🚀 TechVerse - Your Universe of Technology

CS2TP 2025-26 E-Commerce Platform Project A modern, full-featured e-commerce platform for selling premium technology products.

📋 About

TechVerse is a comprehensive e-commerce platform built with Laravel, designed to provide students and professionals with access to cutting-edge technology products at competitive prices.

🎯 Our Vision

To democratize access to technology by offering an intuitive, secure, and feature-rich online shopping experience.

🎉 Phase 5 Status - March 2026

Phase 5 Complete! Advanced features and final polish delivered
Live Deployment: cs2team69.cs2410-web01pvm.aston.ac.uk
30 Products across 6 categories with real images
AI-Powered: Gemini 2.5 Flash chatbot integration
Payment Ready: Stripe test mode integration
Full Testing: 19 PHPUnit tests, 100% pass rate
Team Collaboration: 20+ merged pull requests, 7 contributors

🎨 Business Identity

Name: TechVerse
Tagline: "Your Universe of Technology"
Target Audience: University students, young professionals (18-35), tech enthusiasts
Product Range: 30+ products across 6 categories

✨ Key Features

For Customers 🛒

User registration & secure login with rate limiting (LIVE)
Browse products by category (LIVE)
Advanced search & filtering with professional UI (LIVE)
Shopping basket management (LIVE)
Secure checkout process (LIVE)
Stripe payment gateway (LIVE - Test Mode)
Order tracking system (LIVE)
Product reviews & ratings (LIVE)
Wishlist functionality (LIVE)
AI-powered chatbot support (LIVE)
Email notifications (LIVE)
Dark mode toggle with persistence (LIVE)
Product images and stock badges (LIVE)
Category icons (laptop, phone, headphones, gamepad, watch, mouse) (LIVE)
Toast notifications for user feedback (LIVE)
Profile management (LIVE)

For Administrators 👨‍💼

Comprehensive admin dashboard (LIVE)
Chart.js analytics with interactive charts (LIVE)
Real-time inventory management (LIVE)
Order management with status updates (LIVE)
Sales analytics and revenue tracking (LIVE)
Product management interface (LIVE)
Customer account management (LIVE)
Best-selling products tracking (LIVE)

Advanced Features 🚀

AI Chatbot - Gemini 2.5 Flash powered customer support
Payment Gateway - Stripe integration with test mode
Order Tracking - Real-time order status updates
Email Notifications - Automated order confirmations and updates
Wishlist System - Save products for later, move to basket
Product Reviews - Customer ratings and feedback with CRUD
Login Rate Limiting - Security (5 attempts, 30-minute lockout)

UI/UX Enhancements 🎨

Toast Notifications - Real-time user feedback for all actions
Loading States - Button animations during form submissions
Professional Filter Icon - Sliders icon with smooth animations
Custom 404 Page - Branded error handling
Favicon - Professional purple/black TV logo
Chart.js Analytics - Interactive sales charts in admin dashboard
Dark Mode - Full theme support across all pages

Legend: ✅ Complete & Live

📸 Platform Overview

Explore TechVerse's user interface and key features through these screenshots.

🏠 Homepage - Light & Dark Mode

Our homepage features a clean, modern design with easy navigation and instant dark mode switching.

Homepage in Light Mode - Showcasing 6 product categories with icons and featured products

Homepage in Dark Mode - Persistent theme preference using localStorage

📦 Product Catalog

Browse our extensive collection of 30 real technology products across 6 categories.

Product grid showing laptops, smartphones, audio equipment, gaming accessories, wearables, and computer accessories

🛍️ Product Details & Shopping

Detailed product pages with comprehensive information, customer reviews, ratings, and seamless basket management.

Product detail page with full specifications, pricing, customer reviews with star ratings, and add to basket functionality

Dynamic shopping basket with quantity controls, live total calculation, and checkout options

💼 Admin Dashboard

Comprehensive admin panel with real-time analytics and inventory management.

Admin dashboard showing revenue tracking, order management, inventory tracking, and Chart.js analytics

📱 Responsive Design

Fully optimized for mobile devices with a responsive, touch-friendly interface.

