Forem: Raimi Dikamona Lassissi

Building Treazurex — Weeks 3–5

Raimi Dikamona Lassissi — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 12:06:45 +0000

Week 3 — Shop & Product Detail pages

Over the third week of building Treazurex I focused on the product-facing pages: the Shop page and the Product Details page. These are the two screens most users interact with, so getting layout, information hierarchy and interactions right was my main priority.

What I did

Built the Shop listing: product cards, basic filters, and the grid/list layout.
Implemented the Product Details page: images, descriptions, price, and buy/add-to-wishlist actions.
Fixed several small bugs that appeared while connecting the pages (routing edge-cases, broken links, and a couple of state bugs).

What took the most time

Design & polish. Making the pages look professional and feel cohesive took more time than the core functionality. I spent a fair amount of time exploring professional e-commerce sites and component libraries for layout patterns, spacing, and component behavior. Translating those ideas into my UI (cards, image galleries, action buttons) required several iterations.
UX decisions. Small interaction choices — where to place the CTA, how many images to show, what product metadata to show up front — required testing and tweaks.

Status at the end of Week 3

Core functionality for listing and viewing products was in place, but the visual polish and final UX tweaks were still a work in progress.

Feedback welcome

I’m open to any suggestions on layout, component choices, or UX patterns I should try next — especially proven patterns from modern e-commerce sites or lightweight component libraries.

Week 4 — Containerization, Deployment & Continuous Deployment

In week 4 I shifted focus from UI work to deployment and operations. The aim was to make the app easy to run locally and to set up an automated deployment pipeline so updates get released reliably.

What I did

Dockerised the application — created Dockerfiles and a docker-compose.yml to orchestrate services for local development. This made it simple to run the whole stack with a single command and to keep environment parity between my machine and servers.
Deployed to Vercel — I chose Vercel to host the website and connected the repo so changes in the main branch automatically trigger deployments. This introduced the concept of continuous deployment (CD) into the project.
Tested the CD flow — pushed a few UI fixes and observed automatic builds and deployments. I fixed configuration issues (env variables, build commands) to make the flow stable.

Challenges & trade-offs

Local vs cloud environment differences. Some environment variables and file paths behaved differently locally vs Vercel — I had to centralize configuration and avoid hard-coded values.

Lessons learned

Treat Docker and compose as both a developer convenience and a stepping stone to production — they make onboarding and testing much faster.
Keep secrets and environment configuration out of the repo; use Vercel’s environment settings (or a secrets manager) for production values.

Advices/Suggestions

I would definitely be grateful for tips on hosting any server side parts (if I should split backend from frontend, providers you’ve had good experience with, or approaches for background jobs).

Week 5 — User Areas, Orders & Payments

During week 5 I moved back toward user-facing features and finishing flows that let customers manage their accounts and purchases.

What I built

User Profile page — editable profile information and a central place for account settings.
Orders section — order history, order details view, and basic order status indicators.
Wishlist — users can save items for later and move them to the cart.
Address book — add, edit, and set default shipping addresses.
Payment methods — UI for saving and selecting payment methods (mocked for now, with room to integrate a real gateway later).

Polish & UX work

The overall look and user experience still didn’t feel right, so I made additional layout and interaction tweaks: spacing adjustments and clearer CTAs.
I focused on making forms easier to use (inline validation, clearer error messages).

Open questions & things I’d appreciate feedback on

Checkout UX: any must-have patterns I should adopt (one-page checkout vs multi-step)?
Payment integration: recommendations for easy-to-integrate gateways (low fees and good dev UX) or sandbox/testing tips.
Profile & address management: what extra fields or behaviours have you found useful in e-commerce address forms (e.g., address autocomplete, nickname for addresses)?

What I’ll be working on next

I’ll take this week off to handle other matters and recharge. After the break I plan to implement:
- Sorting mechanism for the shop (price, popularity, newest, rating).
- Product queries by category, collection, and accessory type so users can filter and browse more naturally.
- Refinements to product cards and listing performance (lazy loading images, smaller payloads).

