A comparison tool that moves with the market
iPhoned.nl compares iPhone subscriptions and devices for millions of visitors per month. Because new devices and offers arrive daily, the platform has to stay flexible without every developer becoming a server expert.
Client
- Industry
- E-commerce
- Location
- Netherlands
Team
BigSpark manages a network of substantial websites about mobile technology, with more than two million visitors per month. Product and price comparison tools form the backbone of the publishing business. Take [iPhoned.nl](https://www.iPhoned.nl/): a platform where you put iPhone subscriptions and devices side by side.
The situation
Daily market change under high traffic
New devices appear faster than you can keep up with, and providers throw fresh offers into the market almost daily. All those variables must show up in the comparison tools immediately, without the site becoming slow or unreliable.
At the same time the architecture must not get in the team's way. Multiple developers need to be able to continue development without deep knowledge of server configuration. Flexibility and maintainability are not extras here, but a precondition for a platform that scales on traffic and on team size.
We want iPhoned to stay flexible enough to move with every market day, with millions of visitors and multiple developers, without everyone having to be a server and release expert.
The question behind the question
Speed and flexibility as a product requirement
BigSpark needed a technical foundation that lets the team continue development independently, not only a Glossary · In briefCMSA CMS is software that lets users create, organize, edit and publish digital content, usually through an administration interface.Read more that pulls in masses of products. The comparison tool must return results within seconds; Glossary · In briefqueryA query is a targeted instruction to a system to retrieve, filter, combine or modify data.Read more that take minutes kill conversions.
Long load times can cause visitors to leave. We therefore accounted for the need to combine live data from multiple sources quickly when designing the comparison tool.
Approach
CMS, search engine, and architecture as foundation
We built a custom CMS that can handle large volumes of changing product information and can run on multiple servers. Glossary · In briefscalabilityScalability is the extent to which software, infrastructure or a process can handle more or less work without major rebuilding or unacceptable performance loss.Read more was built in from day one, not as an afterthought.
For comparison functionality we chose Elasticsearch. Visitors can filter and sort quickly across many categories, even when those change daily. A comparison that takes minutes to gather data loses users before they make a choice.
What we add
Scalable CMS Suitable for large numbers of products and continuous market changes, without content management becoming the bottleneck.
Fast search and comparison Elasticsearch makes filtering and sorting performant in a context where every second counts.
DevOps automation Less manual work in operations, faster releases, and a smoother transition from development to operations.
Technical deep dive
Microservices for agility
For the flexibility iPhoned needed, the software was split into separate Glossary · In briefmicroservicesMicroservices are small, independently deployable software services that each perform a defined function and together form an application.Read more. Changes in one component do not require overhauling the entire application architecture.
Glossary · In briefreleaseA release is an identifiable software version prepared to be made available to users. It brings together one or more checked changes.Read more and testing align with that. GitLab and Kubernetes enable fast tests and Glossary · In briefdeploymentA deployment is the process of installing and starting a chosen software version in a target environment so it can be tested or used there.Read more, without long cycles between idea and production.
DevOps that unburdens developers
A clearer architecture makes ongoing development easier, including for new team members. The benefit shows up in the smoother transition from development to operations.
With managed AWS services a developer does not need to be a server administrator to work safely with the Glossary · In briefdatabaseA database is a structured collection of data that software can store, retrieve and modify. A database management system controls access to that data.Read more. Automation reduces manual steps in deployment and with them the chance of errors. Developers can focus on product logic; infrastructure and scalability are secured in the surrounding environment.
Result
A platform that keeps running as it grows
BigSpark got a more robust platform with better Glossary · In briefuptimeUptime is the time during which software, a server or another service is available and usable, usually expressed as a percentage of an agreed measurement period.Read more, more flexibility for new features, and a technical foundation that better supports daily market change and growth in traffic.
iPhoned.nl can respond to new devices and offers without every change becoming a full infrastructure project. That keeps the site relevant, even under heavy visitor numbers.
Key takeaways
For a comparison platform in such a fast-changing market you need an architecture in which content, search, and releases can scale independently of each other.
With Elasticsearch and a flexible CMS you stay agile on daily market course changes without speed suffering.
The journey from idea to production gets shorter thanks to microservices, GitLab, and Kubernetes. Teams can keep developing while operations stay running.
DevOps automation is not an add-on after the fact here: without automation every developer would also have to be an infra expert.
OUR WORK
