E-Commerce + Admin
Laliwala Baby Shop
Laliwala needed more than a pretty shop. Parents had to browse and pay with confidence, and the team needed a back office to run catalog and orders every day. I built both sides on one Node + MongoDB backend so the live store and admin panel always stay in sync.
Challenge
A public store without operations tools falls apart fast. Checkout had to be trustworthy, Payfast payments had to complete cleanly, and staff needed a simple way to add products and follow orders without touching the database.
Solution
I shipped a Next.js storefront with auth, cart, and Payfast checkout, then a React admin panel for products and orders. Both apps share the same API, so a product update in admin shows up in the shop immediately.
Storefront
Mobile-first catalog, cart, accounts, and checkout so first-time parents can buy without friction.
Admin panel
Dashboard for inventory, product edits, and order tracking so the team can run the store daily.
Process
01 Discovery
Mapped the full loop: browse, cart, pay, then how staff add stock and fulfill that order.
02 Shared backend
Designed one Node API and MongoDB model for products, users, and orders used by both apps.
03 Store + admin
Built the Next.js shop and React dashboard in parallel so catalog and orders never drift apart.
04 Launch
Tested payment paths, trained the team on the panel, and shipped laliwalaonline.com live.
Highlights
- Live storefront with catalog, cart, and accounts
- Payfast checkout for real payments
- Admin dashboard for products and inventory
- Order tracking from the same backend
- Shared API so shop and admin stay in sync
More shots
Product catalog
Checkout
Admin panel