Brightfold · A fullstack rebuild of a cohort learning platform
Rebuilt a cohort-based course platform from a slow plugin-based stack into a fast, purpose-built app with live cohorts, progress tracking, and a redesigned learner experience.
01/ The challenge
Brightfold's course platform was a patchwork of CMS plugins held together with custom scripts. Video pages took six-plus seconds to load, progress tracking broke constantly, and every new cohort launch required manual data entry across four admin screens.
02/ The approach
We rebuilt the learner-facing app on a modern stack with a clean API underneath, migrated years of enrollment history, and designed a single cohort-launch flow that replaced the four manual screens. Video now streams from a CDN instead of the old bundled player.
03/ The outcome
- Page load (was 6.1s)
- 480ms
- Completion rate
- +21%
- Cohort launch time
- <10 min
Median video page load dropped from 6.1 seconds to 480 milliseconds. Cohort launch time went from half a day of manual setup to under ten minutes. Completion rates across the first two post-launch cohorts rose 21%.
“Cohort launch day used to be the most stressful day of the month for us. Now it takes ten minutes and nobody has to think about it.”