CompletedMongoDBExpress.jsReact+6 more
TrendWave
A scalable MERN e-commerce platform with user authentication, PayPal payments, media uploads, and role-based dashboards for Admin, Vendor, and User.
Timeline
3 Months
Role
Full Stack Developer
Team
Solo
Status
CompletedTechnology Stack
MongoDB
Express.js
React
Node.js
Tailwind CSS
PayPal
Cloudinary
JWT
Redis
Key Challenges
- Role-based access control
- Reliable payment flows
- Efficient media handling
- Scaling reads/writes
Key Learnings
- Secure JWT auth & RBAC
- PayPal subscription & order flows
- Cloudinary image/video pipeline
- Caching with Redis for performance
Overview
TrendWave is a scalable MERN e-commerce application built for modern marketplaces.
It supports secure user authentication, vendor product management, PayPal checkout, media uploads (images & video), and role-based dashboards for Admins, Vendors, and Customers.
The aim was to build a production-ready marketplace that handles media-rich product catalogs, robust payment flows, and clear operational dashboards.
Key Features
Authentication & Authorization
- Email/password + social OAuth sign-in
- JWT-based authentication with refresh tokens
- Role-Based Access Control (Admin, Vendor, User)
Product & Media Management
- Vendor dashboard to create/edit products with images & videos
- Direct uploads to Cloudinary (or S3) with server-side validation
- Automatic image transformations and CDN delivery
Checkout & Payments
- PayPal REST/Checkout integration for one-time payments and subscriptions
- Webhooks for order confirmation, refunds, and subscription events
- Secure server-side order creation and capture
Dashboards
- Admin: user management, analytics, order oversight, dispute handling
- Vendor: product stats, order list, payout history, inventory controls
- User: order history, saved items, profile & payment methods
Performance & Scalability
- MongoDB schema design with indexes for fast product search
- Redis caching for hot product lists and sessions
- Background workers for media processing and email/webhook retries
API Endpoints
Auth
POST /api/auth/register
POST /api/auth/login
POST /api/auth/refresh-token
POST /api/auth/logout
### **Users**
```ts
GET /api/users/:id
PATCH /api/users/:id
GET /api/users/me
### **Products**
```ts
GET /api/products
GET /api/products/:id
POST /api/products
PATCH /api/products/:id
DELETE /api/products/:id
POST /api/products/:id/media /
### **Orders**
```ts
POST /api/orders/create // create order server-side
POST /api/paypal/create // create PayPal order
POST /api/paypal/capture // capture/confirm payment
POST /api/paypal/webhook // webhook handler
GET /api/orders/:id
## Challenges
### Role-based access control
- Designing middleware to enforce RBAC across routes
- Securing vendor-only actions and admin-level overrides
### Reliable payment flows
- Handling PayPal order creation, capture, and edge cases (pending, failed)
- Verifying webhooks and reconciling orders with DB state
### Efficient media handling
- Secure direct uploads with signed URLs
- Processing thumbnails, video transcoding, and managing storage costs
### Scaling reads/writes
- Hot product lists and search performance under load
- Using Redis and pagination to reduce database pressure
## Learnings
- Implemented secure JWT + refresh token flows and robust RBAC middleware
- Built reliable PayPal workflows with proper webhook verification/handling
- Designed media pipelines with Cloudinary for transformations and CDN delivery
- Applied Redis caching and background workers to boost performance
- Structured schemas and indexes for fast product search and analytics