🛍 Elle Indonesia – E-Commerce & Digital Magazine Platform
Client: Elle Indonesia
Duration: ~3 months
Role: Freelance Web Developer
Team: Developer + PM
Website: shop.elle.co.id
Interested in the technical explanation? Click Here
🔍 Overview
Elle Indonesia sought to modernize its magazine distribution by creating an e-commerce platform that offered both physical purchases and instant digital access to its readers. As a freelance web developer, I was responsible for the technical execution of this digital commerce transformation — from seamless transactions to secure digital content delivery — helping a legacy fashion brand step confidently into the digital age.
🎯 Goals
- Enable seamless purchase of both physical and digital magazine editions
- Provide instant digital reading access post-purchase
- Integrate secure payment processing with Midtrans
- Automate email notifications
- Ensure a responsive and polished UI across all devices
👨💻 My Role & Responsibilities
- Developed the entire frontend and backend using Laravel and Vue.js
- Provided UX/product feedback based on dev experience and user flow insights
- Collaborated with the PM to scope and validate feature requirements
- Handled technical research and decision-making around digital magazine delivery
- Integrated third-party services for payments, email, and shipping
🛠 Tech Stack
- Frontend: Vue.js, Tailwind CSS
- Backend: Laravel
- Cloud Infrastructure: Google Cloud
- Integrations:
- Midtrans (payments)
- Brevo (emails)
- Delivery API (shipping rates & tracking)
🚀 Key Features
📕 Physical Magazine Purchase
- Easy product browsing and cart system
- Midtrans integration for multiple payment methods
- Automated email confirmations and shipping updates
- Real-time shipping fee calculator and delivery tracking
📖 Digital Magazine Experience
- Secure post-purchase access to digital content
- Responsive, in-browser magazine reader
- Authentication-based access control
- Instant digital delivery with instructions via email
💡 Major Technical Decisions & Challenges
| Challenge | Solution |
|---|---|
| Choosing the right digital reader experience | Conducted pre-development research on viewer options; implemented a secure, performant digital delivery system |
| Payment reliability & flexibility | Integrated Midtrans for real-time, secure multi-method support |
| Notification automation | Used Brevo to trigger purchase confirmations, digital access emails, and delivery updates |
| Optimizing performance for a visual-heavy site | Clean database structure, lightweight asset delivery, responsive layout via Tailwind |
📈 Impact & Results
- Launched on-time and adopted as Elle Indonesia’s main commerce channel
- Enabled automated and secure transactions for both digital and physical products
- Greatly reduced manual work for order management and fulfillment
- Improved user experience with instant digital access post-purchase
- Continues to serve as a stable platform since 2023 with only minor updates
🧠 Reflection
This project showcased the value of building tech infrastructure that respects brand, performance, and user expectations. The digital reader flow, in particular, required thoughtful trade-offs between accessibility, security, and scalability. I learned the importance of technical discovery during planning, as well as how modern stack decisions (Laravel, Vue, Tailwind, cloud) can support both business needs and elegant UX.
