VOD Platform
About the project
Beauty In Sp. z o.o. Press sp.k. is the publisher of the magazine Les Nouvelles Esthetiques, as well as the organizer of International Congresses and Fairs LNE. Established in 1952 in France, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques is recognized as the most prestigious beauty magazine in the world, which is published in 15 countries including France, Italy, Poland, Japan, USA, China, Canada and South Africa. In Poland, the LNE magazine has been published for 25 years, and it is the number one among beauty professionals.
Cossmeo.pl is a VOD platform presenting professional industry content. It is aimed at both individuals and entrepreneurs in the beauty industry. It is the first platform of this type in the industry that regularly publishes video materials and professional training courses.
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Stage I
Design Sprint Workshops -
Stage II
Graphic design and coding of the front layer of the platform -
Stage III
Constructing a Content Management Panel
Stage I
Design Sprint Workshops
Workshops
The first step from which we started cooperation with the client was to conduct workshops aimed at getting to know the client's expectations, verifying the needs and selecting the most important functionalities of the platform. Defining business problems and threats and indicating the area necessary to test before starting the actual implementation.
Creating a Prototype for an Application
The purpose of the workshop was to develop a prototype in the area chosen by the Client, in order to verify the business assumptions made for the platform's implementation.
Conducting research
Verification of the assumptions made in the design was checked through research conducted on different user groups specified by the Client. The research also allowed for the verification of various business models as well as the intuitiveness of the application.
Compiling a report
Final result of Workshops and Research was the creation of a summarizing report containing collected materials from conducted work, as well as suggestions and proposals for changes in the scope of the implementation.
Stage II
Implementation of the Platform for frontend work enabling the publication of the Platform.
Analysis of the project, selection of tools and technologies.
Following the fruitful stage of the workshops, we began to examine the entire functional extent of the project and to pick the best technologies enabling not only the accomplishment of the made assumptions, but also granting the opportunity of the project's advancement with new functionalities.
Compiling a register of requirements
Creating a requirements registry is one of the most important elements in the software development process. This document fully defines the business, functional, and stage-wise requirements and the manner of implementation of each functional aspect. It contains the necessary information that assures the Client that their expectations have been properly understood and will be implemented correctly. Additionally, the document defines the acceptance criteria, which determine if a given functionality has been correctly implemented according to the Client's expectations.
Developing a site map and user flow for the processes on the platform
We started the implementation by selecting and presenting in graphical form all possible registration, logging, purchasing processes as well as the structures of individual modules.
Creating a UX prototype for both desktop and mobile devices
The next step was to develop functional prototypes, which allowed us to present graphically the look of the future platform as well as the way of navigating it.
Composing a graphic UI design for desktop and mobile devices
After determining the final structure of the Platform and its navigation, we created graphic designs of the individual views based on the mock-ups, selecting the appropriate color scheme, fonts, and creating a series of dedicated graphic elements.
Front-end coding of the service
This stage was immensely important from a business point of view. It allowed for the Platform to be published and launched before the most important beauty industry event, the LNE Congress and Trade Show. Adherence to the timeline enabled the Platform to start on schedule. The front-end layer was coded and made available to the public.
Implementation and optimisation of content security measures
Our goal was to secure and smoothly playback the Client's content, thus the streaming on Cossmeo.pl is based on the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) standard.
Video files are converted to the HLS standard with a dedicated script which utilizes the FFmpeg library. The script prepares files divided into qualities from 360p to 1080p. This limits the transfer and provides the possibility for a dynamic change of quality based on the viewer's connection bandwidth.
For each user, a unique access address to the file is generated when attempting playback. Access to the file is restricted by assigning it to the user's ip address, and each video fragment request requires proper request preparation. Access to the file expires after a certain period of time, thus requiring the user to re-authorize access to the material.
Optimization of the platform for SEO
Optimizing the platform for SEO was an especially important part of the whole project. The goal was to ensure that every video, whether free or protected, would rank in search engines.
Connection and setup of analytical tools
The GTM code has been implemented on the platform, thanks to which a number of different analytical tools can be easily implemented. In addition to three external analytical tools, the Platform has also been equipped with analytical modules enabling the analysis of traffic, the number of watched videos and many other data necessary for successful planning of development strategies.
Responsive Web design
In accordance with the prevailing standards, the Platform has been built using Responsive Web Design (RWD) technology, allowing its layout to adjust to the size of the browser window of the device it is displayed on.
Optimization and functional testing
At the conclusion of our work, we conducted a number of functional tests and load tests, additionally optimizing the Platform for improved performance.
Stage III
Developing UX mock-ups and UI design for a platform management panel
The third stage of work was the preparation of an administrative panel providing the Client with an easy way to manage content published on the Platform. We also started this step by preparing UX mock-ups as they allowed us to create the most user-friendly and functional structure for the recipient. Based on the mock-ups, a dedicated design of the administrative panel was created.
Encoding the frontend and backend of the management panel
The last element of the work was the coding of the frontend layer of the admin panel and connecting it with the backend layer of the Platform. After completion of this stage, the backend zone was integrated with the previously published frontend layer of the Platform.
Tools and technologies
Effect of work
The outcome of the work is a modern VOD platform functionally similar to platforms such as Netflix or HBO MAX. It is further expanded with a dedicated content management system that gives wide possibilities for modifying the sales model depending on the business assumptions.
cossmeo.plFeedback from Client
Their project management style was open, communicative and supportive. Easy communication, good time organization at every stage of implementation.
Their experience, knowledge and communication skills were impressive.
CEO and Artistic Director, Beauty In Press
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