Designing for Scale and Flexibility: Building Tealfeed’s Marketplace and Variant System
How I designed, built, and launched a full marketplace experience — without dev bandwidth
Tealfeed serves appointment-led businesses by providing everything from bookings to payments. Yet as we scaled, a critical gap emerged: organizations with large teams couldn't showcase their service providers in one place or offer flexible service options like session type, location, or client type.
At the same time, we faced two hard constraints: zero developer bandwidth and no guaranteed roadmap support.
Rather than wait, I decided to lead the design, architecture, and implementation of a scalable, flexible marketplace and variant system — using the tools at hand.
Tealfeed serves appointment-led businesses by providing everything from bookings to payments. Yet as we scaled, a critical gap emerged: organizations with large teams couldn't showcase their service providers in one place or offer flexible service options like session type, location, or client type.
At the same time, we faced two hard constraints: zero developer bandwidth and no guaranteed roadmap support.
Rather than wait, I decided to lead the design, architecture, and implementation of a scalable, flexible marketplace and variant system — using the tools at hand.
View TL;DR
View TL;DR
Quick Summary of the project
Quick Summary of the project
Organization Pain Points:
Organization Pain Points:
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Lack of Centralized Provider Discovery
Lack of Centralized Provider Discovery
Organizations managing multiple service providers struggled to showcase their team on a single, unified platform. Clients couldn't browse or compare providers easily, leading to friction and booking drop-offs
Organizations managing multiple service providers struggled to showcase their team on a single, unified platform. Clients couldn't browse or compare providers easily, leading to friction and booking drop-offs
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Absence of Service Variant Options
Absence of Service Variant Options
Organizations needed flexibility to offer services across different client types, locations (online/offline), and session durations. Tealfeed’s existing system lacked support for service-level variants, limiting customization and conversion.
Organizations needed flexibility to offer services across different client types, locations (online/offline), and session durations. Tealfeed’s existing system lacked support for service-level variants, limiting customization and conversion.
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Inefficient Team Management
Inefficient Team Management
Without proper administrative tools, organizations found it tedious to manage therapists' visibility, services, and booking details. There was no easy way to control listings, customize team fields, or update availability dynamically.
Without proper administrative tools, organizations found it tedious to manage therapists' visibility, services, and booking details. There was no easy way to control listings, customize team fields, or update availability dynamically.
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Poor Client Filtering Experience
Poor Client Filtering Experience
Clients had no ability to filter therapists based on relevant criteria like specialization, gender, language, or session type. This absence of filters led to a slow, frustrating booking journey, impacting client trust and conversion rates.
Clients had no ability to filter therapists based on relevant criteria like specialization, gender, language, or session type. This absence of filters led to a slow, frustrating booking journey, impacting client trust and conversion rates.
Putting on a Researcher's Hat
Putting on a Researcher's Hat
Click on the buttons below to see what questions I asked organizations and their clients:
Click on the buttons below to see what questions I asked organizations and their clients:
Organizations Questions
Organizations Questions
Clients Questions
Clients Questions
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Organizations needed centralized discovery
Organizations needed centralized discovery
Through interviews, organizations managing multiple providers expressed that listing each therapist separately created friction. They lacked a way to showcase their team on a unified, filterable page, resulting in client drop-offs before booking.
Through interviews, organizations managing multiple providers expressed that listing each therapist separately created friction. They lacked a way to showcase their team on a unified, filterable page, resulting in client drop-offs before booking.
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Clients demanded personalization and transparency
Clients demanded personalization and transparency
End clients shared that they wanted to select providers based on factors like specialization, gender, price, and availability. Lack of filters and limited profile information made the decision process slow, frustrating, and often incomplete.
End clients shared that they wanted to select providers based on factors like specialization, gender, price, and availability. Lack of filters and limited profile information made the decision process slow, frustrating, and often incomplete.
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Service flexibility was a critical missing piece
Service flexibility was a critical missing piece
Organizations highlighted that offering flexible options (such as online/in-person sessions, new vs. existing client pricing) was crucial to conversion. Without service-level variants, many potential clients abandoned the booking process mid-flow.
Organizations highlighted that offering flexible options (such as online/in-person sessions, new vs. existing client pricing) was crucial to conversion. Without service-level variants, many potential clients abandoned the booking process mid-flow.
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Managing therapists needed to be effortless
Managing therapists needed to be effortless
Admin users emphasized that managing therapist visibility, services, and custom fields (experience, pricing, languages) was tedious without dedicated tools. They sought a seamless way to update and control team listings dynamically.
Admin users emphasized that managing therapist visibility, services, and custom fields (experience, pricing, languages) was tedious without dedicated tools. They sought a seamless way to update and control team listings dynamically.
