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The project in one minute
- Client
- A New Zealand men's health and wellbeing business
- Sector
- Digital health
- Starting point
- A static website builder site, manual communication and no back office
- Team
- 8 specialists
- Build time
- About 11 months from kickoff to launch
- Partnership
- Over two years of continued work after launch
- What we delivered
- Headline result
- 40% higher member engagement, 30% less admin work and pages that load 50% faster
Overview
A working idea held back by its technology
This business helps men look after their physical and mental health through tailored programs and a supportive community. The idea was working. The technology behind it was not keeping up.
Everything ran on a drag-and-drop website builder. That kind of tool is a sensible way to launch. It is quick, cheap and needs no developers. But it is built for pages, not for products. Once a business needs member accounts, personal plans, roles, automation and its own data, it starts working around the tool instead of with it.
The business needed more than a better website, so we became its one partner for the full rebuild. We designed the member experience, built the SaaS platform, launched a new marketing website, set up the SEO foundations and automated the way the business talks to its members.
Today the client runs on a fast, flexible platform that delivers personal member journeys, builds community and gives the team full control of their operations, with a website that is ready to be found in search.
The challenges
Six problems the website builder could not solve
Each problem on its own was manageable. Together they meant the business was spending its energy on its tools instead of its members.
A rigid, one-size-fits-all website
The website builder limited layout, behavior and design. Pages did not adapt well to different screens, and adding features meant working around the tool. Members got a clunky experience.
Why it mattered Every new idea was limited by what the builder allowed, not by what members needed.
Communication done by hand
Welcome messages, program reminders and renewal notices depended on manual effort. Members sometimes got late or inconsistent messages, and the team spent hours on repetitive work.
Why it mattered Messages that matter most for retention, such as renewals, relied on someone remembering to send them.
No back office
Without an admin dashboard, creating programs, scheduling events and managing members was slow and error-prone. Even small updates took longer than they should.
Why it mattered Staff time went into workarounds instead of members.
Logic that got harder to manage
Every new feature added more complexity behind the scenes. Without a clean structure, the platform became harder to maintain, and scaling it risked breaking things.
Why it mattered Growth itself became a risk. The more the business added, the more fragile it got.
A slow site with weak search visibility
Pages loaded slowly and the site had little SEO structure, such as page hierarchy, metadata and indexing setup. New members struggled to find the business, and visitors left early.
Why it mattered The site was losing people before they ever saw what the programs offered.
Personalization at scale
The business wanted every member to get a plan that fit their needs. The old setup could not support assessments, personalized programs, rewards, regional leaders and tiered memberships in one connected system.
Why it mattered The core promise of the business, a plan that fits you, could not be delivered by the tool it ran on.
Project goals
What the business needed from the rebuild
The goals came straight from the challenges. Each one has a clear link to what we built.
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Before
Website builder limits layout and features
Move off the website builder
A custom SaaS platform and a new marketing website with full control of layout and features
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Before
Messages sent by hand
Stop sending messages by hand
An event-driven email system that sends welcome, reminder and renewal messages automatically
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Before
No admin dashboard
Give the team a back office
A custom admin dashboard for programs, events, members and regional activity
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Before
Every feature adds fragile complexity
Build on a structure that can grow
A clean architecture designed to take on new features without slowing down
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Before
Slow pages and little SEO structure
Be fast and easy to find
Fast, mobile-friendly pages with SEO built in from the start
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Before
No way to personalize at scale
Personalize every member journey
An assessment and program engine, AI feedback, rewards, regional leaders and tiered memberships in one system
Timeline and team
About 11 months to launch, and still going
The build took about 11 months from kickoff to launch. Most of that time went into development, after a long discovery phase and a short, focused design sprint. The partnership has continued for over two years since.
- Discovery and planning2 months
- Design2 weeks
- Development8 months
- Testing and QA1 month
- Ongoing improvements2+ years and continuing
The project team
| Role | People |
|---|---|
| Backend developers | 2 |
| Frontend developers | 2 |
| UI/UX designer | 1 |
| Project manager | 1 |
| QA engineer | 1 |
| DevOps engineer | 1 |
| Total | 8 |
Why the team looked like this
- Two backend and two frontend developers let the platform and the member experience move forward at the same time.
- A dedicated designer owned the member journey from the first assessment to daily use.
- A project manager kept one plan across design, development, website and SEO.
- QA and DevOps were part of the team from the start, so testing and deployment were not left to the end.
How we delivered it
Eight steps from discovery to continuous improvement
Each step built on the one before. Here is what happened, what it produced and why it mattered.
