Accessible Connections - D10

Project Goals

The primary objective was to develop a feature-rich platform that:

• Allows businesses to list their services in both premium and standard categories.
• Enables private messaging between business users and customers.
• Provides customized business statistics to enhance decision-making.
• Supports paid subscriptions through an integrated payment system.
• Ensures a secure and scalable solution by leveraging Drupal’s capabilities.
• Seamlessly integrates with the WordPress landing page, enabling a smooth transition for users to the Drupal business listing site.
• Allows users to add businesses to their favorites for easy access.
• Categorizes businesses effectively, supporting a wide range of service types.

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Challenges and Solutions

1. Two-Website Structure: WordPress Landing Page & Drupal Business Listing Platform

• Challenge: Ensuring that users transitioning from the WordPress landing page to the Drupal business listing site had a seamless experience.
• Solution: Implemented a sync mechanism that preserved search queries from WordPress, allowing users to log in and continue their journey on Drupal effortlessly.
   

2. Custom Business Import Module

• Challenge: Manually adding businesses and user information would be time-consuming and inefficient.
• Solution: Developed a custom module to bulk import businesses, automatically generating profiles and user details for seamless onboarding.
   

3. Private Messaging System Optimization

• Challenge: Standard messaging modules didn’t meet the platform’s requirements.
• Solution: Built a custom private messaging module, optimized specifically for the platform’s needs, ensuring efficient and secure communication.
   

4. Performance Optimization with Database Search Indexing

• Challenge: Ensuring fast and efficient searches across large volumes of business listings.
• Solution: Leveraged Drupal’s database search indexing mechanism, avoiding complex join queries and significantly improving search performance.
   

5. Subscription Management & Payment Gateway Integration

• Challenge: Implementing a seamless and secure payment model for premium listings.
• Solution: Used the Drupal Commerce Recurring module for subscriptions and integrated PayPal as the payment gateway, ensuring smooth transactions.
   

6. Business Categorization & Favorites Feature

• Challenge: Organizing businesses effectively while allowing users to keep track of their preferred ones.
• Solution: Implemented business categories and service types to make browsing easier. Added a favorites feature, enabling users to save businesses they are interested in.

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Technical Approach

• Custom Modules: Developed modules for bulk business imports, private messaging, and subscription management.
• Frontend & Backend: Designed using the Gin theme, offering a modern and user-friendly interface.
• Search Optimization: Implemented database search indexing to enhance search speed and efficiency.
• Third-Party Integrations: Integrated WordPress login synchronization for a seamless user experience.
• Business Categorization & Favorites: Introduced structured categories and service types, and enabled users to favorite businesses for easy access.

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Results & Future Enhancements

• The platform provides an easy-to-use experience for business owners and customers.
• Users can search and connect with businesses efficiently through private messaging.
• The subscription model allows businesses to upgrade to premium listings, unlocking greater visibility.
• The platform is scalable, allowing for future improvements and feature additions.
• Users can categorize businesses based on services and save their favorite businesses for quick reference.
• The WordPress landing page serves as an entry point, directing users seamlessly to the Drupal-based business listing platform.

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  Conclusion

  AccessibleConnections.com successfully leverages Drupal 10’s strengths to provide a scalable, high-performing, and secure business listing platform. With a focus on advanced search, private messaging, and subscription-based services, the platform stands as a testament to Drupal’s flexibility and efficiency.

  If you are looking for a similar scalable business listing platform, schedule a meeting with team LN Webworks to see how we can help! Click here to contact