Project Overview

Financially Independent Traders (FIT) is an online education community focused on U.S. equities, Canadian equities, and cryptocurrency trading. FIT offers in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, as well as trading psychology, to traders of all skill levels. The goal of the project was to develop a robust website that supports the community’s needs, including managing monthly or annual subscriptions, providing access to an extensive library of trading courses, and integrating with external communication tools like Slack.

Objectives and Challenges

Initial Problem:

FIT needed a seamless and user-friendly platform that could manage subscriptions, deliver educational content, and integrate with Slack for community communication. The primary challenge was to build a system that allowed members to easily subscribe, access exclusive content, and join the community’s Slack channel upon successful payment.

Project Goals:

• Subscription Management: Implement a system that allows members to choose between monthly or annual subscriptions and manage their memberships easily.
• Learning Management System (LMS): Develop an LMS for delivering courses to active members.
• Custom Video Player: Implement a custom video player for course content, offering a seamless viewing experience.
• Slack Integration: Create a custom integration with Slack that automatically invites members to the Slack channel upon payment completion.
• User-Friendly Design: Ensure the platform is easy to navigate, with a focus on enhancing the user experience.

Key Challenges:

• Integrating WooCommerce Subscriptions and Memberships to manage recurring payments and content access.
• Building a custom video player that integrates smoothly with the LMS.
• Developing a custom Slack integration that handles invites based on payment status.

Process and Approach

Research and Planning:

The project began with a detailed understanding of FIT’s community needs and the client’s goals. After analyzing the requirements, WooCommerce Subscriptions and Memberships were chosen to manage the subscription model, while Sensei LMS was selected for the educational content delivery. The Slack integration required a custom bot to automate the invitation process.

Design and Development:

The website was built using WordPress, with WooCommerce Subscriptions and Memberships enabling seamless management of recurring payments and content access. Sensei LMS was integrated to manage the educational courses offered to active members.

A custom video player was developed to provide an enhanced viewing experience for the course content, ensuring compatibility with the LMS and providing a user-friendly interface for members.

For the Slack integration, a custom Slack bot was created to automatically invite new members to the community’s Slack channel once their payment was confirmed. This integration was crucial in maintaining the community aspect of FIT and ensuring that all members had access to the necessary communication tools.

Project Management:

As the sole developer, I managed the project from start to finish, ensuring that all components integrated seamlessly and functioned as intended. Regular communication with the client ensured that the project stayed on track and met all requirements.

Solutions and Execution

Technical Solutions:

• WooCommerce Subscriptions and Memberships: Implemented to manage recurring payments and control access to content based on membership status.
• Sensei LMS Integration: Used to deliver educational courses to active members, providing a structured learning environment.
• Custom Video Player: Developed specifically for FIT, offering a smooth, user-friendly experience for viewing course content.
• Slack Integration: A custom Slack bot was created to invite members to the Slack channel automatically after successful payment, ensuring immediate access to the community.

Design Decisions:

The website was designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind, ensuring that members could easily subscribe, access courses, and join the community with minimal friction.

Innovations:

The custom Slack integration was a significant innovation that enhanced the community aspect of FIT, automating the process of onboarding new members and ensuring they could immediately connect with other traders.

Tools and Technologies:

• WordPress: Core CMS
• WooCommerce Subscriptions and Memberships: For managing payments and memberships
• Sensei LMS: For course delivery
• Custom PHP/JavaScript: For the custom video player and Slack integration

Results and Impact

Quantitative Results:

• Increased Memberships: The streamlined subscription process and ease of access to content led to an increase in both monthly and annual subscriptions.
• Enhanced User Engagement: The integration of the LMS and Slack ensured that members remained engaged with the educational content and the community, boosting overall user satisfaction.

Qualitative Results:

• Improved User Experience: Members reported a smoother, more intuitive experience when subscribing, accessing courses, and joining the Slack community.
• Client Satisfaction: The client was particularly pleased with the custom Slack integration, which automated a previously manual process and enhanced the community feel of FIT.

Custom Video Player Implementation

A key feature of the project was the development of a custom video player, designed to integrate seamlessly with the Sensei LMS. The player provided a smooth, distraction-free viewing experience, allowing members to focus on the educational content. This custom solution not only improved the user experience but also ensured compatibility across different devices and browsers.