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Discovery and planning 2 months
We spent two months with the founders and their team, mapping how members, admins and regional leaders actually use the business day-to-day. We reviewed the old website, the manual processes behind it and the goals for the next stage.
What it produced
A clear scope, a prioritized feature list and a plan for moving everything off the website builder.
Why it mattered
Three different user groups and many manual processes all had to fit into one system, so the scope needed to be clear before design started.
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Product design (UX/UI) 2 weeks
A two-week design sprint turned the plan into screens. Our designer mapped the full member journey, from the first assessment to daily dashboard use, so the experience felt personal from the first click.
What it produced
Simple flows for members, admins and regional leaders. A warm, encouraging visual style that suits a wellbeing community. Responsive layouts designed for phones first.
Why it mattered
Discovery had already answered the big questions, so design could move fast without guessing.
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SaaS development 8 months
Our engineers built the platform with Next.js and TypeScript on the front end, and Go with the Echo framework and MySQL on the back end. The architecture was designed to take on new features without slowing down.
What it produced
A personalized assessment and program engine. A member dashboard with progress, programs and AI-based feedback. A points and rewards system. Membership plans with a free trial. Regional chapter leader tools. Secure accounts and role-based access.
Why it mattered
This is the step that replaced the website builder. Every member feature now lives in one connected system.
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Website design and development
We designed and built a marketing website with one job. Turn visitors into members.
What it produced
A clear homepage that explains the offering in seconds. Dedicated pages for programs, membership and community. A simple, visible path to sign up. Fast, mobile-friendly pages built with clean code. A look and tone that match the product.
Why it mattered
The website and the product feel like one experience, so moving from reading to joining is smooth.
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SEO foundations
We built basic SEO into the website from the start instead of adding it later.
What it produced
Keyword research around men's health and wellbeing topics. Clean URL and page structure. Optimized titles and meta descriptions. Fast loading and mobile-friendly layouts. Proper indexing setup.
Why it mattered
Fixing structure after launch means changing URLs and redirects. Building it in from day one avoids that work.
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A control center for the team
We built a custom admin dashboard where staff can create programs, schedule events, manage members and oversee regional activity in one place.
What it produced
One place to run the business, instead of slow, error-prone manual updates.
Why it mattered
Together with email automation, it removed repetitive work from the team's day.
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Emails that run themselves
We set up a central, event-driven email system on Amazon SES. Welcome messages, program reminders and renewal notices now go out automatically when the right trigger happens.
What it produced
Consistent, on time messages without anyone having to remember to send them.
Why it mattered
Event-driven means an action in the platform, such as a new sign up, triggers the right email. Nothing waits for a person.
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Continuous improvement 2+ years
After launch we stayed on as the client’s technology partner. We continue to refine internal workflows and add features.
What it produced
A platform that stays easy to maintain and ready to grow.
Why it mattered
A product is never finished at launch. Staying on means the people who built it keep improving it.
Key decisions
The choices that shaped the platform, and why
| Decision | Why it made sense |
|---|---|
| Replace the website builder instead of extending it | The builder could not support personal plans, roles or automation. Working around it would have kept adding complexity. |
| Run discovery for two months before designing | Members, admins and regional leaders all use the business differently. Mapping that first gave design and development a clear, prioritized scope. |
| Design for phones first | Pages on the old site did not adapt well to different screens. Starting with the smallest screen keeps flows simple everywhere. |
| Use Next.js and TypeScript on the front end | Next.js supports fast pages for both the product and the website. TypeScript catches many mistakes before code runs, which helps as features grow. |
| Use Go and MySQL on the back end | Go is a compiled language known for efficient, predictable services. MySQL is a widely used relational database that suits connected data such as members, programs and points. |
| Make email event-driven | Messages are triggered by what happens in the platform, so they go out on time without manual work. |
| Build SEO into the website from day one | Structure, metadata and indexing are easier to get right at the start than to fix later. |
| Use one partner for design, development, website and SEO | Every touchpoint is designed and built by the same team, so the experience stays consistent. |
The member experience
What members get
The platform turns the business’s promise of a plan that fits you into features members use every day.
- Take the assessment45 questions across six life areas
- Get a personal planBuilt from the assessment answers
- Join programsGrowth plans and custom programs
- Get AI feedbackInstant insights in each area
- Earn pointsRewards at each 1,000-point milestone
A tailored starting point
A 45-question assessment covers six life areas, mind, body, movement, purpose, people and fuel, and produces a personal plan.
Smart feedback
An AI assistant gives members instant insights on their progress in each area.
