Bygg.se

A web app for homeowners that helps find the right experts in construction and repair services

Web Development

Project description

Our team created a highly-functional product that allows users who are busy with repairs or are just planning to build a house or start renovations to find the most optimal contractor for their order. It allows them to fill in the request form, indicating their location and all requirements, receive quotes, choose the most appropriate one, and sign the agreement with BankID. The registration and log-in processes happen via email, Facebook, or Google accounts. Also, all customer’s actions are displayed in the admin panel, and admins have access to it.

Industry:	Construction
Platforms:	Web
Role:	Software developer
Tech Stack:	Node.js, Next.js, Vue.js, PostgreSQL, Docker, AWS EC2/S3/Cloudfront

Problem introduction

Our client provides intermediary services to customers who are engaged in repairing, renovating, or constructing houses and helps them find a reliable constructor. When they came to us, they had already had designs and a landing page with basic information about the company and its activity. However, most of the business operations were still offline. So, they wanted us to make it possible for the clients to go online and leave a request with the details on works they need and get a list of quotes from various contractors. Besides, there also had to be the functionality of signing the agreement by electronic signatures online by both parties and tracking the whole process from the personal account.

Main goals:

Provide a convenient and functional web application
Develop the sophisticated algorithm of selecting contractors based on the agreed criteria
Implement BankID integration
Process a large database of customer’s companies
Integrate Google and Facebook sign-in

Tech Challenges

In general, our team was well prepared for the project and had all the necessary skills and experience in developing similar solutions. However, we can outline several challenges. One arose due to the specifics of the administrative and territorial division of the customer’s country, Sweden, and its zip code system. If the company is located on the border of territorial units, then it itself has the right to choose which administrative unit it belongs to. Consequently, the company can be located in one place on the map but belong to a different city or municipality. One of our client’s demands was to introduce a regions search option without integrating a third-party app like GoogleMaps or Google Places. Thus, we had to manually implement the zip code database provided by the customer into the platform and organize the search logic. In addition, our client had a huge database of companies they were working with and those they were planning to cooperate with. It included more than 70,000 companies with detailed information about each. We had to transfer this external database to our system without breaking its current structure. We successfully completed this task, and the database included the following information about companies: a registration number, title, emails, phone numbers, websites, description, categories with which they work, a region, their team, insurance, and certificates.

Core Functionality:

Authentication with Google account or Facebook
Possibility to create a new project
Thorough search process of contractors
Adding quotes to a project
The option to confirm a quote and the list of all available ones
Document signing with BankID

Solution

We developed a modern functional working web platform simplifying the processes of searching, choosing, and signing an agreement with a potential contractor. It connects customers and vendors who are engaged in the construction area. It enables a person to leave a detailed request with the option to add photos or videos. In case of finding the appropriate performer, we implemented the BankID signing of an agreement in the quotes service.

The app follows the project from beginning to end and allows users to do the same and see all steps of the fulfillment. We embedded a massive database of companies allowing the admin always to find those who will meet clients’ demands. Besides, our team included a tool for leaving feedback by both customers and performers.