SaaS Website Development Portal

Overview We are looking for an experienced product designer and full-stack developer (or a tight two-person team) to design and build a self-service project and order management portal for website development clients. The platform must dramatically reduce manual back-and-forth, giving clients a single place to submit briefs, upload assets, track project status, approve deliverables, and communicate — with minimal human intervention on our end. This is not a spec-execution role. We want someone who will proactively recommend architecture, UX patterns, and automation approaches based on what actually works — not just build what they're told. Target completion: 6–8 weeks from kick-off. What We're Building A client-facing web portal where: New clients onboard themselves by completing a structured intake/brief form During onboarding, clients browse and select from a curated set of pre-approved WordPress themes/designs — presented visually so clients can make an informed choice without needing a designer consultation Clients are guided to purchase a domain through the onboarding flow — we have no hard preference on registrar and expect the freelancer to recommend the provider that integrates most cleanly into the platform Clients are guided to set up WordPress hosting via Bigscoots (https://www.bigscoots.com) as part of the onboarding flow — this should feel seamless, not like an afterthought Clients can upload assets (logos, copy, images, brand guidelines) directly Project status is visible in real time — no need to email us to ask "where are we?" Clients receive notifications at key milestones and can approve or request revisions on deliverables Communication is threaded and contextual (tied to specific deliverables or project phases), not a generic chat box Clients can pay invoices, deposits, and subscription/retainer fees directly through the portal — no external payment links or manual chasing Automated invoice generation tied to project milestones or billing cycles Admin side gives us a clean dashboard to manage all active projects, outstanding payments, and billing status without manual updates The goal is fast turnaround — the system should eliminate the bottlenecks caused by waiting on emails, chasing approvals, and re-explaining context. What We're Looking For Must-Haves Demonstrable UI/UX portfolio — show us client portals, dashboards, or SaaS products you've shipped, not just mockups Full-stack implementation ability — you design it and you build it (or you have a trusted collaborator, clearly named in your proposal) Experience with workflow automation — notifications, status triggers, approval flows Payment integration experience — Stripe or equivalent; invoicing, one-time payments, and recurring subscriptions Clean, production-ready code with documentation; no throwaway prototypes Strong async communication — we expect written updates, not just calls Nice-to-Haves Experience with no-code/low-code components where they speed things up without sacrificing quality Familiarity with WordPress theme ecosystems and how to present/curate theme choices in a client-facing UI Experience with managed WordPress hosting providers (Bigscoots or similar) and how hosting provisioning fits into a client onboarding flow Ability to recommend and integrate a domain registrar that works smoothly within the platform onboarding flow Prior work in agency or service-business tooling What We Don't Want Someone who waits to be told what to do at every step Developers who hand off unusable or undocumented code Designers who produce pretty mockups but don't understand operational workflows Tech Stack We have no hard preference — we want you to propose the stack that best fits the requirements. Your proposal should justify your choices in terms of: our team's ability to maintain it post-handover, speed to build, and long-term scalability. Whatever you choose, we must be able to make content and configuration changes ourselves after handover, without hiring a developer for routine tasks. Milestone Plan The engagement runs approximately 6–8 weeks. All milestones include a check-in call and a written summary before we proceed. Milestone 1 — Discovery & Architecture (Week 1) Deliverables: Discovery call to align on scope, flows, and constraints Written scope document with clarifications and your recommendations Proposed tech stack with rationale High-level system architecture diagram Identified risks or scope gaps Check-in: Review and sign off before any design or build begins. Milestone 2 — UX Design & Prototype (Weeks 2–3) Deliverables: User flow diagrams for client-facing and admin-facing journeys Wireframes for all key screens (onboarding/intake, project dashboard, asset upload, deliverable approval, notifications) High-fidelity mockups with branding applied Clickable prototype for user review Design system / component library for handover Check-in: Review and approve designs before development begins. No building until designs are signed off. Milestone 3 — Core Build (Weeks 3–5) Deliverables: Functional client intake/onboarding flow Project dashboard (client view and admin view) Asset upload and management Status tracking with automated triggers Notification system (email + in-app) Check-in: Mid-build review with working staging environment access. Milestone 4 — Approval Flows, Payments & Automation (Weeks 5–6) Deliverables: Deliverable review and approval flow (with revision request handling) Threaded, contextual communication per project/deliverable Admin dashboard with project pipeline view Automated status updates (no manual admin input required for standard transitions) Payment integration (Stripe or equivalent) supporting: One-time payments and deposits Subscription / retainer billing Automated invoice generation tied to project milestones or billing cycles Client-facing payment history and invoice downloads Admin view of outstanding and completed payments Check-in: End-to-end walkthrough on staging. Milestone 5 — QA, Handover & Documentation (Weeks 7–8) Deliverables: Full QA pass across all flows (including edge cases and error states) Production deployment Complete technical documentation (architecture, data model, deployment guide, environment variables) Admin user guide (written, with screenshots or short Loom videos) 30-minute handover call walking us through everything 2-week post-launch support window for bug fixes (no new features) Check-in: Final sign-off. Full credentials, repo access, and hosting access transferred to us. Ownership & Handover (Non-Negotiable) At project completion, we receive: Full source code in a repository we own (GitHub/GitLab) All credentials, API keys, and third-party service accounts transferred or documented Hosting environment we control (not locked to your personal accounts) Design files in an editable format (Figma preferred) Documentation sufficient for our team to make changes without needing you We retain full intellectual property rights to all work produced under this engagement. How to Apply Your proposal must include: Portfolio examples — specifically client portals, dashboards, or workflow tools you've designed and shipped Your proposed tech stack and a brief rationale Your reading of this project — what would you do differently or add based on your experience? We want to see how you think, not just that you can follow a spec. Timeline breakdown — how you'd approach the 6–8 week window Fixed-price quote or milestone-based pricing — hourly rates will not be considered Proposals that don't address the above will not be reviewed.