Nature's Edge Wildlife and Reptile Rescue

Robust website solution to issues faced by the nonprofit.

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Inspiration

We wanted to solve the nonprofit's issues which mostly stem from reliance on paper trails in tracking donations, no forms for animal intakes and adoptions, and a lack of an animal directory. Looking at their website, we decided it needed a complete overhaul.

What it does

Our website facilitates access to animal intake & adoption request forms for users as well as an animal database which is searchable and editable through a admin dashboard accessible by staff through authentication.

How we built it

Redesigned their website in Figma (choosing fonts, color palette, and overall function/look). Used TypeScript, Tailwind, ViteJS + React, and MongoDB (for animal management). After many failed attempts at deploying the frontend and backend simultaneously on one platform, we used Railway for the backend and Vercel for the frontend.

Challenges we ran into

Too many to count... including but not limited to large merge conflicts that resulted from a lack of frequent commits, CORS errors coming out of nowhere, sleep deprivation, back pain, etc.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

A complete revamp of the NGO's current website (we also made it responsive), making it easier for non-admins to get in contact with the organization, donate, and adopt animals. Addition of an entire new feature: admin dashboard. This centralized dashboard provided admins all of their needs on one platform: a to-do list, a tile system that gave easy access to their external GiveButter and JotForm platforms that handled donations and forms, a way to add new admins (and eventually more roles if necessary), and most importantly, an animal management system that allowed searching, sorting, filtering, and editing of existing animals in the database.

What we learned

We learned that deployment should probably always be the first thing to do, not leaving it to the end, that way it is easier for everyone to work on the project. We learned that the front-end should be as light and as "simple" as possible, so our solution can be a solution not only to NEWRR, but to other NPOs alike. We learned that developing a strong backend that is well integrated with the frontend is essential to have a scalable SaaS.

What's next for Nature's Edge Wildlife and Reptile Rescue

Next steps include incorporating our solution into their non-profit! There are a few small front-end issues to fix (responsiveness, icons, font weight, + a few more tiny things). Ensure the backend is properly functioning. Improve the frontend for the animal management system and finalize the editing functionality on it. Perhaps add more roles in addition to admins, such as volunteers, that can access only parts of the admin dashboard.

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