Freelance Developer — Consumer Web App (Ratings & Profiles Platform)

OVERVIEW I'm the founder of ByName, a verified ratings platform for individual service professionals. Think of it as portable professional reputation — ratings follow the individual, not the business they work for. I have a background in marketing strategy and brand development and am building ByName full time. A working front-end demo exists at byname-demo.netlify.app. The MVP will bring this to life with a real database, user authentication, and a complete rating submission and verification flow. This is a phased project. Phase 1 is scoped and ready to go. Phase 2 and Phase 3 are defined and planned, contingent on platform traction milestones. My strong preference is to retain the same developer across all phases, and I'm looking for someone interested in a long-term relationship that includes a post-launch retainer for ongoing maintenance and feature development. If you're looking for a one-time project, this probably isn't the right fit. WHAT YOU'LL BUILD (PHASE 1) - Public professional profile pages with permanent - URL slugs and QR code generation - Rating submission flow with SMS phone verification (Twilio) and OAuth options - Professional signup and onboarding (three-path service location selection including Google Places API integration) - Unified search and filter experience (mobile-first) - Basic pro dashboard (view ratings, download QR code, share profile, order business cards) - Admin panel for platform management (profile approval, review flagging, location verification queues) - Service location profile pages with aggregate ratings - Location owner claim flow Key technical requirements: - Mobile-first responsive web app - Real database with UUID primary keys; phone number as verified identifier - Four user types: consumer, professional, location owner, admin - Industry-agnostic naming conventions throughout — this platform will expand to multiple service verticals - All vertical-specific parameters configurable, not hardcoded - GitHub repo owned by ByName from day one - Clean documentation sufficient for developer handover if needed - Error logging (Sentry or equivalent) and analytics platform WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR - Demonstrated experience building consumer-facing web apps — not WordPress sites or internal tools; real apps where users sign up, have profiles, and submit data - Strong mobile UX instincts - Experience with multi-user-type platforms (different roles, different access levels) - Familiarity with Twilio, Google Places API, and OAuth flows - Honest about timeline and sequencing rather than just agreeing with whatever I propose - Strong written and spoken English — we'll be communicating frequently and I need confidence that nothing gets lost - Comfortable with a structured ways-of-working approach (see below) - Interested in a long-term retainer relationship post-launch Stack: Open to recommendation. React or Next.js frontend, Supabase/Firebase/PostgreSQL backend are all acceptable. What matters is that it's modern, maintainable, and transferable. WAYS OF WORKING - I'm based in Eastern Time and prefer at least 4 hours of overlap during business hours - Primary communication via Slack or email - Weekly progress demos required — Loom walkthrough or live screen share, your choice; I want to see working builds frequently, not wait until something is finished - I am not a developer and will not be reviewing code or making technical decisions independently - I need a partner who communicates clearly and proactively flags issues early TIMELINE Phase 1 target launch: late August 2026. I understand this is aggressive and am open to an honest conversation about sequencing — core profiles and rating flow are the highest priority, with admin panel and dashboard features able to follow shortly after. BUDGET Phase 1: $8,000-$15,000 depending on experience and approach. Post-launch retainer structure to be discussed — this is a required part of the engagement, not optional. TO APPLY Please include: - A link to or description of a consumer-facing app you've built that's similar in nature - Your recommended stack for this project and why - Your estimate for a Phase 1 build of this scope - Your post-launch retainer model A full scope document will be shared with serious candidates before any extended conversation.