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NR.Niels Rigter

How I built a SaaS community platform with Next.js + AWS

A community product with feeds, groups, events, media and realtime chat needs more than a fast UI. Product choices, full-stack Next.js and AWS scale, described without naming the client.

The problem

The product had to feel fast with many concurrent users while moderation, media and notifications stayed reliable.

Loose tools or an overly simple setup did not hold. Feeds, live updates and media needed deliberate choices in data, caching and releases.

Approach

  1. 01

    Core flows first

    Profile, feed, groups and events locked before features ballooned, so the first version stayed usable.

  2. 02

    One product stack

    Next.js and TypeScript for UI and server logic, with PostgreSQL as the durable base for user data.

  3. 03

    Live updates and media

    Realtime updates for chat and presence, plus safe uploads for photos and files.

  4. 04

    Ship ready to scale

    AWS setup so more traffic means targeted scale, not emergency rewrites.

Technology

Next.jsTypeScriptPostgreSQLRedisS3AWS EKS

Result

  • A platform that handles community traffic without manual workarounds.
  • Clear separation between product features and infrastructure for predictable iteration.
  • Room to grow: more users mean targeted scale, not a rewrite.

Screenshots

Stylised UI mocks. Not real client screenshots.

  • Feed & community

  • Groups & events

  • Realtime chat

Performance

Indicative example at delivery. Not a live measurement of a client site.

Performance

92

Accessibility

96

Best practices

100

SEO

100

Load time: ~1.2s

Yes, focused on a sharp first product core and a stack that could scale later.

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