NSFW: Vangoren Network

Technologies used

PHP, Smarty
JavaScript, jQuery
ElevatedX, NATS
HTML, CSS/SASS

Introduction

Enter VANGOREN, a network of adult websites that I've been working on in 2022. It's a network of 10+ websites, all of which are built on the same platform, ElevatedX, a popular adult CMS.

Skipping the details on how I found the job (it's a long story 😅), I was hired as a full-stack developer to work on the network. My main responsibilities were to implement a new design for the websites, add new features, and fix bugs.

The network was built years ago and it was in desperate need of a do-over. The websites were not responsive, the code was outdated, and the design was not user- and SEO-friendly.

My Role

This, in reality, was my first "big" project that I spent a few months working on. Back then I didn't even know what full-stack meant. I only knew more or less what needs to be done and I've used my Google skills extensively to find solutions. So I entered into this world of adult websites with no prior experience and I had to learn everything from scratch. I had to learn how to work with ElevatedX, how to work with NATS, how to work with PHP and Smarty, and how to work with the adult industry in general.

I was the only developer on the team, so I had to do everything myself and learn on the spot.

Additionally, with my experience in graphic design and video editing, I was also responsible for creating the banners and sometimes, videos for the websites.

How I did it

ElevatedX as any big CMS uses templates for the frontend. The templates are written in PHP and Smarty (I hate Smarty with passion, by the way). However, while the CMS had a lot of video encoding features, it lacked other, general website functions, like searching, sorting, filtering, etc. I had to build all of these from scratch.

As it's all on top of PHP, it was fairly easy to learn it and implement these features. I've also used jQuery extensively. If I had to do this today, I would probably use a JS framework like React, but still use PHP for the backend. Overall, it was a lot of trial and error, but I was able to learn a lot and implement the features I needed.

Apart from the main website, I've also created a few other websites, which are all part of the same network. Additionally, I worked on the landing (join) pages for the websites, gallery pages, and more.

Working in Adult

Working in the adult industry is not for everyone. It's a very specific industry and you need to have a certain mindset to work in it. I've learned a lot about the industry and I've also learned a lot about myself. I've also learned that I'm not a big fan of working alone. I prefer working in a team, where I can learn from others and share my knowledge with others.

Funny enough, a lot of cutting-edge technologies are being developed / seen first in the adult industry. For example, adult websites introduced video previews on hover. Nowadays, that's a standard feature on most video websites.

At the same time, many of the adult websites that I saw during my work, are stuck with obsolete designs from the early Internet. Not at all responsive and not at all user-friendly.

They still use tables for the layout and JPEG images for buttons. The designers really had it rough before, haven't they? 😅 But I guess, if it works, why change it...