Background
The US-based client approached us to build a custom WordPress plugin for their business directory website, specifically targeting moving companies. The plugin needed to generate tens of thousands of pages programmatically for business listings. We had to provide functionality for entering information such as business name, services, city, state, and country for each business, either through a data entry form or via a CSV file upload. The plugin was required to create pages programmatically for each city, city+service, state, and state+service, listing all the businesses providing those services in the respective cities and states. Due to the large number of listing pages and businesses, the client requested a caching mechanism for the listing pages to minimize database calls and enhance site loading speed. Additionally, the client wanted to add e-commerce functionality, allowing business owners to purchase sponsorships and have their businesses listed at the top of the page.
Solution
We built a custom WordPress plugin adhering to WordPress standards. The plugin added a data entry form on each business page on WP-Admin, enabling the client to enter business details directly. Additionally, we developed a CSV upload tool, allowing the client to add details for multiple businesses at once. Upon entering business details, the plugin automatically creates the business listing pages programmatically.
To address the caching requirement for these listing pages and avoid overloading the main website server, we implemented Google Cloud Functions for cache generation. To further reduce the load on the main database server, we created a read replica of the main database and configured the cloud functions to perform read operations from this replica. Given the vast number of pages requiring data caching, we configured concurrency and auto-scaling for the Google Cloud Functions to expedite the process. The generated data cache for each page was then sent back to the website using the WordPress API.
We also integrated WooCommerce and Stripe, enabling users to purchase sponsorship listings and have their businesses featured at the top of the page.
Services Provided
Tech Stack
- Bitbucket
- Google Cloud Functions
- Google Compute Engine
- Jenkins
- MySQL
- Node JS
- Stripe
- WooCommerce
- WordPress