Service selling platform
I am developing a system that enables users to sell services and book consultants in the health and wellness domain.
For the backend, I am using Django REST Framework, and for the frontend, I am using Next.js (currently as a template). I am also using AWS S3 for storing images and other assets.
I would appreciate any guidance, ideas, or recommendations on how to proceed further.
Just... start.
Starting a project is the hardest step sometimes, but if you don't start, you won't finish it.
Perhaps design the UI first, so you know how users are gonna interact with the service. Or you could start by thinking about what you need to know about every user, every booking, ..., and you could make the DB first (that's how I would start, so you know what you work with, and what might be shown to users).
How to start generally is different from person to person. Incase you have the specifications already (which I suppose you do, else I'd start with that), it's now "only" a matter of implementing your ideas in code.
Just start going. Doing a project with actual real-world users is going to throw way more curveballs at you than a tutorial ever could, and that's honestly the best way to learn.
I’ve been building in the insurance and RegTech space here in South Africa for about 9 months now, and I can tell you first-hand: the industry is tough. Since you’re doing health and wellness, you’re probably going to hit some serious legal walls depending on what your users are actually selling.
Regulations here are super strict (especially around data), so definitely double-check where you stand legally before you get too deep into the code. It’s way easier to build with compliance in mind now than to try and 'fix' it later.
When building in health and wellness (especially if you are new to the industry) your system is going to develop and change in ways you would never expect. I would recommend trying to build out the DB schema (roughly) then backend and also a bit of frontend when you are struggling with complex backend work. It will most likely change a lot but that is alright.
Set a goal for yourself that you want to be done by X date and then just focus on creating the core engine (MVP) and get that working. If it is your first project dont get lost in the details just get it working THEN start adding and polishing.
If you hit a wall or just want to bounce some ideas around, feel free to find me on LinkedIn! Goodluck :)
Have you got a clear list of the high-level requirements, and preferably some/all of the detailed requirements, and a sense of the long-term roadmap / end goal?
If not then don't dive into the code until you have a reasonable idea of where you're going, beyond the headline description you've given us here. I'm guessing you've got some idea because you seem to have created the architecture already.
And as someone already mentioned, make sure you understand the business domain and any constraings including regulatory compliance etc that you need to be aware of.