Mobile view showing responsive layout and touch-optimized navigation

🛠️ Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Backend	Laravel 12.x (PHP 8.2+)
Frontend	Blade, Tailwind CSS 4.0, Alpine.js
Database	SQLite (Development), MySQL 8.0 (Production)
AI Integration	Google Gemini 2.5 Flash API
Payment	Stripe API (Test Mode)
Email	Laravel Mail (Log Driver)
Charts	Chart.js 4.x
Testing	PHPUnit (19 tests, 100% pass rate)
Version Control	Git & GitHub
Package Manager	Composer, NPM
Deployment	Aston University Web Server

🌐 Live Demo

🔗 Production Site: http://cs2team69.cs2410-web01pvm.aston.ac.uk

Test Accounts:

Admin Access:

Email: admin@techverse.com
Password: Admin123!

Customer Access:

Email: customer@test.com
Password: Customer123!

⚠️ Note: This is a demo site for academic purposes. Please do not use real payment information.

Test Credit Card (Stripe Test Mode):

Card Number: 4242 4242 4242 4242
Expiry: Any future date
CVC: Any 3 digits

📦 Product Categories

💻 Laptops & Computers - High-performance devices
📱 Smartphones & Tablets - Latest mobile technology
🎧 Audio Equipment - Premium sound devices
🎮 Gaming & Accessories - Gaming gear & peripherals
⌚ Smart Home & Wearables - IoT & fitness devices
🖥️ Computer Accessories - Monitors, keyboards, storage

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

PHP 8.2 or higher
Composer
Node.js & NPM
MySQL 8.0+ (or SQLite for development)
Git

Installation

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/saeed-moo/TechVerse.git
cd TechVerse

# 2. Install dependencies
composer install
npm install

# 3. Environment setup
cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate

# 4. Configure database in .env file
# For SQLite (Development):
DB_CONNECTION=sqlite

# For MySQL (Production):
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_DATABASE=techverse
DB_USERNAME=your_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

# 5. Configure API keys (optional for full functionality)
# Add to .env:
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_gemini_api_key_here
STRIPE_KEY=your_stripe_publishable_key
STRIPE_SECRET=your_stripe_secret_key

# 6. Create database (MySQL only)
mysql -u root -p
CREATE DATABASE techverse;
exit;

# 7. Run migrations and seeders
php artisan migrate --seed

# 8. Link storage
php artisan storage:link

# 9. Build assets
npm run build

# 10. Start development server
php artisan serve

Visit: http://localhost:8000 🎉

Test Accounts

Admin Access:

Email: admin@techverse.com
Password: Admin123!

Customer Access:

Email: customer@test.com
Password: Customer123!

⚠️ Change these passwords in production!

🚀 Deployment

Production Environment

Server: Aston University Web Server URL: http://cs2team69.cs2410-web01pvm.aston.ac.uk Status: ✅ Live Database: SQLite (production)

Deployment Process

# 1. SSH into server
ssh cs2team69@cs2410-web01pvm.aston.ac.uk

# 2. Navigate to project
cd ~/laravel

# 3. Pull latest changes
git pull origin main

# 4. Install dependencies
composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader
npm install --production

# 5. Compile assets
npm run build

# 6. Run migrations
php artisan migrate --force

# 7. Clear all caches
php artisan optimize:clear
php artisan view:clear
php artisan config:clear
php artisan route:clear

# 8. Set permissions
chmod -R 755 public/images
chmod -R 755 public/build
chmod -R 755 storage

Environment Configuration

Key production settings in .env:

APP_ENV=production
APP_DEBUG=false
APP_URL=http://cs2team69.cs2410-web01pvm.aston.ac.uk
DB_CONNECTION=sqlite
ASSET_URL=http://cs2team69.cs2410-web01pvm.aston.ac.uk
MAIL_MAILER=log

Important Notes:

Vite assets compiled to /public/build/
Product images in /public/images/products/
Dark mode using Tailwind CSS v4 with class-based strategy
All 30 product images uploaded and optimized
Gemini API and Stripe configured for production

👥 Team

Name	Role	GitHub	Email
Saeed Moosivand	Project Lead & Full-Stack Developer	@saeed-moo	240169451@aston.ac.uk
Ana Ciobanu	Frontend Developer	@aion-maria	220103129@aston.ac.uk
Natalia Aghedo	Backend Developer	@NataliaAghedo-1	240006237@aston.ac.uk
Umm Salma Hamisu	Database Specialist & Feature Developer	@UmmSalmaHamisu	240132950@aston.ac.uk
Mandeep Singh	QA Engineer & Tester	@MandeepSingh	230107629@aston.ac.uk
Isaac Yeboah	DevOps & Deployment	@Notisaac07	240159991@aston.ac.uk
Majdi Alkayed	Feature Developer	@Whitewolf2001	majdialkayed19@gmail.com

