ABOUT PROJECT
In the face of market challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic, Xnomad, an online commercial property booking platform, embraced digital transformation to stay afloat. Initially relying on offline assets and manual processes, Xnomad evolved to digital operations, starting with a basic website for a modest audience. As demands grew, the need for a comprehensive marketplace became evident.
Partnering with the Roobykon team, Xnomad sought to enhance its website, aiming to offer unique search, rental, and booking capabilities for commercial real estate. The project, building upon the existing site, was a strategic move to overcome pandemic challenges and adapt to political and economic instabilities. This collaboration led to significant advancements in Xnomad’s business approach in the current market environment, highlighting Roobykon’s role in developing and sustaining the project through innovative solutions.
Key Challenges
Despite initial downturns, some recovery was observed in areas like London by late 2021. Xnomad aimed to connect landlords with small and medium-sized business tenants, but with a small development team, scaling the platform was a real challenge. To adapt, Xnomad, in collaboration with the Roobykon team, enhanced its website to present rental space as a flexible, feature-rich option amidst a market burdened by high fees and declining demand. This strategic shift aimed to attract tenants by offering a unique interface and diverse features, countering the trend towards building ownership and stabilizing their temporary retail space solution in a transforming real estate landscape.
During the challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic, Xnomad’s digital retail space platform encountered several obstacles that needed to be overcome. With the shift to remote work, demand for commercial rentals plummeted, impacting landlords and destabilizing the market.
TECHNOLOGY STACK
core API
Solution Highlights
Xnomad is built on Sharetribe, chosen for its comprehensive infrastructure, headless architecture for custom user experiences, cost-effectiveness, quick implementation, and a rich module ecosystem. Its front end utilizes Sharetribe Templates for Web with the React open-source library, ensuring a responsive and user-friendly interface.
The backend is powered by Express.js, a Node.js framework that offers efficiency and flexibility. Hosting is provided by Digital Ocean, known for its powerful API, strong data security, and excellent performance due to its microservice architecture. This combination of technologies ensures Xnomad is a scalable, robust, and efficient marketplace platform for entrepreneurs in the competitive digital industry.
THE PROCESS
01
Active study of the current site: The first step involved a thorough examination of Xnomad’s existing website. This analysis was critical to understanding the site’s current functionalities, user interface, strengths, weaknesses, and areas that required significant improvement or complete overhaul.
02
Development of a new concept: Armed with insights from the initial study, Roobykon’s team moved on to conceptualize a new direction for the website. This stage was about ideating and envisioning how the updated site would look and function, aligning it with the evolving needs of Xnomad’s target audience and the changing real estate market.
03
Setting main objectives: Clear objectives were established for the innovative retail marketplace platform’s update. This involved defining key goals such as improving user experience, enhancing functionality, expanding the range of features, and ensuring the site’s adaptability to fluctuating market demands.
04
Design of page layouts: The design phase involved creating the visual and structural layout of the website’s pages. This step was vital in shaping the user journey, ensuring ease of navigation, and making the site aesthetically pleasing while functional.
05
Backlog scoping based on selected solutions: With the design and objectives in place, our team moved on to backlog scoping. This involved prioritizing the features and updates that were to be implemented, based on their importance and impact on the site’s overall performance and user experience.
06
Development and integration: This step involved the technical construction and coding of the website, integrating all planned features and functionalities.
07
Testing and iteration: Rigorous quality assurance testing was conducted to identify and rectify any issues. Feedback from stakeholders and test users was used for iterative improvements to enhance user experience and functionality.
08
Launch and post-launch management: The final preparation for the business-to-business retail marketplace launch included performance optimization, security checks, and setting up analytics. After launch, ongoing support, maintenance, and marketing efforts are essential to attract users and ensure the site’s continuous improvement and relevance in the market.
Main Features
Dual user model for equality in business interaction
- Dual user types: Users are categorized into landlords and brand owners.
- Role flexibility: Users can switch roles, acting as service providers or demanders.
Multilingual platform for wider audience reach
- Languages supported: English, Swedish, Danish, French, and German.
- Geographic coverage: Targets users in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and European countries.
- Competitive edge: Surpasses competitors with monolingual platforms.
Advanced specialized search functionality
- Customizable filters: Options include location and space type.
- Interactive map feature: Enables precise location selection.
- Additional filters: space size, price range, amenities, keywords.
Personalized advertisement features
- Landlord customization: Ability to set preferred rental durations.
- Tenant search optimization: Filter application to find suitable offers.
- Dynamic pricing: Varied cost calculation based on daily, weekly, and monthly plans.
- Additional service options: For instance, furniture inclusion.
Enhanced security in the rental process
- Three-stage verification: For brand representatives to establish reliability.
- Social media integration: Required in tenant applications.
- Detailed listings: Complete with photos and space details.
Sophisticated payment system implementation
- Default payment gateway: Stripe, with customized enhancements.
- Features: Automated invoice creation, landlord profile updates, and flow transactions.
- Accelerated payment processing: Reduced to a three-day timeframe.
- Notification system: Regular email updates post-booking and transactions.
User-friendly communication tool
- Interactive chat system: For landlords and brands to accept or reject rental applications.
- Direct communication channel: Enables discussions between landlords and potential tenants.
RESULTS
The Xnomad marketplace exemplifies swift and effective software development, completed in just eight weeks. This project involved revamping the site’s functionality and design, focusing on connecting landlords with brands. The commercial real estate listing platform stands out in its market with unique features like advanced filters, efficient payment systems, and a user-friendly booking process, all underpinned by strong Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. This approach not only appeals to a socially-conscious audience but also enhances its search engine visibility.
As Xnomad continues to draw investors and partners, it maintains its social mission and showcases Roobykon’s ability to create impactful and sustainable online solutions.
Lessons from Xnomad
Reflecting on the journey of creating the Xnomad marketplace, we can say that it was a transformative experience for our team at Roobykon. The project taught us invaluable lessons that have reshaped our approach to software development and project management.
One of the most significant lessons was the importance of agility. Developing Xnomad in just eight weeks was a formidable challenge, requiring us to be incredibly flexible and adaptive. This experience reinforced the value of being open to change and the need for rapid decision-making in software development.
Incorporating ESG principles was a new and enlightening aspect for us. It taught us to think beyond mere functionality and aesthetics. We realized the importance of aligning our work with broader social and environmental values, which not only enriched our product but also attracted a more conscious user base.
In sum, the journey of creating Xnomad was as much about developing a flexible retail space platform as it was about growing and evolving as a team. The lessons we learned are now ingrained in Roobykon’s culture, guiding us in future projects and challenges.
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