Hey everyone! I'm planning to create a website that acts like a catalog. I need it to load data from an XLS database containing around 10,000 items and allow users to filter this data dynamically by different columns. The results should be displayed either in a table (say, blocks of 100) or as a preview that shows more details from the database. I'm not sure about the best technology to use for managing this site, so I'd love to get your thoughts before I reach out to some potential development companies. I'm not really interested in simple solutions like WordPress due to its constraints and customization issues; of course, I'd like to keep costs in mind too!
7 Answers
Are you looking for user management and role-based access for different actions? Would this be accessed online or just in-house? With my 20 years of experience, I could build something for around $5k, which includes user management and authorization rules.
To get started, I’d suggest taking the XLS into Google Sheets and seeing if Gemini can help you create a dashboard. You can also do this with WordPress using custom post types and ACF, but that involves some template coding. You might find some open-source solutions with a bit of research. Just a heads-up; custom coding will take developer time. If you’re interested, I’m available for contract work and you can check out my site at magill.dev.
For your needs, the project sounds more like a small web application than just a website. Here’s my go-to strategy:
1. Import the XLS data into a proper database like PostgreSQL or MySQL (XLS is great for input, but not for querying).
2. Develop a backend API using Node.js, Python, or a similar framework for efficient filtering, pagination, and performance.
3. For the front end, consider using React, Next.js, or Vue to provide a responsive user experience with quick interactions, filters, and previews.
4. Ensure server-side pagination and index your columns, so filtering remains fast as you expand the dataset.
This method avoids WordPress's limitations while allowing the solution to grow. If you scope it well, it can be cost-effective; the biggest expense often comes from user experience refinements, not from handling large data volumes.
When dealing with around 10k items, I’d recommend thinking of it as a small web app rather than just a website. You should use a real database like Postgres, an API for data handling, and a simple front end. The XLS file should only serve as an import source rather than the live backend, as that could complicate filtering and performance. Many projects like this start simple and then wish they had planned for growth from the start.
You could put this together using Claude Code in just about five minutes! Super quick solution!
Have you checked out get-listable.com? You could likely get something close to what you need there. You’ll want to create custom fields for your columns, import your data as CSV, and you’ll get a searchable and filterable website!
You can definitely achieve this with pretty much any web programming language. If I were working on it, I'd choose Laravel (PHP) to import the catalog and handle the filtering logic. For a faster front-end, consider using Inertia.js with either Vue.js or React. If you need a simple back-end for managing the catalog, FilamentPHP can help you quickly set up the CRUD pages you might need. Overall, this project seems quite manageable based on what you’ve shared!
Could you explain how the API speeds things up? I’ve got a growing CSV file of bookmarks I'm planning to turn into a directory site. I get that the CSV goes into a database and then the front end pulls from there, but I don’t quite grasp how APIs fit in.