Layers - Digital Coupon Organizer

A modern web application for organizing, tracking, and managing digital coupons with automated expiry notifications and sharing capabilities.

🚀 Features

Core Functionality

• User Authentication: Secure registration and login system with password hashing
• Coupon Management: Add, edit, delete, and organize digital coupons
• Smart Dashboard: Intuitive grid-based interface with real-time filtering
• Advanced Search: Filter by category, store, expiry date, and discount percentage
• Expiry Alerts: Automated email notifications for soon-to-expire coupons
• Coupon Sharing: Share coupons with other registered users
• Usage Tracking: Mark coupons as used and track savings

User Experience

• Responsive Design: Optimized for mobile, tablet, and desktop
• Modern UI: Dark theme with lime accents and smooth animations
• AJAX Search: Real-time filtering without page reloads
• Interactive Elements: Copy-to-clipboard, hover effects, and modal interfaces
• Profile Management: Custom profile pictures and user statistics

🛠️ Technology Stack

Backend

• PHP 8.1+: Server-side logic and templating
• MySQL 8.0: Relational database with ACID compliance
• PDO: Secure database abstraction layer with prepared statements
• PHPMailer: Email delivery for notifications
• Composer: Dependency management

Frontend

• HTML5: Semantic markup and modern standards
• Tailwind CSS: Utility-first CSS framework for rapid development
• JavaScript (ES6+): Interactive functionality and DOM manipulation
• GSAP: High-performance animations and scroll triggers
• AJAX: Asynchronous data loading and form submissions

Development Tools

• XAMPP/WAMP: Local development environment
• Git: Version control
• VS Code: Development environment

📋 Prerequisites

Before installing Layers, ensure you have:

• Web Server: Apache 2.4+ or Nginx
• PHP: Version 8.1 or higher
• MySQL: Version 8.0 or higher
• Composer: For PHP dependency management
• Node.js (optional): For Tailwind CSS compilation

🔧 Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/layers.git
cd layers

2. Install Dependencies

# Install PHP dependencies
composer install

# Install frontend dependencies (if using Tailwind CLI)
npm install

3. Database Configuration

1. Open src/config/db.php
2. Update database credentials:

define('DB_SERVER', 'localhost');
define('DB_USERNAME', 'your_username');
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'your_password');
define('DB_NAME', 'coupon_organizer');

4. Database Setup

The application will automatically:

• Create the database if it doesn't exist
• Set up all required tables
• Handle schema migrations

5. Email Configuration

1. Open src/includes/expiry_alert.php
2. Configure SMTP settings:

$mail_config = [
    'host' => 'smtp.gmail.com',
    'username' => 'your-email@gmail.com',
    'password' => 'your-app-password',
    'port' => 587
];

6. Web Server Setup

Point your web server document root to the src/ directory.

For XAMPP users:

• Place the project in htdocs/layers/
• Access via http://localhost/layers/src/

📂 Project Structure

layers/
├── src/                          # Main application directory
│   ├── assets/                   # Static assets
│   │   ├── images/              # Images and icons
│   │   └── js/                  # JavaScript files
│   ├── components/              # Reusable PHP components
│   │   ├── header.php
│   │   └── footer.php
│   ├── config/                  # Configuration files
│   │   ├── db.php              # Database connection
│   │   ├── db_setup.php        # Database schema
│   │   └── db_setup_notifications.php
│   ├── cron/                   # Automated tasks
│   │   ├── check_expiring_coupons.php
│   │   └── setup_cron.php
│   ├── includes/               # Include files
│   │   ├── auth_header.php     # Authentication logic
│   │   ├── expiry_alert.php    # Email notifications
│   │   └── header.php          # Common header
│   ├── logs/                   # Application logs
│   ├── pages/                  # Application pages
│   │   ├── dashboard.php       # Main dashboard
│   │   ├── login.php          # User authentication
│   │   ├── register.php       # User registration
│   │   ├── profile.php        # User profile
│   │   └── [other pages]
│   ├── uploads/               # User uploads
│   │   └── profile_images/
│   ├── index.php             # Landing page
│   ├── output.css            # Compiled Tailwind CSS
│   └── script.js             # Main JavaScript file
├── vendor/                   # Composer dependencies
├── composer.json            # PHP dependencies
├── package.json            # Node.js dependencies
└── README.md              # This file

