Noah-Rothschild/rising-tide

C-2-C E-commerce website built using Javascript, PHP and MySQL that aims to connect South African vendors to customers in a secure marketplace environment. Website Link: rising-tide.freedev.app Github Repository: github.com Test buyer: buyer@rising-tide.com Password: password Test seller: clothingco@rising-tide.com Password: password Admin: admin@rising-tide.com Password: admin Introduction This project presents Rising Tide, a secure consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace designed to be an accessible digital trading platform that focuses on empowering South Africa’s informal economy. The core philosophy behind the platform is reflected in the analogy “a rising tide lifts all boats,” which highlights the potential for broader economic benefit through improved access to safe digital trade. This solution addresses common issues that exist within other platforms such as Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace where transactions are commonly unverified and rely heavily on unsafe cash payments. These practices expose users to scams and unsafe trading practices. Rising Tide aims to provide a trustworthy and structured environment for buying and selling goods through user verification, formal delivery and by promoting digital participation of the informal economy. The system is designed to be accessible and responsive to accommodate users with varying digital capabilities. The platform was developed utilising core web technologies such as HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript and MySQL. These technologies help to provide a balance between website performance, scalability and interactivity.