Case study II · Community platforms Live
A members’ home,under its own name.
A private members’ community for Sistahz In Systems, a community for women in AI and technology, designed, built and launched on its own domain.
- Level up!Coins and badges, calculated on the server
- New post in QuestionsPost types and topic categories
- Lesson completeCourses with progress tracking
- New private messageMember to member
Plate IIThe live sign-in screen, from app.sistahzinsystems.com
- Community platform
- Member feed
- Courses
- Events
- Private messages
- Levels & badges
- Admin dashboard
- Row-level security
i.The problem
A community needed a home of its own.
Sistahz In Systems, a community for women in AI and technology, needed a private home where members could post, learn and connect under the community’s own name.
- ✕Posting and discussion
- ✕Learning and courses
- ✕Events and recordings
- ✕Members finding each other
- ✕All under the community’s own name
ii.Process first
Don’t reinvent the wheel. Make it hers.
I had already built a community platform for an earlier project. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I started from that proven foundation and made it Sistahz’s: its own brand, its own hosting and domain, and permission rules locked down in the database before real members joined.
- DiscoverySet the spec: what to keep, the brand, and what launch needed
- BuildRebranded every screen from the crest’s colors: navy, violet, teal and gold
- TestingLocally, on staging and on the live domain, including live attempts to break the rules
- LaunchOctober 17, 2026, with new features the same day
iii.Then the tool
Then the tool: everything members need, in one place.
I adapted my platform for Sistahz from foundation to launch: rebranded screen by screen, moved onto its own hosting and domain, and secured so the rules that protect members are enforced in the database, not the browser.
Posts, comments, likes and images, sorted by topic.
Threads, messages and a member directory.
Events calendar · session recordings
Members · roles · badges · categories · moderation
Illustration in the Sistahz colors. Sample content, no member data.
- A member feedPosts, comments, likes, images, announcements and pinned posts, plus post types and topic categories for questions and polls.
- ConversationsDiscussion threads, private messages, a member directory and profiles.
- Learning and eventsCourses with lessons and progress tracking, an events calendar and session recordings.
- Rewards members can’t change themselvesCoins, levels, badges, streaks and leaderboards, with rewards calculated on the server.
- An admin dashboardMembers, roles, badges, post categories and moderation.
- An on-brand welcomeAn animated sign-in screen, with a still version for anyone who turns off motion.
iv.Where it runs
Tested on the live site before anyone joined.
- The sign-in page is public at app.sistahzinsystems.com. The community behind it is members-only.
- Every member workflow was tried on the live domain before members were invited. 35 of 35 browser workflows and 26 of 26 database permission tests passed.
- Every attempt to change protected data was blocked, 12 out of 12.
- All test accounts and test content were deleted before launch.
- On launch day, at the team’s request: post types, topic categories, polls, questions, an emoji picker and new admin tools.
- React
- Supabase
- PostgreSQL
- Row-level security
- Railway
- Automated testing
- Brand system
The live sign-in screen on a phone, captured from app.sistahzinsystems.com.
Need a private community under your own brand?
Whether you’re starting from scratch or from something you’ve already built, I start with how your members actually use it, then build the platform around that.
Book a callOr email hello@clairenhaus.com