Please find the important links below

Github repository: GitHub
Web app link: Treazurex

Week 2 Building Treazurex — Lessons from the Backend and Beyond

Raimi Dikamona Lassissi — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 11:46:43 +0000

Hey devs! 👋

Welcome to my second weekly update on building Treazurex, a web application I’m building with React + Vite on the front-end and Node.js + PostgreSQL on the back-end. If you missed the first week’s post, this project is all about learning through doing, building out a full-stack shopping experience while picking up best practices along the way.

Original Plan vs. Reality

At the start of the week, my plan was simple:
Build the homepage and the shop page.

But like many development journeys, I quickly realized that I had overlooked an important foundation, my back-end and database setup were still incomplete. Without a solid schema and working back-end logic, there was no way I could reliably fetch and display real product data on the front-end.

So I shifted gears. Instead of pushing forward on the UI, I decided to focus on getting the data layer right first.

Thinking Through the Data

I started by creating the missing tables in my PostgreSQL database. I took time to think carefully about:

What each table represents
What columns are necessary
What valid data should look like
How the tables should relate to each other

This exercise really helped me sharpen my understanding of relational database design. I found myself constantly thinking in terms of primary keys, foreign keys, data types, and referential integrity.

Once the tables were in place, I moved on to creating model files for each table — functions that allow common operations like inserting, updating, deleting, or querying records. This part was a bit repetitive, but it also reinforced some important patterns in working with raw SQL in Node.js.

As tedious as it felt at times, I believe that repetition builds mastery and I definitely came away with more confidence in writing data access logic.

Looking Ahead: Exploring ORMs

While writing models manually helped me understand the underlying logic of data access, it also made me curious about how to work more efficiently in the future.

I came across a concept called Object-Relational Mapping (ORM), a technique that allows you to interact with your database using object-oriented code instead of raw SQL. Tools like Sequelize, Prisma, and TypeORM promise to reduce boilerplate and make database queries easier to manage.

Though I haven’t used an ORM on Treazurex yet, it’s definitely something I want to explore in future projects. It seems like a smart way to stay productive while keeping code clean and readable.

Back to the Front-end

Once I had a more stable back-end and database schema in place, I returned to the front-end to design the look and feel of the home page.
I wanted the page to be:

Clean and visually appealing
Easy to navigate
Fully responsive across devices

Using Tailwind CSS, I styled the components with flexibility in mind. Tailwind’s utility-first approach really helped me iterate quickly, experiment with layouts, and make small visual adjustments without writing custom CSS classes.

Although the front-end part was less complex than the back-end this week, it reminded me that presentation matters just as much as functionality, especially for user-facing features like a homepage.

What I Learned This Week

Week two was a mix of challenges, insights, and progress. I gained a deeper appreciation for:

Database design: carefully planning tables, columns, and relationships can save a lot of headaches later.
Repetition as a teacher: writing similar model logic manually might be repetitive, but it solidified my understanding of CRUD operations.
Tailwind CSS: how utility-first styling can make responsive design faster and more intuitive.
The importance of flexibility: it’s okay to shift plans if your foundation isn’t ready yet.

What’s Next?
In the coming week, I’ll be focusing on:

Completing the shop page
Building out the product details page

Both of these will involve tying the front-end to real data and ensuring that the design remains consistent and responsive.

I’m excited to see how Treazurex evolves from here. One week, one decision, and one improvement at a time.

Thanks for following along! Feel free to share your own experience building apps or any tips on working with databases or styling with Tailwind. 😊

GitHub Repo

Kicking Off Treazurex – My First Week Building Something Bigger

Raimi Dikamona Lassissi — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 09:37:44 +0000

Ever felt like turning around at a certain level? That’s exactly where I found myself recently and that’s what led me to start building Treazurex.

Treazurex is a project I’m working on to push my limits both technically and mentally. It’s my way of stepping beyond the comfort zone of small tutorials and exercises, and into something more real, more complex, and more rewarding. The goal? Build a full-stack app with proper user authentication, clean UI, and a modern tech stack that brings it all together.

What is Treazurex?

