Plugin

Overview

Plugin is "your sure plug on WhatsApp": say what you need by text or voice note, get matched with verified professionals, agree the price upfront, and your payment stays safe until you have reviewed the work.

Context

Plugin is a Nigerian startup preparing to launch. The brand came from a design studio and a separate team builds the backend. My job was everything people and staff see in the browser.

The problem

Before launch, Plugin needed a page that makes the idea clear and earns trust with no numbers to lean on, and a way to learn which side of the market was turning up. A plain email box would say nothing about who was joining.

My role

I built the web app on the team's Next.js starter: the waitlist page and welcome emails, the admin dashboard and portfolio pages for professionals. I also wrote the API handover spec for the backend team and made the promo film.

Thinking

1. Ask one question, not five

   The form asks only "I need a service" or "I offer a service", then an email. Professionals then pick up to three categories, so the team can see which to open first.

   one tap, then the email

2. Show the product, not promises

   Pre-launch, there are no user counts, ratings or prices to quote. The hero shows a WhatsApp-style chat instead: a voice note, matched professionals, payment secured.

   no fake numbers. ever.

3. Words that respect people

   On the public site, people offering services are always "professionals", never "vendors". The admin keeps the technical term.

   language is UX

Solution

One Next.js 16 app with the public waitlist page, a login-protected admin dashboard and portfolio pages. Signups and visits are stored in Supabase, and welcome emails go out through Resend.

What was built

• Animated hero with a rotating category phrase and WhatsApp-style chat
• Two-path waitlist with a category picker and a "not listed?" option
• Admin views for verification, users, waitlist and site traffic
• Landscape and vertical promo films built in Remotion from real captures of the site

Outcome

The site is live at pluginafrica.org with the waitlist open. The admin dashboard and portfolio pages were handed over with a written API spec, and the promo film was delivered in two formats.

Reflection

Strict copy rules (no invented numbers, "professional" not "vendor") made the page better, not harder. Constraints like that are product decisions.

Built with

• Next.js
• React
• TypeScript
• Tailwind CSS
• Framer Motion
• Supabase
• Resend
• Remotion