Team Roles & Responsibilities

Saeed Moosivand - Project Lead & Full-Stack Developer

Overall project architecture and design (frontend + backend integration)
Implemented AI chatbot with Gemini 2.5 Flash integration
Stripe payment gateway integration
Order tracking system development
Email notification system setup
Loading states and toast notifications
Login rate limiting for security
Chart.js analytics implementation
Favicon design and implementation
Production deployment and server configuration
Code reviews and quality assurance
Sprint planning coordination and Trello task management
GitHub repository management and branch protection setup
Final presentation and demo delivery

Ana Ciobanu - Frontend Developer

UI/UX design and implementation
Blade template development for all customer-facing pages
Tailwind CSS styling and responsive design
Homepage layout with category cards and featured products
Product catalog and detail pages
Mobile-first responsive design
Professional filter icon implementation

Natalia Aghedo - Backend Developer

Controllers and routing implementation
Business logic for order processing
Authentication middleware
API development for admin dashboard
Backend validation and error handling
Admin order management system

Umm Salma Hamisu - Database Specialist & Feature Developer

Database schema design and ER diagram (13 tables)
Migrations and seeders for all database tables
Data integrity, relationships, and foreign key constraints
Query optimization and database performance
Product reviews system implementation
Wishlist functionality development
Order tracking features

Mandeep Singh - QA Engineer & Tester

PHPUnit test suite development (19 tests, 100% pass rate)
Manual testing procedures across all features
Cross-browser testing (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
Mobile device testing
Bug tracking and reporting via GitHub Issues
Quality assurance standards enforcement
User acceptance testing coordination

Isaac Yeboah - DevOps & Deployment

Server setup and SSH configuration
Production deployment to Aston university server
Environment management and .env configuration
Asset compilation and optimization
File permissions and security settings
Documentation maintenance
Git workflow management

Majdi Alkayed - Feature Developer

Admin dashboard enhancements
Order management interface
Sales analytics and reporting features
Inventory management functionality
Backend integration for admin features
Feature testing and bug fixes
Authentication system improvements

📂 Project Structure

TechVerse/
├── app/
│   ├── Http/
│   │   ├── Controllers/         # Application controllers
│   │   │   ├── Admin/          # Admin dashboard controllers
│   │   │   ├── Auth/           # Authentication controllers
│   │   │   ├── Customer/       # Customer area controllers
│   │   │   ├── ChatBotController.php
│   │   │   ├── AboutController.php
│   │   │   ├── ContactController.php
│   │   │   └── HomeController.php
│   │   └── Middleware/         # Custom middleware
│   ├── Mail/                   # Email templates
│   │   ├── OrderConfirmation.php
│   │   └── OrderStatusUpdated.php
│   ├── Models/                 # Eloquent models
│   │   ├── Basket.php
│   │   ├── Category.php
│   │   ├── Order.php
│   │   ├── OrderItem.php
│   │   ├── Product.php
│   │   ├── Review.php
│   │   ├── Wishlist.php
│   │   ├── WishlistItem.php
│   │   └── User.php
│   └── Services/               # Business logic services
│       ├── ChatBotService.php
│       └── ProductSearchService.php
├── database/
│   ├── migrations/             # Database schema (13 tables)
│   ├── seeders/                # Sample data (30 products, 6 categories)
│   └── factories/              # Model factories for testing
├── resources/
│   ├── views/                  # Blade templates
│   │   ├── admin/             # Admin dashboard views
│   │   ├── customer/          # Customer area views
│   │   ├── products/          # Product pages
│   │   ├── checkout/          # Checkout flow
│   │   ├── orders/            # Order management
│   │   ├── payment/           # Payment pages
│   │   ├── wishlist/          # Wishlist views
│   │   ├── emails/            # Email templates
│   │   ├── errors/            # Error pages (404)
│   │   ├── components/        # Reusable components (chatbot)
│   │   └── layouts/           # Layout templates
│   ├── css/
│   │   └── app.css            # Tailwind CSS v4
│   └── js/
│       └── app.js             # JavaScript & Alpine.js
├── routes/
│   └── web.php                # Application routes
├── public/
│   ├── build/                 # Compiled assets (CSS, JS)
│   ├── favicon.svg            # Favicon (SVG)
│   ├── favicon.ico            # Favicon (ICO fallback)
│   ├── apple-touch-icon.png   # Apple touch icon
│   └── images/
│       └── products/          # 30 product images
├── tests/                     # Automated tests
│   ├── Feature/               # Feature tests (7 tests)
│   └── Unit/                  # Unit tests (12 tests)
└── config/
    └── services.php           # API configurations (Gemini, Stripe)