Treazurex is a full-stack web app I’m building from scratch. The core idea behind it is to create a platform that brings modern digital tools and services together. I’m working on building a platform where users can:

Browse high-quality products with an intuitive, clean interface
Sign in seamlessly using email, Google, or Facebook
Save favorite items, build a cart, and checkout with ease
Enjoy responsive, smooth UI that doesn’t get in the way

This project is also my playground for experimenting with technologies like React (with Vite), Node.js, PostgreSQL, Passport.js, TailwindCSS, stripe, cloud platforms and more. It’s both a learning journey and a portfolio piece.

Week 1 Focus: Authentication

This first week was mainly about building a complete login and sign-up system. That meant:

Traditional login with email and password, protected using JWT
Google login via OAuth2
Facebook login (still in progress, but already taking shape!)

Setting this up wasn’t always smooth sailing. I had to figure out how to work with different login flows and ensure everything played nicely together. But it was during these moments of struggle that I learned the most.

One tool that stood out to me was Passport.js. I had heard of it before but never really used it. Now, I can confidently say it’s a handy library when you want to integrate social logins quickly and securely.

A step into TailwindCSS

On the frontend side, I decided to try something new: Tailwind CSS.

I’ve been styling with regular CSS for a few years, and while it gives you total control, I started to feel it was slowing me down. Writing class names, switching between files, and the considerably long code became a bit of a drag.

Tailwind flips that on its head. At first, I was skeptical, all those utility classes in the HTML? But once I gave it a real try, it started making sense. I could quickly design buttons, forms, and layouts without bouncing between files or worrying about naming things like login-form-wrapper or btn-outline-secondary-sm.

I’m still learning, but already feeling more productive and excited about how fast I can iterate on UI designs now.

Bringing the Stack Together

This week was also about connecting all the moving parts:

PostgreSQL for the database
Node.js with Express for the backend
React + Vite for the frontend
And now, sprinkled with Tailwind for the styling boost

I didn’t just write isolated code, I learned how to integrate technologies, how to think about auth flows across client and server, and how to keep things organized.

Every time the login form validated, connected to the server, saved a token, and routed the user...it felt like small wins building up into something bigger.

What’s Coming Next?

With a solid authentication system now in place JWT, email login, Google, Facebook...I feel like I’ve built a strong foundation.

For the upcoming week, I want to focus on building the home page, product page and work on a cloud storage mechanism for my resources.

Another big goal is to improve the UI/UX. I now have a basic layout, but I want it to feel modern, smooth, and intuitive. I’ll also spend more time polishing the responsive design so it works beautifully across screen sizes.

Lastly, I’m aiming to write cleaner code and structure things better and improve my error handling.

Final thoughts

This first week reminded me how much growth happens when you push beyond your comfort zone. Taking on a project like Treazurex, something bigger than I’m used to was the right move. It challenged my thinking, forced me to learn on the go, and gave me a real sense of momentum.

I’m excited to keep building, learning, and sharing with you all along the way.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! Feel free to drop any suggestions, tips, or just say hi in the comments 😊 I'd really appreciate it.

For those who want to have a look at the progress, here is my GitHub repo: GitHub Repo

Until next time — happy coding!

Why Working Hard Wasn’t Enough And What Changed Everything

Raimi Dikamona Lassissi — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 21:22:33 +0000

Introduction

When it comes to learning, it’s essential to remember that intelligence is not a fixed trait. There’s no such thing as a “dumb” or “genius” person, only individuals who apply different strategies. Anyone can become a high achiever with the right mindset, effort, and most importantly, smart work.

Over time, I’ve understood that working hard alone isn’t enough. Working smart on the other hand means directing your time, energy, and attention toward strategies and processes that yield the most significant impact. This article explores what that means in practice, drawing from cognitive science, personal experience and learning theory to offer timeless strategies that can benefit anyone, regardless of their background or cognitive preferences.

The Power of Process: Everything Has a Structure

Image generated using Chatgpt
One of the first steps to smart learning is understanding that everything (yes, everything) has a process or structure. Even individuals who seem naturally gifted follow unconscious methods or routines that guide their performance.

