Contents
SellSnap
A lightweight commerce platform that enables merchants to create products, generate secure payment links, and share them with customers through a professional checkout experience.
Overview
SellSnap is a lightweight commerce platform that enables merchants to create products, generate secure payment links, and share them with customers through a professional checkout experience—eliminating the need for manual payment coordination.
Designed for small businesses, the platform simplifies online selling by replacing fragmented chat-based payment workflows with a centralized product management and checkout experience.
Problem
Small businesses often rely on fragmented chat conversations, manual payment coordination, and screenshot verification, creating unnecessary friction throughout the selling process.
Solution
SellSnap replaces fragmented chat-based selling with a centralized commerce workflow where merchants create products, generate secure payment links, and receive payment confirmations through a professional checkout experience.
SellSnap is not intended to replace large e-commerce platforms.
Its goal is to become a lightweight commerce solution that enables small businesses to start selling online within minutes—without the complexity of building and maintaining a traditional online store.
The Long-Term Vision
Help small businesses sell online with the simplicity of sharing a payment link—without requiring the complexity of building and managing a traditional online store.
Research & Discovery
Before designing SellSnap, I explored how many small businesses currently sell products online through social platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Rather than operating dedicated online stores, many merchants rely on conversations to complete transactions. While this approach works for early-stage businesses, it introduces repetitive manual tasks that become increasingly difficult to manage as sales grow.
Social Promotion
Products were promoted through social media posts or chats.
Manual Payments
Payment details were shared manually for every purchase.
Payment Verification
Customers confirmed payments by sending screenshots or receipts.
Chat-Based Tracking
Orders were tracked within messaging applications.
Redundant Sharing
Product information was repeatedly sent to different customers.
Informal Inventory
Inventory and sales records were managed informally.
Key Takeaway
The research revealed that the biggest challenge wasn't attracting customers—it was managing repetitive manual selling tasks across multiple conversations and payment confirmations.
Product Opportunity
These insights shaped the direction of SellSnap. Instead of building another full-scale e-commerce platform, the objective became creating a lightweight commerce experience that removes repetitive selling tasks while preserving the simplicity merchants already rely on. The focus was to enable merchants to:
Unified Catalog
Create products once.
Payment Links
Share a single payment link.
Seamless Checkout
Offer customers a professional checkout experience.
Automated Verification
Reduce manual payment coordination.
Command Center
Manage products from a centralized dashboard.
Foundation for the MVP
This product direction established the foundation for every design and engineering decision throughout the MVP.
Designing for Simplicity
From the beginning, SellSnap was designed around a simple principle:
"Selling online should be as easy as sharing a link."
Many merchants are not familiar with complex e-commerce platforms, so every workflow was intentionally kept short, predictable, and easy to understand. The experience prioritizes clarity over feature overload, allowing merchants to begin selling with minimal setup.
Every screen and interaction was designed to reduce friction while guiding users through a straightforward selling experience.
---
Simple
Short, predictable workflows that reduce friction.
Clear
Every screen guides merchants toward the next action.
Fast
Merchants can begin selling within minutes instead of configuring a full online store.
User Flow Showcase
Merchant Journey
Customer Journey
UX Audit Summary
Color System
The SellSnap interface is built around a focused color system that reinforces trust, clarity, hierarchy, and usability across the product.
Primary
Used for primary actions, links, active navigation, and key interactive elements.
Secondary
Used for supporting actions, highlights, and secondary emphasis.
Tertiary
Used for complementary interface accents and supporting UI elements.
Neutral
Used for headings, primary text, and dark surfaces.
Neutral Variant
Used for secondary text, borders, icons, and subtle interface elements.
Accent
Used sparingly to draw attention to featured content and premium moments.
Success
Used for successful payments, confirmations, and positive system feedback.
Warning
Used for warnings, pending states, and important notices.
Error
Used for validation errors, destructive actions, and critical alerts.
Typography
Inter is the primary typeface used across SellSnap. Its clean, legible characteristics ensure readability across all devices, establishing a modern and professional aesthetic.
Component-Driven Interface
SellSnap was designed using a reusable component system powered by Shadcn UI to maintain consistency, improve development speed, and make future iterations easier to scale.
Authentication
Secure sign-in and onboarding components.
Merchant Dashboard
Reusable analytics, statistics, and overview layouts.
Product Management
Shared product cards, forms, and editing interfaces.
Checkout Experience
Reusable payment and checkout UI.
