safety and privacy. The project uses Craft Pro version for multiple users but it's only used for content editing. End users need to create logins to access the app content but they don't provide email addresses. Therefore user info is stored as encrypted data in section entries. No, end users cannot get a "forgot my password" link sent to them. Everyone was ok with this approach.

Now that the React app is online someone else from my client company will be using Cordova to make this web app a downloadable mobile app.