Case Overview
The Brief & The Build
Client
FixItTask — a Canadian startup launching an on-demand marketplace for home repairs, installations, and small renovation tasks.
Goal
Build a production-ready two-sided marketplace: homeowners post tasks, vetted local professionals bid, FixItTask handles payments and trust signals.
Scope
Full product: UX/UI design, frontend, backend, payments, admin dashboard, mobile-first responsive, SEO foundation, launch & ongoing maintenance.
The Product
What FixItTask.com Actually Does
FixItTask.com is a marketplace, not a single-vendor service site. The platform sits between two audiences with very different needs — and the product had to be designed for both sides at once.
- Homeowner side — browse categories ("repairs", "installs", "assembly", "moving help", "yard work"), post a task with photos and timing, receive bids, choose a professional, pay through escrow.
- Professional side — create a verified profile, browse open tasks by service area, submit bids with price and ETA, manage scheduling, get paid on completion.
- Trust layer — ID verification, public reviews and star ratings on both sides, dispute flow, refund policy, and FixItTask-backed satisfaction guarantee.
- Operations layer — admin dashboard with KYC review, dispute resolution, payout tracking, fraud flags, and content moderation tools for the internal team.
How We Built It
The Engineering Approach
A marketplace is one of the hardest product shapes to ship — you need both sides live on day one or the network effect never starts. We structured the build around getting to a working two-sided MVP fast, then layering trust and scale on top.
1 — Product & UX Design
Mapped both user journeys end-to-end — from "I need someone to mount a TV tonight" to "I'm a finisher looking for weekend work in Etobicoke". Designed task posting, bid review, scheduling, payment, and review flows in Figma. Iterated on mobile-first wireframes before any code.
2 — Custom Marketplace Backend
Built a custom backend for the matching logic, bid lifecycle, escrow holds, and dispute states. Geo-aware task feeds for pros (filter by city / postal code / radius). Notification engine (email + SMS + push) to keep both sides moving without ghost-bidding.
3 — Payments, Payouts & Compliance
Integrated Stripe Connect for split payments, payouts to professionals, refunds, and 1099/T4A-style reporting. Built escrow logic: homeowner funds held until job completion, with a clear dispute window. Canadian sales-tax handling baked in.
4 — Frontend, Performance & SEO Foundation
Built a fast, accessible frontend with server-rendered category and city pages so the public marketplace is fully indexable by Google. Click-to-call and click-to-quote on every category screen. Core Web Vitals optimized; AODA-friendly contrast, keyboard navigation, and screen-reader labels from day one.
Conclusion
A Marketplace Is a Product, Not a Website
FixItTask wasn't a brochure with a contact form — it was a real product with two audiences, payments, trust mechanics, and operational tooling. We owned the build from the first Figma wireframe through to the production launch on fixittask.com, and continue to ship improvements as the marketplace grows. If you have a marketplace, SaaS, or any two-sided product you need built, we can do the same for you.
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