Business
Goals
Business Goals
The redesign of the service marketplace and booking flow was not just a usability improvement — it was a strategic move to accelerate organizational onboarding, improve user experience, and directly impact revenue. Our business goals were to:
The redesign of the service marketplace and booking flow was not just a usability improvement — it was a strategic move to accelerate organizational onboarding, improve user experience, and directly impact revenue. Our business goals were to:
Increase client self-booking rates by offering better discovery and personalization.
Increase revenue by offering marketplace as a feature
Reduce the time taken to get an organization onboarded on the platform
Build a scalable marketplace framework without immediate backend dependency.
Increase client self-booking rates by offering better discovery and personalization.
Increase revenue by offering marketplace as a feature
Reduce the time taken to get an organization onboarded on the platform
Build a scalable marketplace framework without immediate backend dependency.
User Stories
User Stories
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Discovery
Discovery
As a client, I should be able to easily browse a list of available therapists or service providers and view their basic details before booking.
As a client, I should be able to easily browse a list of available therapists or service providers and view their basic details before booking.
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Filtering
Filtering
As a client, I should be able to filter providers based on specialization, session format (online/offline), gender, language, and availability to find the right match quickly.
As a client, I should be able to filter providers based on specialization, session format (online/offline), gender, language, and availability to find the right match quickly.
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Variant Selection
Variant Selection
As a client, I should be able to view all available variants (e.g., session duration, location, pricing) for a service and select the one that fits my needs
As a client, I should be able to view all available variants (e.g., session duration, location, pricing) for a service and select the one that fits my needs
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Transparent Pricing
Transparent Pricing
As a client, I should be able to see clear and upfront pricing details based on the selected service variant before committing to a booking.
As a client, I should be able to see clear and upfront pricing details based on the selected service variant before committing to a booking.
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Seamless Booking Experience
Seamless Booking Experience
As a client, after selecting the provider and variant, I should be able to complete the booking process smoothly without navigating across multiple pages.
As a client, after selecting the provider and variant, I should be able to complete the booking process smoothly without navigating across multiple pages.
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Admin Control
Admin Control
As an organization admin, I should be able to easily manage team listings, define filters, add services, and assign variants without requiring technical support.
As an organization admin, I should be able to easily manage team listings, define filters, add services, and assign variants without requiring technical support.
Designing for Scalability
Designing for Scalability
Designing for scalability was crucial because the feature wasn't just solving today's problems — it was setting up Tealfeed to onboard larger organizations, expand into adjacent service industries (like coaching, consulting, wellness), and offer a highly customizable marketplace product without constant backend involvement.
Designing for scalability was crucial because the feature wasn't just solving today's problems — it was setting up Tealfeed to onboard larger organizations, expand into adjacent service industries (like coaching, consulting, wellness), and offer a highly customizable marketplace product without constant backend involvement.
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Flexible Service Links
Flexible Service Links
Instead of tying bookings exclusively to Tealfeed’s internal system, we enabled external links (e.g., Google Forms, Calendly, Topmate) for service variants.
Instead of tying bookings exclusively to Tealfeed’s internal system, we enabled external links (e.g., Google Forms, Calendly, Topmate) for service variants.
This allowed organizations to onboard instantly, even while transitioning from other tools
This allowed organizations to onboard instantly, even while transitioning from other tools
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Unlimited Variants per Service
Unlimited Variants per Service
The variant system was built to support any number of service variants — including differences in price, session type, location, and client type — without technical constraints.
The variant system was built to support any number of service variants — including differences in price, session type, location, and client type — without technical constraints.
Organizations could customize offerings without needing platform-level changes
Organizations could customize offerings without needing platform-level changes
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Custom Field Creation
Custom Field Creation
Organizations could define their own member profile fields (e.g., Years of Experience, Languages Spoken, Price Range) instead of relying on a fixed schema.
Organizations could define their own member profile fields (e.g., Years of Experience, Languages Spoken, Price Range) instead of relying on a fixed schema.
This future-proofed the system for diverse industries and evolving user needs.
This future-proofed the system for diverse industries and evolving user needs.
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CMS-First Architecture
CMS-First Architecture
Leveraging Webflow CMS collections for Members, Services, and Variants ensured that updates, scaling, and edits could happen dynamically without requiring engineering intervention.
Leveraging Webflow CMS collections for Members, Services, and Variants ensured that updates, scaling, and edits could happen dynamically without requiring engineering intervention.
New members, services, and filters could be added at scale instantly.
New members, services, and filters could be added at scale instantly.
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Design Variants Flexibility
Design Variants Flexibility
By building modular design blocks inside Webflow and tagging them to CMS data, we created the ability to easily introduce new layouts, themes, or customization options in the future.
By building modular design blocks inside Webflow and tagging them to CMS data, we created the ability to easily introduce new layouts, themes, or customization options in the future.
Visual identity for different organizations could scale without rebuilding core flows.
