The Purpose of this Project
Oyster & Beyond is my personal travel blog designed to share honest reflections on the places I’ve visited. As someone passionate about travel, storytelling, and user experience, this platform allows me to connect with an audience through in-depth travel posts, photos, and recommendations, all while maintaining editorial control through a custom-built content management workflow.
The Technical Implementation
Built with Next.js and powered by a headless CMS, the platform allows me to: - Easily write and publish travel blog posts via the CMS. - Approve or decline reader comments to ensure all on-site discussions remain respectful and appropriate for a general audience. - Categorise content by continent, making it easy for users to explore destinations geographically (e.g. UK, Africa, Europe). - Feature recent or related posts in a "Recent Posts" widget. So, if a user is reading about Barcelona, for instance, they may be recommended other European travel posts. - Showcase a carousel of recent destinations at the top of the site. Clicking an image takes users directly to the related blog post.
Results & Future Potential
Oyster & Beyond has become my digital travel journal and a valuable resource for readers planning trips or seeking destination inspiration. As the platform grows, my next steps include: - Publishing more travel stories across new destinations. - Partnering with travel brands and products, for example, pairing a post on Crete with local tour suggestions. - Enhancing the blog with trip-planning features, packing lists, or affiliate links to curated products and services. - Allowing users to create personal profiles so they can track which posts they've commented on, fostering a sense of community and engagement. - Integrating with travel agencies to offer users curated travel packages, local tour recommendations, or exclusive deals tied to specific destinations covered on the blog. These future updates aim to enrich the user experience, support monetisation, and deepen the platform’s role as a trusted travel companion.