Why Ifty Finds is Getting a “Thrift Flip”
Change is in the air! After a few chats with my friends, I’ve decided to continue developing Ifty Finds but not on WordPress. Ifty Finds began from a simple vision as an avid thrifter: to create a more community-driven and enjoyable thrifting marketplace. WordPress helped bring that idea to life quickly, and it’s been a great starting point. But unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to realize my goals for Ifty Finds. Which is why I decided it’s time to switch up the tech behind it.
WordPress is powerful and easy, especially for beginners. It’s easy to use and helped me get Ifty Finds up and running fast. But the more I work on it, the more I run into things I can’t quite do the way I want. Honestly, I can do it with the right plugins. But that’s the problem. Too many plugins can slow down the site. You also have to abide by how they work with WordPress. It has specific features that I don’t need or features I need but they don’t have, so I have to use another plugin for that. There are also concerns surrounding the security of WordPress, which I won’t go into deep.
To build a truly interactive and seamless thrifting marketplace, more flexibility and control are needed. Here’s what we’re working toward:
- Blazing Speed – less waiting, less reloading, just smoother browsing overall
- A Custom Experience – something that feels more like a real app than a template
- Scalability – room to build features I actually have in mind (and not fight the system to do it)
Next Chapter: Rebuilding Ifty Finds from Scratch
I’m excited to share that Ifty Finds is currently being rebuilt from the ground up using React. I’ve teamed up with my two amazing friends, and we are currently planning our next steps. This shift is necessary—not just for the platform I wanted to build, but also for my journey as a developer.
Help us build a better haven for Ifty (he’s been itching for a thrift). If you have time to spare, please answer a 5-10 minute survey from us. It’ll greatly help improve our website. Thank you in advance!
Click here to be directed to the survey questions in google forms.