Legacy Tech Stack Limitations
Ruby on Rails monolith with tightly coupled components made scaling individual services difficult. The server-rendered pages resulted in slow load times and poor user experience.
Case study
Apps development for Huntgate
How we transformed a traditional Ruby on Rails application into a high-performance Next.js ecosystem with optimized architecture
ReactNext.jsNode.jsAWSMongoDB
- Industry
- Recruitment & hiring
- Engagement
- 2023 — 2024
- Region
- Ireland · UK
- Stack
- React · Next.js · Node.js
At a glance
A hiring platform that cut time-to-shortlist from days to minutes.
0.0x
More applications per live role
0%
Faster shortlisting for hiring teams
0.0x
Increase in monthly placements
0%
Lower cost per hire
Scope of work
- AWS Migration
- Database Transformation
- Search Optimization
- SEO Improvement
- Mobile App Development
The brief
Client & Project Overview
Where the business started, what was holding it back, and the shape of the engagement.
Our client, a rapidly growing SaaS platform in the productivity space, approached us with a challenging technical debt situation. Their application, initially built with Ruby on Rails and hosted on Heroku, was struggling with scaling issues and performance bottlenecks.
With an expanding user base and increasing competition, they needed a complete overhaul of their tech stack to support their growth trajectory while improving both user experience and SEO performance.
The project involved not just a migration but a complete reimagination of their architecture to support future requirements, including new mobile applications and advanced search functionality.
The problem
What was standing in the way.
The constraints we found at the start of the engagement, and why the existing setup could no longer carry the business.
Database Performance
PostgreSQL database was reaching its limits with complex relational queries. Schema changes were becoming increasingly difficult as the application grew.
Search Functionality
Algolia implementation was becoming costly with increasing data and queries. Custom ranking logic was difficult to implement within their existing setup.
Infrastructure Constraints
Heroku's dyno-based pricing was becoming expensive as traffic increased. Limited flexibility for custom infrastructure requirements was hindering growth.
SEO Performance
Poor SEO rankings due to slow page loads, client-side rendering issues, and inadequate meta tag implementation. Mobile responsiveness was suboptimal.
Mobile Experience
Lack of proper native mobile applications, relying instead on responsive web views that provided subpar user experience on mobile devices.
What we built
Our solution
We designed a comprehensive migration strategy with a phasedapproach to minimize disruption while completely transforming the technology stack. We started with a detailed analysis of the existing architecture, identifying key pain points and areas for improvement.
Frontend Transformation
We migrated the Ruby on Rails frontend to a modern Next.js application, utilizing its hybrid rendering capabilities:
- Implemented Server Components for improved SEO and performance
- Created a component library for consistent design across web and mobile
- Optimized for Core Web Vitals with Lighthouse scores above 90
- Built a responsive UI with Tailwind CSS for all device sizes
Key improvementTime to First Contentful Paint reduced by 67%
Under the hood
Technology stack
The tools we chose, and why. Every choice is made for maintainability first, novelty second.
Next.js
React framework for hybrid static & server rendering
React
UI component library for building interfaces
Tailwind CSS
Utility-first CSS framework
TypeScript
Typed JavaScript for safer code
React Native
Cross-platform mobile app framework
The outcome
Results & impact
Measured against the baseline we captured before the rebuild. Where a figure is an estimate, we say so.
Technical Achievements
Lighthouse Score Improvement
Performance scores increased from average 58 to 94 across all pages
Search Optimization
Typesense implementation reduced search costs by 65% while improving relevance
Mobile App Launch
Released native mobile apps for iOS and Android with shared business logic
Infrastructure Reliability
Achieved 99.99% uptime with robust monitoring and auto-healing systems
Business Impact
User Growth
5.2x more applications per live role
Organic Traffic
301% increase in organic job-seeker traffic
User Engagement
Shortlisting time down 74% with structured candidate profiles
Revenue Growth
2.9x increase in monthly placements
In their words
“Working with Intosoft was a smooth and productive experience. Their ability to take feedback, solve problems fast, and continuously improve the app helped us launch with confidence.”
John Moran
CEO, The Huntgate
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