🔄 Development Workflow

Git Branching Strategy

main - Production code (protected, requires PR approval)
develop - Integration branch
feature/* - New features
bugfix/* - Bug fixes
hotfix/* - Emergency fixes

Branch Protection Rules

Main branch requires pull request approval
Admin can bypass for urgent fixes
All team members must use PRs for collaboration
20+ pull requests successfully merged

Creating a Feature

# 1. Start from main
git checkout main
git pull origin main

# 2. Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

# 3. Make changes and commit
git add .
git commit -m "feat: add your feature description"

# 4. Push to GitHub
git push origin feature/your-feature-name

# 5. Create Pull Request on GitHub
# 6. Wait for review and approval
# 7. Merge to main

Commit Convention

feat: Add new feature
fix: Fix a bug
docs: Update documentation
style: Code formatting
refactor: Code refactoring
test: Add tests
chore: Maintenance tasks

🧪 Testing

# Run all tests
php artisan test

# Run specific test suite
php artisan test --testsuite=Feature

# Run with coverage
php artisan test --coverage

# Run specific test file
php artisan test tests/Feature/ProductTest.php

Testing Coverage

19 PHPUnit tests - 100% pass rate, 31 assertions, 0.97s execution
Unit Tests (12 tests): Basket, Order, Product models
Feature Tests (7 tests): Authentication, Product pages, User flows
Manual testing complete for all features
Cross-browser testing (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
Mobile responsive testing

Test Results:

Tests:    19 passed (31 assertions)
Duration: 0.97S

📚 Documentation

Installation Guide - Detailed setup instructions
Contributing Guidelines - How to contribute
Team Setup - Onboarding guide
API Documentation - API reference
Deployment Guide - Production deployment

🔐 Security

We implement multiple security layers:

Password hashing (Bcrypt)
CSRF protection on all forms
SQL injection prevention (Eloquent ORM)
XSS protection (Blade escaping)
Input validation & sanitization
Role-based access control (Admin/Customer)
Secure authentication with Laravel
Login rate limiting (5 attempts, 30-minute lockout)
Environment variable protection
Stripe PCI-compliant payment processing

Found a security issue? Email: 240169451@aston.ac.uk (Please don't create public issues for security vulnerabilities)

📊 Current Status

✅ Phase 1-3 (MVP) - COMPLETE!

✅ Phase 4-5 (Advanced Features) - COMPLETE!

Core Enhancements

Payment Gateway Integration (Stripe test mode)
Email Notifications System (order confirmations, status updates)
Product Reviews & Ratings (CRUD operations)
Wishlist Functionality (add, remove, move to basket, clear all)
Advanced Search Filters (professional sliders icon with animations)
Order Tracking System (real-time status updates)

Advanced Features

AI Chatbot (Gemini 2.5 Flash integration)
Admin Order Management (view, update status)
Chart.js Analytics (interactive sales charts)
Login Rate Limiting (security enhancement)
Custom 404 Error Page (branded error handling)

UI/UX Polish

Toast Notifications (real-time user feedback)
Loading States (button animations)
Favicon (professional brand identity)
Professional Filter Icon (sliders with hover effects)
Improved Product Filtering (backdrop blur effects)

Testing & Documentation

PHPUnit Test Suite (19 tests, 100% pass rate)
Team Information Document (2 pages)
Evaluation Report (3000 words)
Demo Script (15-minute presentation)
Updated README (comprehensive documentation)

📈 Project Metrics

Metric	Value
Products	30
Categories	6
Database Tables	13
Team Members	7
GitHub PRs Merged	20+
Lines of Code Added	8,500+
PHPUnit Tests	19 (100% pass)
Test Assertions	31
Test Execution Time	0.97s
Production Status	✅ Live
Sample Revenue	£1,649.91
Product Images	30 (optimized)
Development Phases	5 (all complete)
Project Duration	16 weeks

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from all team members! Please read our Contributing Guidelines before getting started.

