How we revived a struggling idea into an on-demand service marketplace using CodeIgniter & React Native

The client wanted to build a handyman/on-demand service marketplace but faced some roadblocks with the previous developers. The solution was 30% developed when we took over the project.

The code quality, planning, and output weren’t as expected, and it took a lot of fine-tuning, revamping, and development work to turn the struggling idea into a launch-ready solution.

Today, the solution caters to many individuals and service providers in the UK, providing handyman services, on-demand solutions, and services.

The project was initiated by another development team. Operational hiccups and problems with development led the client to hand over the project to us. This created a peculiar problem. The client’s investment in the form of time and money needed to be preserved by ensuring the previous structure is utilized.

The lack of a standardized coding structure, docs, and general business logic made it hard for the team to work on the project initially.

Top it off with the requirement of managing multiple categories (of services), each with its unique requirements, making the app development process longer. The need for an escrow system between end-user and service provider (with automated commission deduction for the platform) meant some deep work needed to be put into the logic engine.

The client was looking to build an SEO-friendly website and a mobile app right from the start. So, thinking of a lean website structure was a priority, too.

We started by creating a dynamic data structure with dedicated workflows for three different user roles, namely, super admin (app owner), customers (end-users), and service providers. Each segment had its own login system and a dedicated onboarding flow for improved user experience.

Dedicated forms and app screens were designed, developed, and deployed for each one of the categories (and subcategories), to ensure service providers get all the information they need before addressing a user need.

A dynamic structure and form alignment were designed to provide for future changes to the workflow (addition or removal of specific categories).

A broadcast-like system was developed that any customer can use to share their requirement with multiple service providers in a few clicks. Service providers can see all the requests they receive and choose to respondstri based on their availability.

Service providers can set their own prices, manage availability (calendar) and services, and share their profile (a dedicated page on website/app) with anyone they want. Dedicated profiles with an SEO-friendly URL also allowed end-users to find providers near them.

App admin can use the dedicated dashboard to set commission rates for each service category/sub-category individually.

An escrow system was implemented using MangoPay, and an automated payment release feature was deployed to streamline the payment operations to providers. This also provided safety of funds for users, increasing confidence to book services on the platform.