Take chess, for example. When you play against a computer, it offers difficulty levels: easy, normal, difficult, expert. The computer itself doesn’t change, but the algorithm it uses does. It’s simply thinking differently. This proves that different approaches to the same task lead to different outcomes. The human brain can be trained the same way. By understanding and adjusting the process we use, we can dramatically improve our learning outcomes or performance.

Cognitive Biases and Learning Preferences

It’s also important to acknowledge that not all learning strategies work the same for everyone. Our learning outcomes are often influenced by our cognitive biases, life experiences, and individual preferences. For instance, some people learn better visually, others kinesthetically or you may not be attracted to books therefore subject to a loss of interest when reading one. According to Verywell Mind, cognitive biases like confirmation bias or anchoring can affect how we absorb and retain information (source).

Keeping this in mind, the techniques we’ll explore are grounded in solid principles of learning and can benefit learners of all types.

Rethinking Traditional Learning: Bloom’s Taxonomy

Think back to school. Chances are you spent countless hours trying to memorize pages after pages of content, writing a considerable amount of practice questions only to forget them days later. This is because memorization is one of the least effective forms of learning when used in isolation.

The Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, published in 2001 by Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl, outlines six levels of cognitive learning:

Memorization, or remembering, is at the bottom of the hierarchy. While it’s foundational, it’s far less effective than higher-order skills like analyzing or creating.

Interestingly, you don’t have to master these levels in strict sequence. According to studies (e.g., constructivist theories) engaging in higher-level thinking (e.g., creating or evaluating) naturally strengthens the lower levels. For example, teaching a concept or applying it in a project often leads to deeper understanding and better recall, which explains why experiential learning, like in the case of a baby learning a language can be so powerful. They didn’t try to memorize the words yet they know them. They didn’t try to study the rules and yet they apply them.

Core Considerations for Effective Learning

- Learn Through Multiple Levels of Abstraction
Start by having a general overview of the concepts before diving into details. This approach helps you see the “big picture” and gives you a mental framework for where each new piece of information fits. It’s like using a map, you don’t want to get lost in the streets without knowing the city layout.

Without a clear structure, it’s easy to forget or lose track of how new information connects. Always ask: “Where does this concept fit in the larger picture?”

- Avoid Cognitive Overload
More hours don’t always mean more learning. Our brains can only handle a certain amount of information at once. After that threshold, everything else is wasted and quickly forgotten. In fact, prolonged focus without breaks can lead to decision fatigue and mental burnout. The key is to break down your learning into manageable chunks. This is the principle behind the Pomodoro Technique, which suggests working in 25-minute focused sessions followed by short breaks.

Trick: Focus on deep work, not long hours. Quality trumps quantity.

- Consistency is key
Learning is a long game. Trying to cram hours into a single day is far less effective than engaging in shorter, focused sessions consistently over time.

Small, consistent efforts compound into mastery. This is why “studying a little every day” is far more powerful than a marathon study session once a week.

Please note that the amount of time spent learning doesn’t have to remain the same forever. Although it is an organ, the brain functions much like a muscle, it can be trained and strengthened. If you reach a point where you feel your mind can handle longer periods, it’s perfectly okay to gradually and carefully increase your learning time.

Metacognition: Thinking About Thinking

Even with all the will in the world, I can’t possibly outline all the methods there is but one of the most transformative skills in learning is metacognition, your awareness and control over your own learning processes. It involves asking questions like:

- What do I already know about this?
- What’s the best way for me to learn this material?
- What do I find confusing, and why?
- How can I test if I really understand this?

Metacognition enables you to self-monitor, self-correct, and adjust your strategies as needed. According to Scientific Research, students who use metacognitive strategies are better able to transfer knowledge to new situations and perform better academically (source).

Conclusion

Learning is not about raw intelligence; it’s about strategy. By understanding that everything has a structure, avoiding cognitive overload, being consistent, and applying metacognitive techniques, you can transform how you learn. Instead of focusing on memorizing facts, prioritize applying, creating, and reflecting.

Smart learners don’t just work hard — they work effectively, intentionally, and reflectively. That’s the real secret to becoming your best self.

Learning isn’t a race. It’s a journey of structured curiosity. Take it one smart step at a time.