Project context
A Technical Case Study — CodingBeings
Role: Full-Stack Developer | Timeline: 2017–2018 (~1 year) | Stack: PHP, CodeIgniter, PyroCMS, MySQL, Facebook Graph API, Instagram API, jQuery, Bootstrap, CamanJS
The Idea
Chimpee's product is a physical frame with a removable, replaceable canvas insert. Instead of buying a whole new framed print every time you want to display a new photo, the frame is a one-time purchase — only the printed canvas insert needs replacing. The client's own tagline summed up the customer journey in three steps: Snap a photo, Click through size and package options, Hang the finished canvas once it arrives. The client needed a custom e-commerce web application to sell this: customers pick a size and package, upload or import a photo, customize it, and place an order.
What I Built
I was brought on to build the platform from the ground up on top of PyroCMS, a modular CMS built on the CodeIgniter PHP framework, since it gave the client a CMS-managed marketing site plus the flexibility to bolt on fully custom commerce logic as PyroCMS modules.
Core ordering flow
A multi-step wizard modeled on the product's "Pick a Size → Pick a Package → Upload & Customize your image" concept: product selection, image upload/customization, cart, shipping details, shipping options, payment, and order confirmation, implemented as a custom PyroCMS module (create_and_order) with its own controllers, models, and views.
Social photo import
Rather than limiting customers to uploading a file from their computer, I integrated Facebook Login + Graph API, using the official Facebook PHP SDK, so customers could browse and select directly from their existing Facebook photos, and Instagram OAuth + API, via a custom-built API client, so customers could pull an image straight from their recent Instagram posts.
Responsive front-end
Implemented the client's custom visual design (delivered as static HTML/CSS mockups) as a fully responsive PyroCMS theme using Bootstrap, tailored specifically for mobile devices to keep the experience simple for customers, with a homepage image slider (Jssor) and client-side photo-filtering tools (CamanJS) so customers could adjust their image before ordering.
Admin & catalog management
Built out the product-catalog side (products module) with its own admin screens for managing sizes, packages, and product metadata, backed by PyroCMS's built-in admin, permissions, and settings systems.
Photo Import & Order Flow Architecture
Two different social platforms and a plain device-upload path all feed into one unified photo picker inside the custom PyroCMS module. From there, the order wizard's product-configuration steps were live and working; the final checkout leg was built as pages only, with the underlying shipping, payment, and confirmation logic not yet implemented when the project wrapped. FireSale, a mature third-party PyroCMS e-commerce addon, was evaluated in parallel as a possible alternative checkout engine but was never connected to this flow.
Photo import and order flow
Built pages — logic not implemented
- Shipping page
- Payment page
- Confirmation page
The live flow ends at the cart. Shipping, payment and confirmation pages were built but their calculation/gateway/confirmation logic was not implemented. FireSale was evaluated as an alternative and not connected to this flow.
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Figure 1 — Chimpee photo import and order flow, showing what shipped end-to-end versus what remained unbuilt or evaluation-only.
Technical Highlights
Designed and built two custom PyroCMS modules (products and its successor create_and_order) end-to-end: schema, controllers, models, views, and admin CRUD.
Implemented OAuth-based integrations with two third-party platforms (Facebook and Instagram), including session-based token handling and API response parsing into a unified photo-picker UI.
Evaluated and integrated FireSale, a third-party PyroCMS e-commerce addon, for potential use as the underlying cart/catalog/shipping engine alongside the custom ordering wizard — a deliberate build-vs-buy decision rather than a default one.
Translated static design mockups into a maintainable, responsive CMS theme, keeping marketing content editable by non-developers through PyroCMS's page/widget system.
Where the Project Landed
Over roughly a year, the build reached approximately 85% completion. The parts that shipped and worked end-to-end: the marketing site, product browsing, the full photo upload/import flow (device, Facebook, and Instagram), image customization, and the product-configuration steps of the order wizard. What remained unfinished at the time the project was shelved: the final leg of checkout — live shipping-rate calculation, payment-gateway processing, and order confirmation logic.
The client ultimately decided not to continue the project after about a year, choosing to step back from the idea rather than compete against an established competitor offering lower fees. The decision was a business one, not a reflection of build quality or progress — the remaining scope was well-understood and estimable, not a case of the project stalling technically.
Takeaways
This project is a good example of scoping and delivering a non-trivial custom feature — multi-provider social photo import, a multi-step commerce wizard, CMS-integrated theming — inside a legacy but still-widely-used CMS framework, and of making pragmatic build-vs-buy calls (evaluating a ready-made e-commerce addon vs. custom checkout logic) under real client constraints.