Programs to join
Members can browse growth plans and enroll in custom programs from their dashboard.
Rewards
Points are earned for activities, with gifts and merchandise unlocked at each 1,000-point milestone.
Flexible membership
Monthly, yearly and VIP tiers, plus a 14-day free trial of custom programs.
Local guidance
Regional leaders, assigned by admins, support members in their area and keep the community active.
Three groups, one system
Take the assessment, follow their plan, join programs, earn points and get AI feedback.
Create programs, schedule events, manage members and assign regional leaders.
Support members in their area and keep the local community active.
Tech stack
The technology behind the platform
A simplified view of how the parts fit together, then what each one does. The names link to official documentation.
Runs on AWS
Front end
Back end
Cloud and delivery
- AWS EC2 (opens in a new tab)Virtual servers that run the application
- AWS ECR (opens in a new tab)A registry that stores the application's container images
- AWS CodeBuild (opens in a new tab)Builds and tests code automatically
- CI/CD pipelineEach change is built, tested and deployed in the same repeatable way
Results
What changed after launch
Members now have personal plans, programs, rewards and AI feedback in one dashboard.
Staff now run programs, events and members from one admin dashboard.
A rebuilt, mobile-friendly website replaced the website builder pages.
Welcome, reminder and renewal emails now go out automatically.
Before and after, with before set to 100
Member engagementUp 40%
Before 100, after 140.
Admin time on routine tasksDown 30%
Before 100, after 70.
Manual communicationDown 60%
Before 100, after 40.
Page load time50% faster
Before 100, after 50.
Each bar shows the reported change against a starting value of 100. Lower is better for admin time, manual communication and load time.
| Area | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Admin time spent on routine tasks | Down 30% |
| Member engagement | Up 40% |
| Page speed | 50% faster |
| Manual communication | Down 60% |
| Search readiness | Fast, mobile-friendly site with a clean structure and lower bounce rates |
Most importantly, the client now controls its own platform. Programs, events and member communication no longer depend on manual effort or workarounds, and the team can add new features as the community grows.
Why it worked
Five reasons the project worked
One team, one story
Product design, development, website and SEO came from the same partner, so every touchpoint feels consistent.
Built to scale
A proper architecture replaced the website builder, so new features no longer add complexity.
Automation first
Email automation and the admin dashboard removed repetitive work from the team’s day.
Search-ready from day one
The website was built for speed and structure, not retrofitted later.
A long-term partnership
We kept improving the platform for over two years after launch.
Takeaways
Lessons for SaaS founders
What other founders can take from this project, especially if they started on a website builder or no-code tool.
Signs you have outgrown your website builder
- You need member accounts, roles or personal content, not just pages.
- Your team sends the same messages by hand every week.
- Simple updates need workarounds or take far longer than they should.
- Each new feature makes the setup more fragile.
- Your pages are slow or hard to structure for search.
What this project shows
- Map how people really use the business first. Two months of discovery gave everyone one clear, prioritized scope.
- Automate the messages that keep members. Welcome, reminder and renewal emails are too important to depend on memory.
- Build the back office with the product. An admin dashboard is what lets a small team run a growing community.
- Treat SEO as part of the build. Structure and speed are easier to get right at the start.
- Plan for the years after launch. The work did not stop at launch, and the platform kept improving.
Planning a similar move? Our free SaaS MVP cost calculator helps you estimate scope, team and timeline before you talk to developers.
Client feedback
In the client's words
They went above and beyond with proactive ideas, quick responses, and real dedication. Working with the whole team was a delight.
FAQs
Questions about this project
How long did it take to build the platform?
About 11 months from kickoff to launch. That included two months of discovery and planning, a two-week design sprint, eight months of development and one month of testing and QA. We have continued to improve the platform for over two years since.
What technology was used?
Next.js, TypeScript and JavaScript on the front end. Go with the Echo framework and MySQL on the back end. AWS EC2, ECR, SES and CodeBuild with a CI/CD pipeline for hosting, email and deployment.
Why move off the website builder instead of adding plugins?
The business needed assessments, personal programs, rewards, regional leaders and tiered memberships in one connected system, plus automation and an admin dashboard. The builder could not support that without growing workarounds.
How big was the team?
Eight specialists. Two backend developers, two frontend developers, a UI/UX designer, a project manager, a QA engineer and a DevOps engineer.
What does the AI assistant do for members?
It gives members instant insights on their progress in each of the six life areas covered by the assessment.
Do you still work with the client?
Yes. We stayed on as the client’s technology partner after launch and continue to refine workflows and add features.