🎯 Usage

Getting Started

1. Register an Account: Create a new user account with your email
2. Login: Access your personal dashboard
3. Add Coupons: Click "Add Coupon" to start organizing your deals
4. Set Up Notifications: Configure email alerts for expiring coupons

Managing Coupons

• Add: Use the modal form to input coupon details
• Edit: Click the edit icon on any coupon card
• Delete: Remove unwanted coupons with confirmation
• Mark as Used: Track which coupons you've redeemed
• Share: Send coupons to other registered users

Dashboard Features

• Search: Type to find coupons by name, store, or code
• Filter: Use category dropdown to narrow results
• Sort: Organize by expiry date or discount percentage
• Toggle Expired: Show or hide expired coupons

🔔 Automated Notifications

Expiry Alert System

The application includes an automated notification system:

1. Daily Checks: Runs via cron job to identify expiring coupons
2. Email Alerts: Sends personalized notifications 24 hours before expiry
3. Visual Indicators: Dashboard highlights soon-to-expire coupons
4. Testing Mode: Use ?test=1 parameter for manual testing

Setting Up Cron Jobs

Add this to your crontab for daily checks:

# Run daily at 9:00 AM
0 9 * * * /usr/bin/php /path/to/layers/src/cron/check_expiring_coupons.php

🎨 Customization

Styling

• Modify src/input.css for custom Tailwind styles
• Recompile with npm run build or npx tailwindcss build
• Color scheme can be adjusted in tailwind.config.js

Email Templates

• Customize email layouts in src/includes/expiry_alert.php
• Modify HTML structure and styling as needed

Categories

• Add new coupon categories in the database categories table
• Update frontend dropdown options accordingly

🔒 Security Features

• Password Hashing: Uses PHP's password_hash() with salt
• SQL Injection Prevention: PDO prepared statements throughout
• XSS Protection: All outputs escaped with htmlspecialchars()
• Session Security: Secure session management with regeneration
• Input Validation: Server-side validation for all forms
• File Upload Security: Type and size validation for profile images

📊 Database Schema

Core Tables

• users: User accounts and profile information
• coupons: Coupon details and metadata
• shared_coupons: Coupon sharing relationships
• categories: Predefined coupon categories
• notifications: User notification history

Relationships

• One-to-many: Users → Coupons
• Many-to-many: Users ↔ Shared Coupons
• Foreign key constraints ensure data integrity

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Database Connection Error

Solution: Check database credentials in src/config/db.php
Ensure MySQL service is running

Email Notifications Not Working

Solution: Verify SMTP settings in src/includes/expiry_alert.php
Check if app passwords are required for Gmail

Tailwind Styles Not Loading

Solution: Ensure output.css is compiled
Run: npx tailwindcss -i src/input.css -o src/output.css --watch

XAMPP Permission Issues

Solution: Ensure proper file permissions
On Linux/Mac: chmod -R 755 layers/

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

• Follow PSR-12 PHP coding standards
• Use meaningful commit messages
• Add comments for complex logic
• Test thoroughly before submitting

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙋‍♂️ Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

1. Check the Issues page
2. Create a new issue with detailed description
3. Include error messages and steps to reproduce

🔮 Future Enhancements

• Mobile app development (React Native/Flutter)
• Browser extension for automatic coupon detection
• Integration with popular shopping sites
• Advanced analytics and savings reports
• Social features and coupon communities
• API for third-party integrations
• Multi-language support
• Dark/light theme toggle

🎉 Acknowledgments

• Tailwind CSS for the utility-first CSS framework
• GSAP for high-performance animations
• PHPMailer for email functionality
• Font Awesome for icons (if used)

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Built with ❤️ for smart shoppers who never want to miss a deal!

For more information, visit our documentation or contact the development team.