Designing Kryptunes.com

When I set out to build Kryptunes.com, my goal wasn’t just to launch a site—it was to create a platform with modern, modular architecture that could evolve as the product grows.

I already had a clear picture of what I needed:

• A fast frontend for content delivery.
• A flexible backend CMS that I control.
• A service layer for newsletters, analytics, and future integrations.

Instead of whiteboarding for weeks, I used Claude AI and Cursor AI to test my thinking, iterate on design options, and validate decisions. I wasn’t outsourcing the architecture to AI—I was using it as an intelligent assistant to speed up the “what if” phase and push me to refine ideas.

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Frontend: Fast, Reliable, and Developer-Friendly

The frontend lives on Vercel, which gives me scalability out of the box.

• Next.js 15 with App Router → Server-side rendering, static generation, and API routes in one framework.
• Tailwind CSS → Utility-first styling that keeps the design consistent and maintainable.
• TypeScript → Type safety and long-term reliability.

This means every page is optimized for speed, responsive design is built-in, and future feature development stays maintainable.

To-Do mindset for frontend:

• ✅ Build with performance as a priority (Next.js + Vercel).
• ✅ Ensure consistent UI/UX with Tailwind.
• ✅ Keep codebase future-proof with TypeScript.
• ⏳ Next step: Expand component library for faster iteration.

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Backend: Control and Extensibility

For the backend, I went with a VPS setup, containerized with Docker for full control.

• Strapi CMS → Flexible, headless CMS for managing posts, membership, and premium content.
• MySQL → Reliable relational database, easy to scale.
• Nginx proxy → Handles routing and security.

Running this on my VPS gives me more ownership than a pure SaaS CMS. I can extend the CMS, add custom plugins, and directly control data.

To-Do mindset for backend:

• ✅ Containerize Strapi and MySQL with Docker.
• ✅ Configure Nginx for reverse proxying and SSL.
• ✅ Integrate webhooks for frontend revalidation on content changes.
• ⏳ Next step: Add Redis for caching if traffic spikes.

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Services Layer: Extending the Core

To tie everything together, I layered in external services:

• App Engine → Handles heavier compute tasks and workflows.
• Resend → Newsletter and transactional email delivery, already integrated with welcome flows.
• Analytics → Tracking usage patterns and measuring growth.

This makes Kryptunes more than a static site—it’s a system that can adapt, scale, and provide value to readers and members.

To-Do mindset for services:

• ✅ Newsletter flows integrated with Resend.
• ✅ Analytics connected for traffic monitoring.
• ✅ Beehiiv sync for subscriber management.
• ⏳ Next step: Deeper analytics dashboards for content performance.

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Why This Matters

Too often, AI is used as a code generator. My experience is different: I already knew the stack I wanted, but I used Claude AI and Cursor AI to accelerate decision-making and prototyping.

• Claude helped me reason through different architectural trade-offs.
• Cursor made iterating on code and workflows much faster.

The real work was applying judgment: knowing why Vercel over Netlify, why Strapi over Ghost, why a VPS over a managed database. AI made me sharper, but the architectural clarity came from experience.

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Closing Thought

Kryptunes.com now runs on this stack:

• Frontend that’s fast and reliable.
• Backend that’s flexible and under my control.
• Services that extend capability without overcomplicating.

It’s lean, extensible, and already production-tested.

If you’re building your own product, use AI not to replace your architectural thinking, but to challenge and refine it. That’s where the real leverage is.

#Architecture #NextJS #Strapi #Vercel #Entrepreneurship #AI