ICO Alert: Crypto Platform Search & CMS Modernization

ICO Alert was a cryptocurrency ICO listing and tracking platform serving investors and traders researching initial coin offerings. Over a year-long retainer (via Solspace Inc.), I served as the sole developer responsible for modernizing the platform’s architecture, improving performance, and building systems that let both users and the marketing team work more efficiently.

The platform had grown organically with hundreds of cryptocurrency listings, but the architecture hadn’t scaled with it. Search was slow, pages loaded sluggishly, and content updates required developer involvement. My work focused on removing these friction points systematically.

Project Timeline

Phase 1: CMS Componentization

Challenge: Content updates required developer involvement for even minor changes, creating bottlenecks and slowing marketing efforts.

What I delivered:

• Redesigned the CMS architecture into reusable, flexible components
• Built a component library that marketing could mix and match without code changes
• Separated content structure from presentation, enabling faster iteration
• Documented component usage patterns for the team

Result: Marketing team gained independence to update listings, landing pages, and promotional content without developer tickets.

Phase 2: Performance Optimization

Challenge: The site loaded slowly, especially as the listing database grew. No caching strategy existed, and every page load hit the database directly.

What I delivered:

• Implemented Cloudflare caching across the platform
• Optimized database queries for listing pages
• Reduced page load times through frontend and backend improvements
• Set up cache invalidation rules for dynamic content

Result: Significantly faster page loads, improved user experience, and reduced server load.

Phase 3: Listing Tracking System

Challenge: Users wanted to monitor ICO listings they were interested in, tracking launch dates, status changes, and price information, but no system existed for this.

What I delivered:

• Built a subscription and tracking system for individual listings
• Implemented tracking for launch dates, listing status, and price data
• Created user dashboard for managing tracked listings

Result: Users could follow ICOs through their lifecycle without manually checking each listing.

Phase 4: Custom Instant Search

Challenge: With hundreds of listings, the existing search was slow and required full page reloads, frustrating users trying to find specific ICOs.

What I delivered:

• Built custom instant search connected directly to Craft CMS data
• Implemented real-time filtering without page reloads
• Optimized search indexing for fast results across all listing fields

Result: Sub-second search results replaced multi-second page reloads, dramatically improving discoverability.

Phase 5: Tutorial System & Onboarding

Challenge: Users struggled to understand how to use the listing subscription and tracking features, likely causing abandonment.

What I delivered:

• Created interactive walkthrough guiding users through subscription setup
• Built contextual help for tracking features
• Designed onboarding flow for new users

Result: Reduced friction for new users discovering the platform’s tracking capabilities.

Ongoing: Section-by-Section Redesign

Throughout the engagement, I systematically redesigned the platform section by section and component by component. This approach allowed continuous improvement without disrupting the live platform or requiring a risky “big bang” relaunch.

Removing Workflow Friction

For the Marketing Team:

• Componentized CMS architecture eliminated developer dependencies for content updates
• Reusable content blocks enabled faster campaign launches
• Clear component documentation reduced training time

For Platform Users:

• Instant search replaced slow, frustrating page-reload searches
• Tracking system let users follow ICOs without manual checking
• Tutorial walkthroughs reduced confusion and support requests

For Platform Operations:

• Cloudflare caching reduced server load and improved reliability
• Systematic redesign approach avoided risky all-at-once migrations
• Clean component architecture simplified future development

What This Project Demonstrates

This engagement exemplifies the kind of systematic improvement work I specialize in: taking a platform that has grown beyond its original architecture and methodically modernizing it without disruption. The combination of CMS componentization, custom search implementation, and performance optimization reflects my focus on building intelligent systems that remove friction for both operators and end users.

Implemented solutions:

• Flexible Content Management
• Marketing Content Components
• Website Performance Optimization
• Website Core & Stability
• Fast Data Search
• Website Technical SEO Optimization
• Development and Deployment Pipeline

Used technologies: