Live · Editorial tech media
Trax
Ogun State tech newsroom · Next.js + NestJS · newsletter & editor dashboard
Live editorial product at trax.ng
Introduction
Trax is a live editorial tech media platform tracking startups, funding, people, policy, and ecosystem moves across Ogun State's corridor. I designed the product identity, reader experience, and custom design system, then built the public Next.js site on Vercel with category pages, article reader, newsletter growth flows, and an editor dashboard shell wired to a NestJS API at api.trax.ng.
Challenge
Ogun State's tech scene was growing fast but coverage lived in scattered posts, WhatsApp threads, and one-off announcements. Founders, operators, and investors needed one credible newsroom for the corridor: readable on mobile, organized by beat, and built to grow into briefing-style products (newsletter, press, events, funding) without feeling like a generic blog template.
Research
- Mapped how founders and operators actually get corridor news today: WhatsApp forwards, one-off announcements, and scattered posts with no durable archive.
- Compared TechCabal-style editorial products for beat structure, newsletter spine, and press room patterns without copying national positioning Trax could not yet earn.
- Tried mobile reading, category scanning, and double opt-in newsletter flows until they worked without a support team having to explain them.
Approach
- Positioned Trax as Ogun State's tech newsroom: signal over noise, premium editorial voice, corridor geography in the masthead and category structure.
- Designed homepage, category pages, and article reader with prev/next navigation so long-form stories feel like a publication, not a CMS dump.
- Built a custom trax design system with dark/light theme, ISR-friendly layouts, and reusable editorial components across News, Startups, Funding, People, Ecosystem, Events, and Press.
- Shipped growth surfaces: weekly newsletter with subscribe, email confirm, and unsubscribe; podcast, events calendar, press room, and startup map (directory in progress).
- Structured company pages (About, Team, Careers, Advertise, legal) and editor dashboard shell for publishing workflows while some admin UI remains legacy.
- Implemented API-driven articles with sensible fallbacks, sitemap/SEO/JSON-LD, and production deploy on Vercel with NestJS backend at api.trax.ng.
Decisions
- Kept an Ogun-first wedge instead of national claims until coverage depth and editorial cadence could support them.
- Built a custom design system and Next.js frontend instead of reskinning a blog template, so beats and growth surfaces shared one product spine.
- Made the double opt-in newsletter a first-class product surface alongside editorial beats, not a footer afterthought.
Impact
- Live public site at trax.ng with full editorial beats and article reader in production.
- Newsletter double opt-in flow built end to end (confirm and unsubscribe pages); Resend on backend for production mail.
- Press room, podcast, events, and platform pages give Trax a TechCabal-style product spine with an Ogun-first wedge.
- Custom design system and Next.js frontend shipped; not a template reskin.
- Architecture ready for national expansion while today's copy and coverage stay honestly corridor-rooted.
Hiring or building something similar?
Send a short note with the product, timeline, and what you need. I read these myself and usually reply within one business day.