Fathead – Ecommerce Frontend Rebuild
Ecommerce Web Application
Modernizing a legacy ecommerce frontend within a large engineering team
Technologies
JavaScript, jQuery, React, Vue.js, HTML5, CSS3 (SCSS), Proprietary Ecommerce Systems
Role
Frontend Developer
My Role
I worked as a frontend developer within a cross-functional ecommerce engineering team that included backend developers, QA engineers, database administrators, project managers, and business analysts.
My primary responsibility was modernizing and stabilizing the frontend layer during a broader platform refresh. This involved refactoring large portions of the existing JavaScript codebase and contributing to feature development across catalog and product pages.
I collaborated closely with backend engineers to ensure frontend changes aligned with existing services and data structures, and participated in QA and regression cycles prior to deployment.
Toward the end of the project, I created internal documentation outlining the frontend architecture and build process and led knowledge transfer sessions to onboard my replacement, ensuring continuity within the team.
Approach
The frontend operated on top of a legacy codebase with limited documentation, requiring careful analysis before any refactoring. Rather than introducing disruptive rewrites, updates were made incrementally to preserve compatibility with backend services and existing ecommerce workflows.
A significant portion of the work involved restructuring legacy JavaScript, into more maintainable, modular patterns. A better build pipeline was introduced to standardize coding practices and reduce inconsistencies across the frontend codebase.
Interactive functionality was implemented where appropriate. The product catalog included dynamic search refinement built with React to support client-side filtering, while a “Design Your Wall” tool built with Vue.js allowed users to upload images and visualize decal placement in real time.
Asset bundling and task automation were managed through a Gulp-based build pipeline, which I helped formalize to improve reliability and deployment consistency.
Development followed structured QA and regression testing workflows to ensure stability within a production ecommerce environment.
Outcome
The frontend refresh modernized key customer-facing interactions and improved the structure and maintainability of the JavaScript codebase.
Introducing linting and a more consistent build process helped standardize frontend development practices and reduced long-term friction in maintaining the platform. The rebuild aligned the storefront with evolving frontend frameworks while operating within the constraints of an established ecommerce system.
Knowledge transfer documentation and onboarding sessions ensured continuity of the frontend architecture after my departure.
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