Phone Price Comparison System

Overview

The Phone Price Comparison System is my first full-stack and backend-focused project, built as a college project last year. The goal was to create a platform where users could compare mobile phone prices across different sellers and make better purchasing decisions.

This project played a major role in shaping how I think about backend development, architecture, and code organization today.

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What Users Can Do

• Compare Phone Prices: View and compare prices of phones across multiple sellers.
• Browse Phone Listings: Explore phones with detailed specifications.
• Search & Filter: Narrow down phones based on criteria.
• Admin Management: Manage phone listings and pricing data.
• Server-Rendered UI: Simple, fast frontend using EJS templates.

Note: The current version uses dummy data, but the system is designed around a real-world use case.

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Why I Built This

This project was built as part of my college curriculum, but I intentionally chose a real and practical problem instead of a theoretical one.

At the time:

• Backend development was completely new to me.
• I wanted to understand how servers, routes, databases, and templates work together.
• React was not part of my stack yet, so I used EJS for server-side rendering.

The focus was learning — not writing perfect code.

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The First Version (Reality Check)

In the initial version:

• Almost the entire backend logic lived in a single file
• The codebase grew to 2,000–3,000+ lines
• There was little separation of concerns
• Changes became harder as features increased

This version worked functionally, but it was not maintainable.

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Refactoring & Architectural Growth

After gaining more backend knowledge, I revisited the project and:

• Refactored the entire codebase into a proper MVC architecture
• Separated routes, controllers, models, and views
• Improved readability and maintainability
• Made the system easier to extend and deploy

This refactoring phase taught me more than the initial build, especially about why structure matters as projects grow.

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Tech Stack

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB
• EJS (Server-side rendering)
• Tailwind CSS

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Key Takeaways

• Writing everything in one file works only at a very small scale.
• Code structure matters as much as functionality.
• Refactoring is a skill, not a failure.
• Backend systems should be designed for change, not just correctness.
• Real-world use cases expose design flaws early.

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After Build & Impact

• This project became my entry point into backend development.
• It helped me understand MVC architecture practically.
• The learnings directly influenced how I structure later projects.
• It built confidence to work on larger backend systems.

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Future Improvements

• Replace dummy data with real retailer integrations.
• Add automated data fetching and updates.
• Improve comparison logic and filtering.
• Enhance admin workflows.