Virtual Event Hosting Platform Development| Case Study

Technology Stack

Ruby on Rails
MySQL
REST APIs
AWS

The Client

This is a cutting-edge event hosting web app that lets universities, colleges, and high-schools organize virtual events for students worldwide to help them decide which courses, educational opportunities are better for them.

The Challenge

Capital Numbers’ goal was to implement custom features to modernize this web app so that convention planners can connect to a global student base with zero friction.

The key here was to enable more profound engagement with all stakeholders - right from event set-ups, sign-ups, student registrations, exhibitor management, convention management, sponsorships, etc.

Also, we had to optimize the web app for mobile so that it elegantly fits all screen sizes, downloads fast, offers a great UI, and improves portability.

Moreover, since the pandemic postponed several in-person events, we also had to deliver this event hosting app within a short time to cater to a socially-distanced environment quickly.

In essence, we aimed to add functionalities that digitize event hosting and management.

The Solution

Capital Numbers started by conducting several standup calls to maintain a shared vision while developing the product.

Our experts applied a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to split this multi-step, complex project into smaller, more manageable portions. This approach offered us a visual way to detail each deliverable and divide individual tasks into subtasks for faster delivery.

The technologies that we used included the following:

We went ahead with EmberJS because this ecosystem embraces everything that a modern JavaScript framework has to offer. With a built-in router, data access library, and an asset pipeline, Ember was the perfect full-stack frontend solution for this project. Moreover, we could select from hundreds of carefully-curated Ember add-ons to supercharge our app’s interface.

We used Ruby on Rails (RoR) for the backend because it is scalable, promotes bug-free development, and provides ready-made plugins that eliminate the need to write boilerplate code.

We used REST APIs because it offers the most logical and efficient standard for API creation. Plus, REST APIs provide immense flexibility, portability, and scalability to an app.

Our engineers used InVision to experiment with the app templates and workflow. This helped us with prototyping and offered us a collaborative experience with the UI design.

We used MySQL for managing the database with speedy transactional support. MySQL also offers on-demand scalability, security, and round-the-clock uptime, guaranteeing high app performance.

Our experts incorporated two-factor authentication in the app to increase security layers, strengthen user validation, and minimize frauds.

Finally, we hosted the platform in AWS. We chose AWS because this is the best computing infrastructure with an unlimited server capacity that dramatically increases app speed and agility, despite heavy traffic.

Results

Using the above technologies, Capital Numbers could develop a well-thought-out, mobile-optimized platform for convention providers to host virtual events for students in this new normal.

We successfully added deep customization layers to this platform to help organizers reimagine the future of events.

Our contributions included:

An All-inclusive Event Hosting Solution

We successfully created an easy-to-use platform that serves as a single virtual spot for hosting large-scale conferences, expos, workshops, training events, webinars, etc.

Capital Numbers created this virtual space with handy features that can help academicians and students seamlessly communicate, collaborate, network, and belong.

Simplified Event Set-up

We developed a 100% user-friendly and customizable app that helps organizers set up virtual events in minutes, saves time, and takes the heavy lifting out of event logistics.

Fluid Convention Management

Our developers included a personalized catalog system that lists past/ongoing/upcoming events, thereby offering full visibility and control over event management.

Detailed Registrant Lists

We offered limitless access to the registrant list so that convention providers can keep a complete database of attendees handy for further analysis and informed decisions.

Unique Self-configurations

Our team added view controllers for organizers to self-configure visualizations (i.e., labels, headlines, languages, and messages) on their event page for brand advantage.

Comprehensive Convention Summary

We used the tabular format to summarize multiple event details row-wise so that organizers get an instant brief of what, when, and where.

Streamlined Exhibitor Management

Our end-to-end exhibitor management solution centralizes and streamlines exhibitor information to minimize time spent on back-and-forth communication.

ROI-led Sponsor Tiers

We created ample monetization opportunities through this web app to drive pipeline and revenue streams for sponsors, exhibitors, and organizers.

Customized Sign-up Questions

We added self-serving capabilities through which organizers can customize sign-up questions (i.e., names, phone numbers, etc.) and collect user data for progressive profiling.

Deep Attendee Segmentation

Our team also offered attendee segmentation capabilities so that organizers can zero in on each registrant type (i.e., students/parents/guardians/high-school teachers) and optimize their marketing funnel accordingly.

A Cost-effective, Handy Solution

By implementing the above features, Capital Numbers could efficiently roll out a handy, cost-effective, mobile-friendly solution that takes conferences from on-site to online.

We’re proud of our ace engineers who collaborated in real-time, despite different time zones, to create this unified, immersive platform within a few weeks. Besides, a well-constructed WBS helped us deliver the project quickly and achieve our goals on-time.

Convention planners can now use this solution to run virtual events and boost paperless promotions in this pandemic-induced socially-distanced world.