Quick Contribution Steps:

Fork the repository
Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'feat: add some AmazingFeature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
Create a Pull Request
Wait for code review and approval
Merge to main after approval

Code Review Process

All code must be reviewed by at least one team member
Admin (Saeed) can bypass for urgent fixes
Use GitHub's review features for comments and suggestions
Address all review comments before merging

📞 Contact

Project Lead: Saeed Moosivand 📧 Email: 240169451@aston.ac.uk 🐙 GitHub: @saeed-moo

Project Links:

🔗 Repository: https://github.com/saeed-moo/TechVerse
🌐 Live Site: http://cs2team69.cs2410-web01pvm.aston.ac.uk
📋 Trello Board: https://trello.com/b/1hvXbBpN/techverse-team-69
💬 Team Communication: Microsoft Teams

📄 License

This project is developed for educational purposes as part of CS2TP coursework at Aston University.

Academic Integrity Statement: This project was developed with guidance from AI tools for learning purposes, in compliance with university guidelines. All code represents original work by our team, with AI assistance used for debugging, syntax checking, documentation, and learning new concepts.

🙏 Acknowledgments

CS2TP Module Team - Course structure, guidance, and support
Aston University - Server infrastructure and resources
Laravel Community - Excellent framework and comprehensive documentation
Tailwind CSS Team - Modern utility-first CSS framework
Google Gemini Team - AI API for chatbot functionality
Stripe - Secure payment processing platform
Chart.js Team - Interactive charting library
Open Source Contributors - Various packages and tools used in this project
Our Team - Dedication, collaboration, and hard work throughout the project

🌟 Show Your Support

If you find this project helpful, please ⭐ star this repository!

🔮 Future Enhancements

Potential Phase 6 Features:

🤖 Enhanced AI recommendations based on browsing history
📧 Advanced email marketing campaigns
📦 Multi-carrier shipping integration
⭐ Social media integration for reviews
💬 Real-time customer support chat
📊 Advanced analytics dashboard for customers
🌍 Multi-language support
📱 Progressive Web App (PWA) support
🔔 Push notifications
🎁 Loyalty rewards program

Made with ❤️ by the TechVerse Team

🚀 Building the Future of Tech E-Commerce 🚀

Live Demo • Documentation • Report Issue

Last Updated: March 2026 Version: 2.0.0 (Phase 5 Complete) Status: ✅ Production Ready | 🚀 All Features Implemented

🎓 Academic Project Information

Course: CS2TP - Team Project Institution: Aston University Academic Year: 2025-2026 Team: Team 69 Project Duration: 16 weeks (October 2025 - March 2026)

Key Deliverables:

Project proposal and planning
Database design (ER diagram, 13 tables)
Website sitemap (40+ pages)
Wireframes (8 key pages)
UI mockups (8 pages with full design system)
Phase 1-5 implementation (30 products, full e-commerce + advanced features)
Live deployment on university server
PHPUnit testing suite (19 tests, 100% pass rate)
Final presentation and demo
Team collaboration via Git (20+ merged PRs)
Comprehensive documentation (README, reports, team info)

Assessment Criteria Met:

Functionality: Complete e-commerce system with AI, payments, tracking
Design: Professional UI with dark mode and responsive layout
Database: Well-structured schema with proper relationships (13 tables)
Teamwork: Clear roles, collaborative Git workflow, regular meetings
Testing: Comprehensive test suite with 100% pass rate
Security: Rate limiting, CSRF protection, input validation
Innovation: AI chatbot, real-time analytics, advanced features
Documentation: Comprehensive README, code comments, deployment guide
Presentation: Live demo showcasing all features

Technical Achievements:

AI Integration (Gemini 2.5 Flash)
Payment Processing (Stripe)
Real-time Features (order tracking, notifications)
Data Visualization (Chart.js analytics)
Automated Testing (PHPUnit)
Professional UI/UX (toast notifications, loading states)
Security Features (rate limiting, authentication)
Email Automation (Laravel Mail)

🎉 Thank you for checking out TechVerse! 🎉

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
app		app
bootstrap		bootstrap
config		config
database		database
public		public
resources		resources
routes		routes
screenshots		screenshots
storage		storage
tests		tests
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.env.example		.env.example
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
README.md		README.md
TechVerse.env.example.txt		TechVerse.env.example.txt
TechVerse.env.txt		TechVerse.env.txt
aeed-fullstackexit		aeed-fullstackexit
and.java		and.java
artisan		artisan
composer.json		composer.json
composer.lock		composer.lock
controllers.txt		controllers.txt
git		git
index.html		index.html
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
phpunit.xml		phpunit.xml
project_structure.txt		project_structure.txt
vite.config.js		vite.config.js

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