Visual identity for different organizations could scale without rebuilding core flows.
User Flows & Structure
User Flows & Structure
To bring clarity to the experience, we mapped out detailed user flows for both organization admins and end clients. This helped us define how each stakeholder interacts with the system — from setting up services to booking a session.
By visualizing the entire journey, we ensured:
Every action had a clear purpose
No step felt redundant or confusing
Both flows could scale without introducing complexity
For Organizations
For End Clients
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For Organizations
For End Clients
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Final Designs
Final Designs
After validating the flows, we brought them to life through high-fidelity designs. These were optimized for clarity, customization, and ease of use — both for organizations managing their marketplace and for clients booking sessions
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Organization Management Interface
Organization Management Interface
We focused on building a flexible, admin-friendly interface that gave organizations full control without overwhelming them.
Customizable team pages with therapist profiles, services, and branding options
Dynamic filters and tags to help surface relevant providers
Service + Variant management, allowing pricing and session options to vary per provider
Admin settings for deciding visibility, linking policies, and defining reusable service templates
List View
Grid View
Organization Settings
Filters
Services
Member Service Details
Organization Members
Variants
Member Personal Details
Organization Settings
Filters
Services
Member Service Details
Organization Members
Variants
Member Personal Details
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End Client Buying Experience
We designed the client journey to feel intuitive, transparent, and trustworthy — enabling clients to make confident decisions without friction.
Marketplace discovery with filters
Clients can browse all available therapists and use filters like specialization, gender, language, and availability to narrow down options.Therapist profile pages
Each therapist has a dedicated page with bio, experience, pricing, session types, and available services.Service + Variant selection
Clients can view all service options, select the right variant (e.g. online vs offline, new vs existing client), and see exact pricing before bookingSeamless booking via modal
On selecting a service, a modal opens with variant options and the correct booking link embedded — ensuring a smooth, distraction-free experience.
List View
Grid View
Marketplace discovery with filters
Service + Variant selection
Therapist profile pages
Service + Variant selection
Marketplace discovery with filters
Service + Variant selection
Therapist profile pages
Service + Variant selection
Future Directions
Future Directions
As the marketplace + variant system gains traction, there are several opportunities to further refine and scale its impact:
As the marketplace + variant system gains traction, there are several opportunities to further refine and scale its impact:
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Smart filters & AI-assisted matching
Smart filters & AI-assisted matching
Introduce intelligent therapist recommendations based on user behavior, past sessions, and preferences
Introduce intelligent therapist recommendations based on user behavior, past sessions, and preferences
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Webflow to Tealfeed
This functionality is currently in webflow, we can make everything more seamless by implementing it in Tealfeed
This functionality is currently in webflow, we can make everything more seamless by implementing it in Tealfeed
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Analytics & conversion insights
Analytics & conversion insights
Provide organizations with dashboards showing therapist-level engagement, drop-off points, and booking conversion rates
Provide organizations with dashboards showing therapist-level engagement, drop-off points, and booking conversion rates
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Theming & layout presets
Theming & layout presets
Allow orgs to choose from design presets or themes to suit different brand personas without needing manual Webflow edits
Allow orgs to choose from design presets or themes to suit different brand personas without needing manual Webflow edits
Learnings
Learnings
As the marketplace + variant system gains traction, there are several opportunities to further refine and scale its impact:
As the marketplace + variant system gains traction, there are several opportunities to further refine and scale its impact:
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Designing for internal teams ≠ designing for external clients
Designing for internal teams ≠ designing for external clients
Internal workflows required flexibility and edge-case handling; external flows needed clarity, speed, and emotional trust. Balancing both was key.
Internal workflows required flexibility and edge-case handling; external flows needed clarity, speed, and emotional trust. Balancing both was key.
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Scalability starts with decoupling assumptions
Treating booking links, variants, and profiles as modular entities (instead of tightly coupling them to a platform) unlocked extensibility — and made adoption easier for orgs in transition
Treating booking links, variants, and profiles as modular entities (instead of tightly coupling them to a platform) unlocked extensibility — and made adoption easier for orgs in transition
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No-code ≠ No systems thinking
No-code ≠ No systems thinking
Informal validation through guerilla testing, quick Loom walkthroughs, and iterative prototyping proved more efficient than large testing cycles in an early-stage product.
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Feedback loops don’t have to be formal
Feedback loops don’t have to be formal
Allow orgs to choose from design presets or themes to suit different brand personas without needing manual Webflow edits
Allow orgs to choose from design presets or themes to suit different brand personas without needing manual Webflow edits
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When dev bandwidth is low, clarity matters more
Wearing both design and dev hats reinforced the importance of extremely clear logic, component reuse, and structured thinking — not just for handoff, but for execution
Wearing both design and dev hats reinforced the importance of extremely clear logic, component reuse, and structured thinking — not just for handoff, but for execution