Buffalo Waterfront Refresh

Platform Modernization

I was tasked with inheriting a legacy system to improve both the user experience and the developer workflow. The focus was on refreshing the visual identity of core features while addressing technical debt.

Design Refresh: Implemented a complete homepage redesign and overhauled the user interface for the map and event calendar modules.

Infrastructure Optimization: Refined long-standing bugs and inefficiencies inherited from the original build to ensure a stable, high-performance environment.

Data-Driven Iteration: Collaborating with analytics teams, I utilize Google Analytics and Hotjar to monitor user behavior, setting goals and implementing optimizations based on real-world interaction data.

Decoupled Logic & Vue 3 Migration

A significant portion of my work involved modernizing the frontend architecture without disrupting the client’s established backend workflow.

Vue 3 Upgrade: Successfully migrated the entire frontend from Vue 2 to Vue 3, ensuring the site benefits from improved performance and the Composition API.

API-First Approach: To decouple frontend logic from the backend, I utilized the Craft CMS Element API. This allowed me to build complex features in Vue while keeping the data management within the CMS exactly as the client preferred.

Enhanced Events Calendar: I upgraded the calendar system to use FullCalendar JS. This included adding robust event filtering and a specialized “weekly” at-a-glance view to help users manage dense event schedules.

Mapbox Transition: Replaced the outdated Google Maps integration with a custom Mapbox implementation, featuring enhanced filtering capabilities to help visitors locate specific waterfront amenities and venues.

Compliance

Managed the implementation of an active cookie policy and general privacy updates to ensure the site meets modern compliance standards.