Soundohm is a premier international online mailorder service specializing in electronic and avant-garde music, as well as sound art. With a large inventory of thousands of rare, collectible, and limited-edition titles, Soundohm caters to a niche audience of music collectors and enthusiasts who are looking for hard-to-find albums, reissues, and exclusive items from emerging and established artists. The platform allows customers to browse and purchase vinyl records, CDs, and limited editions, while also offering the ability to listen to sound clips before making a purchase.
The project goal was to create an intuitive and user-friendly e-commerce platform that could handle a large inventory, provide detailed information about each item, and integrate music previews. The platform needed to offer a seamless shopping experience while emphasizing the artistic and collectible nature of the products.
Soundohm’s challenge was to deliver a feature-rich platform that balanced technical performance with an immersive user experience. The website had to cater to a wide range of users, from casual music buyers to avid collectors. It also needed to provide a unique, engaging experience with the following key requirements:
Large Inventory Management: The website needed to handle thousands of products, including rare and limited-edition items, while ensuring that the inventory was easy to browse and search.
Rich Product Information: Each product needed to have detailed information, such as artist bios, album descriptions, tracklists, and links to related works, as well as sound clips so customers could preview the music before purchasing..
Sound Integration: A key feature was integrating sound previews that allowed customers to listen to clips from each album directly on the site without interrupting their browsing experience.
Search and Filter Options: With a vast catalog of products, users required intuitive search and filtering features to quickly find specific albums or artists within different genres, formats, and availability.
Mobile-Responsive Design: Given the varied audience, the website had to be fully responsive, offering a seamless experience on both desktop and mobile devices.
E-Commerce Functionality: The platform had to support secure and smooth online transactions, including payment gateway integration, cart management, and order tracking.
The solution was to build a modern, scalable e-commerce platform using React and Next.js for the front end, paired with a Node.js and Express backend to handle the product database, API integrations, and payment processing. Key features and functionalities included:
The product catalog was built to handle a large inventory of items, from highly collectible vinyl to rare, out-of-print albums. Using a MongoDB database, we structured the inventory in a way that was easily searchable and sortable by multiple criteria (e.g., artist, genre, format, release date).
Each product page provided detailed information, including tracklists, artist biographies, related releases, and the ability to easily link to other similar products.
Using the Web Audio API, we integrated sound clips for each product, enabling users to preview tracks directly on the product page. This feature allowed users to sample music before making a purchasing decision, an essential feature for a niche market where music selection plays a central role in the purchase.
Sound previews were seamlessly embedded in the website interface, offering a smooth experience even with the platform’s large catalog.
To help users navigate the expansive product catalog, we developed a sophisticated search and filtering system that allowed customers to filter results by genre, format (vinyl, CD), artist, availability, price range, and more
A robust search algorithm was implemented to ensure that results were relevant and quick, even with thousands of items in the database.
We built a recommendation engine that cross-referenced items in the database. For example, if a user was browsing an artist’s record, the platform would recommend related albums, similar artists, or earlier works by the same artist.
This helped users discover new artists and products, keeping them engaged and encouraging additional purchases.
The site included a secure, easy-to-use shopping cart system and integrated with Stripe for payment processing, allowing users to complete transactions securely.
The checkout process was streamlined to minimize friction, allowing users to easily complete their purchases and receive order updates.
Real-time stock tracking was also implemented to ensure that customers could see if an item was available or out of stock before attempting to make a purchase.
The website was designed using Tailwind CSS and SCSS to ensure a responsive, mobile-first design. The clean, minimalist interface allowed the products and music previews to take center stage, giving the website a modern and sophisticated feel.
The design was made to evoke the aesthetic of the avant-garde music scene while also maintaining a simple and intuitive interface that allowed users to focus on discovering and purchasing music.
The backend was built with Node.js and Express, using MongoDB as a NoSQL database to manage the large product catalog. This setup ensured that the platform was scalable and could handle increased traffic and product volume as the website continued to grow.
An API was built to handle product data, manage inventory, and integrate with external services (e.g., Stripe for payments, music previews for sound clips).
The platform was optimized for search engines, with clean URLs, meta tags, and product-specific pages that were indexed effectively to improve search visibility.
SEO best practices were followed to ensure that users could easily find specific albums, artists, and genres on the web.
The development process for Soundohm followed an agile methodology, with collaboration and feedback loops between the client, design, and development teams. Key stages included:
The first phase involved gathering requirements from Soundohm, understanding the specific needs of their niche audience, and defining the core features, such as sound previews, advanced search, and inventory management.
The UI/UX design phase focused on building a clean, artistic, and functional interface. The design team worked to create an intuitive layout that highlighted the products and music while ensuring the website was user-friendly and mobile-responsive
We implemented the frontend using React and Next.js, with a robust backend built on Node.js and Express. Sound previews were integrated using the Web Audio API, and inventory management was handled using MongoDB.
Extensive testing was conducted across browsers and devices to ensure the platform was responsive, performant, and bug-free. We also conducted load testing to ensure the platform could handle high volumes of users and music previews.
Soundohm was launched with full functionality, including sound previews, e-commerce capabilities, and a streamlined user interface. Regular maintenance and updates were planned to ensure the catalog remained up-to-date and that users had a seamless experience.
React, Next.js, Node.js, Express, MongoDB, Stripe API, Web Audio API, Tailwind CSS, SCSS
The launch of Soundohm resulted in several positive outcomes:
Enhanced User Engagement: The ability to preview music directly on the platform and access detailed information led to higher user engagement and longer browsing sessions.
Increased Conversion Rates: By providing a smooth, engaging shopping experience with easy access to rare and collectible music, conversion rates significantly increased. Customers were more confident in their purchase decisions due to the integration of sound previews and detailed product information.
Expanded Audience Reach: With SEO optimizations in place, Soundohm saw a rise in organic traffic, helping attract more visitors who were searching for rare and niche music.
Streamlined E-Commerce Workflow: The seamless checkout and payment integration allowed Soundohm to efficiently process transactions, making the purchasing process both simple and secure.
Soundohm successfully launched a unique online platform that caters to music enthusiasts looking for rare, collectible albums and sound art. By focusing on personalized user experience, sound integration, and seamless e-commerce functionality, the platform was able to provide a rich, engaging experience for its users. The project highlighted the importance of blending cutting-edge web technologies with artistic content to create a user-centric, enjoyable browsing and shopping experience.