Settings
Consistent preference and account management components.
Navigation
Shared navigation bars, menus, and layout structure.
Forms
Reusable inputs, validation, buttons, and field components.
Feedback States
Success, loading, warning, empty, and error states.
Building the interface around reusable components reduced design inconsistencies, accelerated development, and created a scalable foundation for future product growth.
Engineering & Architecture
SellSnap was engineered as a modern full-stack web application.
The architecture was designed for scalability, maintainability, and future product growth.
The MVP was intentionally built on a foundation that can evolve without major architectural changes.
Technology Stack
- Next.js
- TypeScript
- Shadcn UI
- Neon PostgreSQL
- Flutterwave
- Vercel
- Antigravity IDE
- Next.js
- TypeScript
- Shadcn UI
- Neon PostgreSQL
- Flutterwave
- Vercel
- Antigravity IDE
Design System
SellSnap was built with a dedicated design system to ensure consistency across layouts, components, colors, typography, spacing, and interactions.
Modular Architecture
Built with reusable and maintainable application structure.
Scalable Foundation
Ready to support future product expansion.
Consistent UI
Driven by a reusable design system.
Production Ready
Optimized for deployment and iterative development.
Features Delivered
The MVP focuses on the core tools merchants need to create products, share payment links, and manage their selling workflow from a single platform. Each feature solves a specific part of the manual payment process.
Merchant Authentication
A secure authentication system that allows merchants to access their workspace with minimal friction.
- Google Sign-In
- Secure user sessions
- Protected merchant routes
- Persistent authentication
Merchant Dashboard
The central hub for managing products and monitoring business activity without feeling overwhelmed.
- Business overview
- Product statistics
- Quick navigation
- Responsive layout
Product Management
Merchants can effortlessly create and manage their catalog from a single, intuitive interface.
- Create & edit products
- Catalog management
- Product detail pages
- Real-time updates
Shareable Payment Links
Every product generates a unique payment link that merchants can seamlessly share across social platforms.
- Shareable product URLs
- Public product pages
- Secure checkout entry
- Universal sharing
Checkout Experience
A fast, professional purchasing experience designed to convert customers without unnecessary friction.
- Public checkout page
- Product summary
- Flutterwave integration
- Guest checkout flow
Settings & Account
Essential account management tools for maintaining the workspace and personalizing the experience.
- Profile management
- Security settings
- Theme preferences
- Workspace controls
End-to-End Product Ownership
Product Strategy
I identified the opportunity behind SellSnap and defined a lightweight commerce experience focused on simplifying social selling for small businesses.
Design & UX
Designed the complete user experience, interaction patterns, design system, responsive layouts, and product workflows.
Product Engineering
Built the full-stack MVP, implemented the frontend architecture, database integration, authentication, payment flow, deployment pipeline, and scalable component system.
My Contributions
Future Roadmap
SellSnap's MVP validates the core merchant experience. The roadmap below outlines potential opportunities for expanding the platform into a more complete commerce solution.
Payment Infrastructure
Moving beyond the sandbox to enable merchants to receive payments directly into their own accounts.
Commerce Management
Helping merchants manage their businesses more efficiently by reducing manual administrative work.
Business Insights
Providing better visibility into business performance to help merchants make informed decisions.
Platform Growth
Expanding SellSnap beyond individual payment links into a more complete commerce platform.
Long-Term Vision
To provide small businesses with a simple, professional, and accessible way to sell online—without the complexity of managing a traditional e-commerce store.
This roadmap represents product opportunities identified during the MVP phase and illustrates the long-term direction of SellSnap. It should not be interpreted as a committed release plan.
Lessons Learned
Build Around Real Problems
Start with customer workflows instead of features.
Intentional Simplicity
Simple interfaces require thoughtful prioritization and refinement.
Product + Engineering
Strong products emerge when design and engineering evolve together.
Continuous Iteration
An MVP is the beginning—not the finish line.
Looking Forward
SellSnap represents an important milestone in my growth as a Product Engineer.
The project strengthened my ability to take a product from concept to deployment—combining research, design, engineering, and iterative improvement into a single workflow.
While the MVP is complete, the product continues to provide opportunities for learning, refinement, and future expansion.
Final Thoughts
Great products don't simply help users complete tasks—they remove friction so people can focus on what matters.
Explore More Projects
Interested in seeing more work that combines Product Thinking, UX Design, and Product Engineering?
